Labyrinth of Kingdoms

10,000 Miles Through Islamic Africa

By: Steve Kemper

Narrated by: Ed Phillips

A true story that rivals the travels of Burton or Stanley for excitement, and surpasses them in scientific achievements.

In 1849 Heinrich Barth joined a small British expedition into unexplored regions of Islamic North and Central Africa. One by one his companions died, but he carried on alone, eventually reaching the fabled city of gold, Timbuktu. His five-and-a-half-year, 10,000-mile adventure ranks among the greatest journeys in the annals of exploration, and his discoveries are considered indispensable by modern scholars of Africa.

Yet because of shifting politics, European preconceptions about Africa, and his own thorny personality, Barth has been almost forgotten. The general public has never heard of him, his epic journey, or his still-pertinent observations about Africa and Islam; and his monumental five-volume Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa is rare even in libraries. Though he made his journey for the British government, he has never had a biography in English. Barth and his achievements have fallen through a crack in history.

©2012 Steve Kemper (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Great book! Needs to be read more

I loved what I learned from this book! If we can be more like Heinrich Barth today, we would be in a more understanding and peaceful world.

An unknown explorer

A fascinating look into the life of a man who triumphed over so much opposition to explore the depths of Africa in a time when being a white, Christian would send a man to the grave.
The story is well written and the narration and quality of recording is too-notch.

Imagine a 19th century explore with a pen holder and a calculator.

The author does an admirable job bringing to light a fairly unknown luminary of 19th century expiration; but falls victim to the plodding perseverance of his subject rather than enlivening what must have been the extraordinary personality and adventures. The narrative is dull and exact - apparently much like the works of Dr. Barth - and although interspersed with a few gems (The revelations of black on black atrocity and native slavery were both shocking and illuminating) he inevitably seeks the refuge of the worn out politically correct apologist to note that white Europe was just as bad if not worse. We all get it and do not need the lesson repeatedly hammered home. Although clearly a fan of his subject, the author leaves us with the image of a tedious scientist… And does his hero no small disservice by making the reader long for more more scintillating African accounts of Livingston and Sir Richard Burton.

Fascinating

The Tuaregs don't come off very well in this fascinating book. Neither do the Fulanis. It's amazing to me that anyone survived the waring factions and the extreme conditions related in this story. The writing itself is a nice mix of historical fact and personal narrative. It's not to long, and it's quite engaging. I love Barth's against-the-grain perspective that Africa wasn't just a blank slate of a land full of unsophisticated heathens just needing European saviors! He clearly thought well of the peoples as complex intricate kingdoms/civilizations that he was just there to learn about. Unfortunately, he also had the task of negotiating trade relationships with the leaders, but it's almost as though that were an afterthought for him. The narrator is mostly wonderful, particularly at pronunciation of a wide variety of place and person names. But in a few places his voice got a little to strident for my preference. It wasn't enough to be distracting for too long, though.

A fascinating, illuminating, and at times, harrowing, story

Heinrich Barth was an extraordinary explorer/anthropologist whose work should be better known. I wish there was an edited version of his books.

As Kemper notes in the final chapter, Africans have been depicted as primitive, lacking education, culture, and “skills” and these myths supported European exploitation. In the USA, they are still used to defend slavery. I well remember the illustration in my childhood textbook of people crouched around a fire in loin cloths. This book is an impressive corrective (soon to be banned in Florida, no doubt).