West with the Night

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Summary: A great tale -- and true!
Review: As someone who grew up around airplanes and has learned how to fly and is female this is a great book to read. Yet I read it before I realized that flying would be a life long passion for me. Looking back I remember the book being one of those books that you learn from. Now it is also one that makes me proud, not only of flight, but also of women who fly.

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Summary: Reading WWTN 1985 and 2000 - different perspectives
Review: I first read WWTN in 1985 and was entranced. As a single female officer in the military, Beryl Marckham was my instant role model and figurative soulmate. Fifteen years later, I reread the book, now from the perspective of a married at-home mother of 3. The gentle rhythm of the writing seduced me even more effectively, but I also found myself disturbingly cynical about Markham's motives. I now pity her for having forsaken so many traditional female callings just to fit into a man's world. Learning that she had 3 failed marriages and abandoned her only son reinforce my disappointment. Freedom, independence, and a pioneering spirit are noble aspirations, but with respect to Markham, I now wonder, at what cost?

Rating:
Summary: West With the Night
Review: This is the kind of book that will change the way you think - it will expand your mind, and at the same time make you feel small in comparison to the incredible story this woman tells. I have given it to every one of my friends. This book is a rich gem.

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Summary: Requred read that wasn't tedious
Review: I had to read this book as part of a course I was taking at my college, and at first I was not eager to read it. Usually I don't enjoy reading non-fiction, but this book certainly changed my mind. Markham's accounts of her adventures rates right up there with Indian Jones, only hers are real. This book changed my mind about non-fiction, and memoirs in general.

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Summary: Probably my favorite book of all time
Review: I'm a reader. There is not a day that goes by that I'm not reading some book or another. If you haven't read this book, I urge you to do so. After 30 years or so (I suppose I couldn't read until I was 3 or 4) of reading, I believe I can say that this just may be the BEST book I have ever read (if one can quantify such an experience). It's positively lyrical, and it has the added advantage of being true. It's a pleasure to read, and it made me believe that such high adventure was possible in a real life. I truly love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful prose
Review: I picked this up in a garage sale, purely on the strength of the cover picture - it seemed like that face had seen and done a lot - which turns out to be absolutely true! More like poetry than prose, some of her descriptive passages have to be read more than once, just to let the feelings soak into your system. Ms Markham's early life is told in a matter-of-fact way, which takes it for granted that, when at 17, your father decides to leave Africa for Peru, you jump on your horse and head North, with no food, one change of underwear, little education, but a deep knowledge of horses and expect to land on your feet. Which is exactly what she does, co-incidentally meeting many yet-to-be-famous people on the way. Hunter; horse-trainer; aeronaut; most people would be happy to excel in any one of these professions, but Beryl does it all with surpassing ease. Her style is self-effacing and matter-of-fact; you would imagine that being 'moderately eaten' by a lion would warrant more than a couple of paragraphs, but it only gets included here, I suspect, on the strength of Bishon Singh's wonderful rhetoric in describing the event. She also has a knack of striking up instant and longlasting relationships with people from every race, creed and social status - I don't believe she even saw those differences; be he a Murani warrior or a colonial Governor, they both get treated to the same open-minded friendship. A book to read & read again.

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Summary: True Adventure
Review: Markham description of her life in East Africa provides an great example of a life well lived. Whether she's describing an attack by a lion, or the tribulations of night flying over a darkened landscape, her story is full of a lustful love of life. I found myself hanging on her stories, excited to see how they'd trun out, and was never dissapointed. Perhaps the best part of the book is Markhams insightful appreciation for the significance of her adventures. She tells her stories as they (apparently) occured with a wonderful lack of concern about how others might find them; that is, she tells us about her adventures and lets us draw conclusions from them. She makes comments about her stories vaule to herself but doesn't force her views on us. A wonderful book!

Rating:
Summary: Simple, Stunning, Powerful
Review: This book is one of the best I have ever read. The prose is simple, yet powerful; Markham conveys an effortlessness to her writing that only the most gifted authors are capable of. West with the Night changes the reader's view of her life, makes her more reflective and introspective, just as Markham was when she encountered the experiences Africa offered her.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written
Review: This book contains some of the most beautiful prose I have ever read. I read many passages only to back up and read them again. Rich descriptions and insightful views make this a must read. If you liked this book you will also like Wind, Sand and Stars by St. Exuprey. A wonderful book, written by another early 20th century aviator.

Rating:
Summary: A lyrical visit to another time and place
Review: This is a beautiful journey of a most unothrodox woman. Her words are so breaktaking at times, I found myself re-reading portions again and again. I highlighted my favorite passages, something I seldom do. Though she omits much of herself, what she gives you is inspiring. A must read. Both men and women should experience it. If I had a teenage daughter, I'd wrap it in a bow and present it with earnest.