I picked up this book at Costco because of my mutual interests in history and geography. It tells the tale of Richerd Burton and John Speke, two British explorers who discovered the source of the Nile (Lake Victoria) in 1858. The book was informative as to the backgrounds of these individuals and how their expeditions were (dis)organized and carried out, but it also had a formulaic quality in that it inserted several disruptive and otherwise irrelevant romantic interludes into the story.
More lamentable was the author's need to insert Critical Race Theory into both the prologue and epilogue, criticizing Europe and America for every imaginable sin against the inhabitants of Africa (and the New World, for that matter). She even went so far as to blame John Speke's views on racial lineage (e.g., descendants of Ham) on the disastrous Rwandan civil war (between two African tribes) over 100 years later! Unfortunately, seems to be a requirement for publication these days.
More lamentable was the author's need to insert Critical Race Theory into both the prologue and epilogue, criticizing Europe and America for every imaginable sin against the inhabitants of Africa (and the New World, for that matter). She even went so far as to blame John Speke's views on racial lineage (e.g., descendants of Ham) on the disastrous Rwandan civil war (between two African tribes) over 100 years later! Unfortunately, seems to be a requirement for publication these days.
