The Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu

Rating:
Summary: A Gem
Review: For anyone who enjoys reading travel literature, this book is a gem. In describing her kayak joureny down the Niger, Kira Salak expertly captures not only the spirit of the Sahel region, but also the hardships it presents to both travellers and to its inhabitants. Not to mention that Kira displays incredible talent as a wordsmith...

Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: Mungo Park disappeared. This book looks into the region where he went, looking for adventure and seeking the source of the Niger among other things. Probably the biggest revelation is that slavery still exists and that Arab slavers still ply North Africa buying slaves and rbinging them north while organizations such as the UN and Human Rigths Watch do nothing. Why is the world conspiring to pretend that slavery no longer exists? Why do college professors spend more words talking about the 'end of slavery' in America then devoting time to stopping slavery today? It is a tragedy and a sad commentary on the world and this book will give one but one small glimpse of it.

Seth J. frantzman