The Shadow of Kilimanjaro

Rating:
Summary: Not at all patronizing
Review: Rick Ridgeway has written a very informative and entertaining account of his 300 mile hike West to East across southern Kenya in 1997. The walk was metaphorically in THE SHADOW OF KILIMANJARO beginning on the summit of that great mountain and spanning the different ecological zones of mountain moraine, foothills, savannah, scrub, desert, and finally tropical white sand beaches of the Indian Ocean coast near Malindi. More significantly Ridgeway writes about his journey in the shadow of others who have written famously on Kenya, most significantly Hemingway, Dinesen, and Blixen. At yet another level this story is set in the shadow of Kenya's colonial history and its current struggles as a developing nation trying to make its way in the modern world.

Ridgeway deals with all the relevant issues - ecology and the environment, conservation, domestic politics, the economy, tourism, the romantic literary images, the colonial legacy, the Mau Mau uprisings, cultural, ethnic, and social issues. And he deals with them in the way good travel writing should. Simply present the facts as you get them and let others speak their truths. No moralizing and very little contextualizing and therefore very refreshing.

The image of Kenya that emerges is that of a real country. Not too much of the fantasy and gloss of a romantic wilderness nor the equally unreal vision of warring tribes at THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. Just reality. Strengths, weaknesses, beauty, blemishes, issues, agendas, and concerns. All the things that face a people making their way on a rapidly globalizing planet. Although Ridgeway's Kenya is a very different place than the country I knew in the 1960's when I lived there in my youth, it's still as rich and as alive as I remember it and Ridgeway has done an excellent job of bringing it home.

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Summary: A must read for anyone interested in East African geography
Review: Rick Ridgeway provides unique insights into the landscape and climate of East Africa's lowland bush. At the age of 19, as a student, I was lucky enough to have experienced a Kilimanjaro climb as well as a hike in the hot Tsavo bush. The thoughts described by Mr. Ridgeway in this book tap some of my most sacred memories. But more than my personal connection to his experiences, the theme of wildlife conservation is presented from a well educated, historical and contemporary perspectives. It is becoming more and more important for all of us to become familiar with these conservation issues.

Furthermore, Mr. Ridgeway communicates very well the physical and emotional demands of life in such a challenging environment. The Shadow of Kilimanjaro is a fantastic window into a part of our world that is incredibly harsh yet ineffably beautiful.

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Summary: Wonderful & well-written 'You-are-There' adventure.
Review: Rick Ridgeway wrote this book for people who like to walk (Or dream about it) in wild places...and think about "things". As the reader, I felt warmly welcomed into his conversation and his African adventure became my African adventure. So much so that, I wonder if in 20 years I will remember whether or not I, myself, went on a walk in Africa.

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Summary: A great introduction to the issues facing Kenya today
Review: Rick Ridgeway's account of his trek from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to the Indian Ocean is interesting enough on its own. But it is the frequent sidetrips along the way -- into Kenya's colourful colonial history, it's wildlife management and parks policies, and it's current political climate -- that make this book such a compelling read. What is the best way to ensure the long term survival of Africa's wildlife? Who owns the elephants? Should hunting be permitted? How big do reserves need to be? Is there a future for tribes whose traditional way of life included hunting? How can the Kenyan people share in the revenue generated by tourism? Ridgeway touches on these and many other questions, taking care to let the reader see the personalities and the politics lurking behind the strongly-held views of the main proponents in the debates. Anyone looking for a good introduction to the challenges and opportunities facing Kenya today could do worse than starting here. I read this book before visiting the country and found it an excellent preparation for the trip and a great jumping-off point for further reading.

Rating:
Summary: A thoughtful, wonderfully written page turner.
Review: The best book I've read on Africa since Isak Dinesen (Out of Africa)

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Summary: The Start of it All.....
Review: This book started my love affair with Kenya. The descriptions of the land, smells and sights and sounds of Africa are wonderful (not to mention the charging animals). This book led me to other books which led me to other books which finally led me to Africa itself. I had the dream trip of my life this past May and June when I went to Kenya. I have at present a collection of rare books on the early pioneer days of Kenya and it's being added to weekly. Thank you Rick for introducing me to some wonderful people, places and experiences through your book. By the way, I have written to your publishers twice asking for information about any book signings or lecture schedule you may have, but alas, no answer from them. Please let me know if that information is available. Contact me, or have someone at Henry Holt and Company do so at the following email address: [e-mail] Thank you very much.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Informative
Review: This book was absolutely engrossing and full of great detail and history about East Africa. The author brings together the lives that have helped shape the region into what it is today, and intertwines their stories thoughout. His detail of the history is not only thorough, but entertaining to read as well. His description of the trek itself often makes you feel as though you are there. This is an absolute must read if you are interested in visiting East Africa, or if you are generally interested in understanding the relationship between man and wildlife, and the struggle to find a viable balance between the two.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Informative
Review: This book was absolutely engrossing and full of great detail and history about East Africa. The author brings together the lives that have helped shape the region into what it is today, and intertwines their stories thoughout. His detail of the history is not only thorough, but entertaining to read as well. His description of the trek itself often makes you feel as though you are there. This is an absolute must read if you are interested in visiting East Africa, or if you are generally interested in understanding the relationship between man and wildlife, and the struggle to find a viable balance between the two.

Rating:
Summary: This life's adventure brings renewal that I have a "guide".
Review: Without a doubt, Rick's words bring back special memories of my teen age years growing up in Kenya. My 15th brithday, 1963, down in Masai Mara. Seeing elephants, lion, zibra, the roar while I also listened to classical music from the BBC, a Twiga so old he was almost black in color, more and more images come flooding into my minds eye. Climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, from the Kenya side just before my 17th birthday, 1957. The year before the Outward Bound School of East Africa opened at Loitokitok. Two out of the 14 of us spent three hours on "top". If the tin box is still there, Sonny's and my names are sratched on the inside of the lid, if they have not rusted away. More images than I can start to describe. Tears are forming in my eyes as I recall that special time. Certainly a "Right of Passage" into manhood.

My return to Kenya in 1976. Back to Masai Mara, my favorite place in the world. Back to Kilimanjaro. This time as a visiting instructor at the Outward Bound School, AND to climb the mountain again with students from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The disappointment was great, when after chasing and taking time to put out "bee keeper" started high altitude fires, the climb was cancelled. Some of us were waiting at 3rd cave when the word came. Coming off the moutain, angry with disapointment through the pine plantations with only the moonlight to mark my way on the path. While there, from about 14,000 ft, I watched a wind created dust storm roll across Ambosli, and wondering how much it would waste away from the distruction from "tourist combi vans" painted with zebra strips. I also got blisters from walking on the plains on an Outward Bound four day hike. It was hot, and the gound was hot through the hiking boats. Large as fifty cent pieces, and hurt too.

A few days later when I was offered an opportunity to climb Kibo, I declined because who was I to go when the whole 150 of the student body (est) needed the experience of that adventure? The lesson for me was, when I returned back to the U.S., I needed to play the game in order to survive the society I was member of and living in. My guidon has been a Masai spear given to me by a Masai friend in the Shadow of Kilimanjaro. It has a bend in it, and so the story goes from a lion kill.

I came back with words to my friends here in the U.S. that the place to see African wild animals was in U.S. Safari Lands or Busch Gardens. They were disapearing from the East African plains. I am so pleased with Rick's account of their return to Tsavo. My high school class, 1957, from Rift Valley Academy went there for our Senior Trip. On my return in 1976, I also said to my friends that their are diseases that modern western medicine will not be able to handle. That was the year of green monkey's disease. Now there is Aids, and the over use of anti-biotics.

Back to Kenya in 1986, this time working with the Kenyan Paratroppers in a U.S./Kenya exercise. Flying in a helicopter from Nairobi to Samburu country and back down by Gilgil, back to Nairobi over my old high school at Kijabe, and ONLY seeing two small herds of elephant.

I made friends with Mt Kenya during that trip, and from her then, I have since found my "spirt moutain" in western Colorado, called "Lone Cone Mountain".

Rick, if you ever read this, from the bottom of my heart and soul, thank you. I have cut off the picture off your book, and I will place on the bulkhead of my sailboat, built in 1973, bought in 1980 and have customized for retirement next year. Small, built tough for the Bahamas and the Carribean, my home as I finish this "life of adventure" that truly started from the "Shadow of Kilimanjaro".

I am Billy Eagle: "He who has climbed higher than eagles fly; whose spirt flies with wings as an eagle." From an Apache naming cermony, 1993.

When prompted, which isn't often, I will talk about my "African experences", but not many are interested in any detail. But, then again each of us has our own special living experinces which in their essence only have impact on each one of us that experience them. I am not a "writer"; however, I will from now on recommend your book as the closest of any written word that I have read that will provide an "explanation" of what I experienced.