Product Description

Relive all the thrills and adventure of Alan Moorehead's classic bestseller The White Nile -- the daring exploration of the Nile River in the second half of the nineteenth century, which was at that time the most mysterious and impenetrable region on earth. Capturing in breathtaking prose the larger-than-life personalities of such notable figures as Stanley, Livingstone, Burton and many others, The White Nile remains a seminal work in tales of discovery and escapade, filled with incredible historical detail and compelling stories of heroism and drama.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #119475 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-01
• Released on: 2000-10-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060956394
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"A noble book about the mightiest river on earth." -- --Saturday Review

"A vivid chronicle, stirring, exciting, important...endlessly fascinating. A superb drama of adventurers whose like can never again be seen." -- --New York Herald Tribune

"Extraordinary, Compelling." -- --New York Times

About the Author
Alan Moorehead (1910-1983) was a foreign correspondent for the London Daily Express, where he won an international reputation for his coverage of World War II campaigns, and also served as the chief public relations officer in the Ministry of Defense. He is also the author of many other notable books, including Gallipoli and Darwin and the Beagle.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Day one. New school year. New school. Freshman status. Same old Ryan Piccoli. Me, myself and I, lost in the masses--heading to new classes, new teachers, new everything. This is the thing about big high schools like McAllister. People can look right at you, right through you, as if you're Casper the Friendly Ghost.
"Hey, watch where you're going, turd."
I've bumped into a senior, a jock, and he's snarling at me. I bow slightly and get out of his way. He'd stopped without warning in the middle of the hall. I say, "Sorry, my bad. I didn't see the traffic light over your head giving you the right of way." His pretty girlfriend looks me over, giggles.
The guy puffs up. "Take off, creep."
He turns and I take a chance and wink at his girlfriend. She's pretty, but off-limits.
She blows me a kiss when her boyfriend isn't looking and I watch them take off down the crowded hallway. Wait for it, I think, and am rewarded when she glances over her shoulder to make sure I'm still watching. Gotcha!
I can make people like me, even when they don't want to. A talent that got me through middle school--just ask my teachers. If you can't make them love you, make them like you. How, you ask? Make 'em laugh. A survival skill I learned early in life.
I'm wishing the day was ending instead of just starting. My summer was pretty laid-back, sleeping in and staying up until three in the morning on my computer. I hung at the pool at the country club, worked on my tan, lifted weights in my garage every afternoon. For a freshman nobody, I look pretty good. At least that's what some girls hanging at the pool said. Sure, they were only eleven and twelve, but girls' opinions are always worth something to me. With school starting up, though, talking to the global universe and gaming are over.
"Ry! Wait up."
I turn and see Joel weaving through the hall traffic. When he reaches me, he asks, "You home this afternoon?" He'd been a regular drop-by at my place through middle school. My dad's in sales and he travels a lot, so except for a housekeeper now and then, I'm pretty much on my own most days of the week.
"As soon as the bus drops me," I say.
"Forget the bus. I'll give you a lift."
Joel's had a car since July. I won't turn sixteen until December and that's when I hope Dad will get me a car. Until then, I'm at the mercy of the school bus and a few friends who have their own wheels. "All right," I tell him. "I got the new Grand Slam Poker game on Saturday."
Joel's eyes light up. "I'm in."
"It's tricky."
"Bring it on. You're lucky your dad gets you stuff like that. I have to save every cent and buy stuff I want myself."
Lucky? I think. It's a bribe, Joel, my man. Dad buys me stuff because he sheds guilt over leaving me alone so much like a shaggy dog sheds hair. His guilt is my ticket to the latest and greatest. A guy adapts.
The foot traffic in the hall has thinned and the first bell buzzes. "I'm gone," I say, waving my schedule.
"Wait by the gym," Joel calls, and takes off in the other direction.
My first class is World History from Ancient to Modern Times, and by the time I get there, all the seats in the back of the room are taken. I find an empty one in the middle of the third row and slide into it, curling my legs. Man, these things must be left over from some elementary school. The room smells of chalk dust and stale air. All schools smell the same. If someone blindfolded you and led you through a maze ending in a classroom, you'd know in an instant where you were by the smells.
The door shuts and a woman's voice says, "Welcome to WHAM--your free pass to Tomorrow Land. I'm Ms. Settles."
I look up because I can feel an undercurrent flowing through the room. I hear the guy next to me exhale a soft "wow."
Ms. Settles is gorgeous. Straight jet-black hair to her shoulders, skin the color of cream and big blue eyes so clear you could swim in them. Her body is as sexy as any movie star's, with curves and boobs and a sweaterdress that shows off her assets.
"H-e-l-l-o, Ms. Settles," a guy on the other side of me whispers.
The girls in the class are speechless. Probably because none of them look like that, poor slobs.
Ms. Settles is all business, walking down each aisle, her heels clicking, talking about history--who cares? When she passes me, I catch a whiff of vanilla and see that she has nails painted pale icy pink, perfectly rounded and shiny.
In front of her desk again, she leans backward, resting her palms on the desktop and crossing her ankles. She isn't wearing athletic shoes, or old lady loafers either. Her shoes are black and high, with ankle straps that show off her smooth, tanned and perfect calves. She never stops talking about world history, her voice professional-sounding, but who can listen? I just keep seeing how pretty she is.
She asks two guys to go to the back cabinet and pass out the textbooks. They about fall over themselves to get it done. The thick blue book lands with a thud on my desk and I thumb through it. All the while Ms. Settles is outlining her program, test schedule and essay work for the school year. I hardly hear her words, just her voice. Pretty voice, too.
Then she starts asking questions. "Who in here thinks history is a waste of time?" Silence. "Who thinks the past is dead, so why bother studying it? Who thinks hard work equals good grades?" More silence. "Who thinks he or she can slide by because they're only doing time at McAllister, waiting for better things to come along?" Feet shuffle. She's speaking in teacher code, letting us know that her class isn't going to be a walk in the park. "This is my first year here, but I've taught middle and high school for over seven years."
I do rapid math and calculate her age to be thirtyish if she graduated college at twenty-two. She's old. So what? She's still jaw-dropping delectable.


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

Magnificent Must Read
Alan Moorehead is one of the finest writers of history books for the lay reader, and "The White Nile" is one of his best books. Moorehead focuses on the period of 1856-1899, telling the story of European discovery, conquest, and colonization of the Nile region. The first part, "Exploration", covers Burton, Speke, Baker, Mutesa, Livingstone, and Stanley. The second part, "Exploitation", covers growing European influence in Khedive Ismail's Egypt and Barghash's Zanzibar in the 1860's, and introduces General Gordon. The third part, "The Moslem Revolt" sees General Gordon defeated by the Mahdi at Khartoum and Emin Pasha rescued by Stanley. The last part, "The Christian Victory" tells of Marchand's march to Fashoda, Kitchener's victory in Khartoum, and the arrival of Thomas Cook cruises. Some may object to Moorehead's emphasis on Europeans, but this is part of the history of the region. It is fascinating history and it is brought to life in this book, which has deservedly become a classic. Well worth reading not only for the history itself, but also for Moorehead's well-crafted prose. Five stars.

Excellent history on an underreported topic
I love reading history and fancy myself to be quite well read on a variety of historical topics, however I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that much of what I read in this book was completely new to me.

This book deals with the Upper Nile region of Sudan and Central Africa, primarily in the latter half of the 19th century. Parts of the book dealing with Speke, David Livingstone and Henry Stanley were somewhat familiar to me, however historical characters such as Burton, Gordon, Emin, the Mahdi and various of the other Pashas and Khedives were new and absolutely fertile ground.

This book is extremely well written and at almost all times captivating. The descriptions of the Sudd region of the Nile raised visions of Humphrey Bogart dragging the African Queen and Kathrine Hepburn through the reed choked channels of another African river. The chapters on the fall of Khartoum and the struggles of Emin in Equatoria were riveting.

I highly recommend this book, if for no other reason than the fact that unless you are a student of central Africa, you have probably never been exposed to much of this history. For anyone seeking a more detailed treatment of specific African explorations, I recommend Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone by Martin Dugard. Another captivating read from this period would be King Leopold's Ghost, dealing with colonization of the Belgian Congo.

All illustrations and some maps omitted
Buy the 1967 softcover edition (isbn 0140019332) instead, it has photographs of quite a few of the characters in the text. The stories revealed in the pages of this book are some of the most fascinating I have ever read, just another example that truth overgoes fiction. The tale is five stars. My 1967 edition had become really tattered so I decided to renew it with this edition. I was very disappointed to discover that all the photographs and engravings of the earlier edition, of Kitchener, King Kabarega, Lord Gordon and his Khartoum palace, Emin Pasha and quite a few more, aren't included here. Gone. I think these original photographs really added a dimension to the story and I lament their passing. Several maps in the earlier book didn't make it either.