Stanley: The Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer

By:

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis
National Book Critics Circle Award Winner: This revelatory biography of the famed adventurer is “commanding, definitive . . . an unalloyed triumph” (The Washington Post Book World).A New York Times Notable Book of the YearHenry Morton Stanley, so the tale goes, was a cruel imperialist who connived with King Leopold II of Belgium in horrific crimes against the people of the Congo. He also conducted the most legendary celebrity interview in history, opening with, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” But these perceptions are not quite true, Tim Jeal shows in this grand and colorful biography. With unprecedented access to previously closed Stanley family archives, Jeal reveals the amazing extent to which Stanley’s public career and intimate life have been misunderstood and undervalued. Jeal recovers the reality of Stanley’s life—a life of almost impossible extremes—in this moving story of tragedy, adventure, disappointment, and success.Few have started life as disadvantaged as Stanley. Rejected by both parents and consigned to a Welsh workhouse, he emigrated to America as a penniless eighteen-year-old. Jeal vividly re-creates Stanley’s rise as a reporter, his friendships and romantic relationships, and his life-changing decision to assume an American identity. Stanley’s epic but unfairly forgotten African journeys are thrillingly described, establishing the explorer as the greatest to set foot on the continent. Few biographies can claim so thoroughly to reappraise a reputation; few portray a more extraordinary historical figure.“There have been many biographies of Stanley, but Jeal’s is the most felicitous, the best informed, the most complete and readable.” —Paul Theroux, The New York Times Book Review
Copyright:
2007

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
591 Pages
ISBN-13:
9780300152906
Related ISBNs:
9780300126259
Publisher:
Yale University Press
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Tim Jeal
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Nonfiction, Biographies and Memoirs, Communication
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

Reviews

No Rating Yet