Rating: 
Summary: Talk about Dauntless Courage...
Review: This is an amazing book, just a great read and some of the most outrageous adventure in modern times. There is nothing to cause one to suspect this is anything but the unvarnished truth, and as such, it beats fiction all hollow. This was when men were truly men (see also the outstanding parallel work by John Speke, whose adventures preceded Stanley's and seem to amply confirm the narrative in all particulars). Stanley was a professional writer and writes like one, ever so much better than one expects from such a tough guy. As an added bonus of enormous interest, we are treated to an amazing insight into the personalitiy of the equatorial African with whom we now live in much the same tenuous relationships as did the author. I doubt this book is widely read anymore, and what a pity. Great stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: Hate the author, Love the Historical Perspective
Review: Yes, this book is full of lies and it's the least PC thing I've ever read, and for that it is worthy of interest. The voice is the thing here, and it really adds a dimension of understanding how the Europeans could have been so stupid and so entrepreneurial at the same time.Of note: It is lacking in the delicious details that make up a good adventure read, a-la Cherry Gerards's "Worst Journey in the World." After reading this book, I know little about the lower classes on the expedition, nor have I learned anything about the how's and what's of the everyday life of the explorer. But what I did get was invaluable insight into the mind of a quite exceptional (American) imperialist of the time, unfiltered through the lenses of modern sensibilities or morals. Yes, Stanley was a colossal a-hole, but just because he is so objectionable doesn't make his accomplishments any less extraordinary or this book any less valuable.
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