The Race for Timbuktu: In Search of Africa's City of Gold

By Frank T. Kryza

Book Overview

The incredible true story of Alexander Gordon Laing and the race to discover Timbuktu during the early part of the 19th century--a time when the African continent was still largely uncharted. In the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060560657
• ISBN13: 9780060560652
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: Ecco
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Narrows the focus to two men whose goals fostered a heated competition to win

Early 19th century adventurers and fortune hinters were enthralled by the story of a lost city which no European had seen, which held riches galore. The wide-ranging and popular legend would foster rival attempts to reach this mysterious place: attempts chronicled in fast-paced adventure in THE RACE FOR TIMBUKTU: IN SEARCH OF AFRICA'S CITY OF GOLD. Europeans eager to exploit the resources of Africa's mysterious lands were fascinated by the legend of Timbuktu, and in 1924 the French Geographical Society offered a cash prize for the first expedition from any nation to return from Timbuktu. THE RACE FOR TIMBUKTU narrows the focus to two men whose goals fostered a heated competition to win. Diane C. Donovan, Editor California Bookwatch

The Fable Brought Down to Reality

The name of the fabled city still echoes in our emphatic phrases; we might say, "He chased all the way from here to Timbuktu." Timbuktu is somewhere exotic, perhaps, and of course somewhere distant, but most people don't know much more about it than that. Oddly, that's the way Timbuktu remained within the knowledge of Europe for centuries, and then concerted efforts made it a real place subject to exploration almost two hundred years ago, whereupon it faded into fable again. In _The Race for Timbuktu: In Search of Africa's City of Gold_ (Ecco), Frank T. Kryza has told of that middle section, the role that Timbuktu played in the European exploration of Africa. At the time in the early nineteenth century when explorers were making efforts to get to the ancient city, and most of them were dying of the attempts, their stories were a public sensation, and Kryza's exciting account of heroism, betrayal, and agonizing months on the trail brings some of the sensation to modern readers. Timbuktu was known to have been a fabulously wealthy city, and as such was a prime target for explorers. It had not been visited by Europeans since the Middle Ages. In the early nineteenth century, the urge to be the first modern explorer to reach it was manifest in many young men, most of whom died in the attempt. Alexander Gordon Laing, a company commander in the Royal Africa Corps, was authorized by the Colonial Office to begin a Timbuktu expedition in 1825. He took advice to start from Tripoli, far to the north and requiring a crooked route through the Sahara, but such a route would have minimized conflict with bandits or political enemies. At Tripoli, Laing found the British consul, Hanmer Warrington, a forceful, blustering John Bull who was eternally furious with anyone who crossed him. While preparing to set off, Laing fell in love with Warrington's daughter Emma, and married her four days before leaving for Timbuktu. Laing faced many deprivations on the trail and midday temperatures of 120 degrees, when water was scarce and fetid. Locusts, regarded as a disaster for agriculture, were a blessing in the Sahara, where they could be broiled or fried. Laing was eventually attacked by the sheik who was his guide and the bandits in the sheik's employ. He had over twenty wounds, and feared that most of them were so severe that they would disfigure him for life; he dreaded Emma's reaction when she saw him again. There is plenty of excitement in these pages and long passages relating loss, infection, and pain. Laing pulled through long enough to reach Timbuktu. Yes, he made it, but the accomplishment itself was almost all he could claim. It isn't surprising that the Timbuktu he discovered was not the Timbuktu of the legends, but it wasn't even close. It was decrepit, stinking of sick and dead people and animals, in a downward spiral caused by decay and war. Laing was only able to find ancient Arabic manuscripts at the mosque, demonstrating the city's past

Not a walk in the park

At the beginning of the 19th Century, says Frank Kryza, Europeans knew little about the interior of Africa. "It was easier to map the surface of the Moon with a telescope", he notes. Africa's reputation as the "Dark Continent" arose from that ignorance. Illumination was long in coming and a costly endeavour. Kryza, although focussing on A. Gordon Laing's expedition to find Timbuktu, also covers the efforts of his British competitors. The focus point was the fabled city of Timbuktu. Known from antiquity, Timbuktu was considered the key to knowledge of the course of the Niger River. Further exploration and trade benefits would accrue to the European nation that could establish facilities there. Kryza's lively account of the competition to reach the city is an informative and almost thrilling read. The Niger was nearly as mysterious a river as the Nile. In the early 1820s, the source of the Nile remained unknown, and it was believed by some that it might be the Niger. Those who had seen the Niger flowing eastward across Africa could readily accept that. Laing didn't concur with that suggestion, but it would take effort to learn the truth. The rewards for success were great and Laing wasn't alone in his drive to reach the isolated city. The loss of earlier explorers such as Mungo Park didn't discourage other adventurers from queueing for the prize. Two primary routes lay open to the seekers - wending eastward from the Atlantic, or make the Sahara crossing from Tripoli. The first offered fevers, the second dehydration and death from thirst. Laing chose the Sahara route. That choice meant escorts would be needed for protection in the crossing. The Sahara may be harsh and intimidating to outsiders, but it's the Tuareg's backyard. All travellers there risked banditry or murder. The bones of the unfortunate littered the trail south, so Laing's caravan followed an indirect route, doubling the length of the trek. The length of Laing's journey allows Kryza to insert a great deal of parallel information. Laing was not alone in his quest to find Timbuktu and learn where the Niger emerged. Hugh Clapperton, with one journey to his credit, intended to upstage Laing in reaching the "Golden City". At one point he even passed some rather condescending advice to Laing, perhaps misjudging the other's perception. Where Laing's journey was over the arid desert, Clapperton followed a jungle trail [when there was one] with its attendant insects and fevers. Kryza keeps the two stories moving along with animation, and if you don't know the history, he keeps the end of the contest well hidden until its culmination. Rarely has the British ideal of "muddle through" been more vividly displayed. Kryza keeps a number of interesting sub-themes active in his account. Laing's mysterious marriage to the daughter of the British Consul in Tripoli is regularly referred to. Its importance is highlighted by the burgeoning competition between England and F

Refreshing African Explorer Read

It is refreshing to read about an African explorer other than Livingston, Stanley, Speke and Burton or places in Africa other than the Congo, East Africa and Egypt. Thank you Mr. Kryza for daring to write about Alexander Laing and the little known, but important, story about that famous city of Timbuktu. The book is a great read. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Great Read

If you enjoyed Rice's Sir Richard Burton, you will enjoy this book. It a fun read for a airplane ride. Kryza weaves an excellent tale in the search for the mythical city. You feel the stress and challenges of the early 19th century African explorers and marvel that the human body could accomplish the feat of these individuals under those circumstance. It is worth the price because it takes you back in time to a period where individual performance is truly measured.