David Livingstone: Mission and Empire [Paperback]

Andrew C. Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2006

Now in paperback, Ross's biography is already established as the leading authority on its subject. >

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Few explorers can have been explored more thoroughly by historians and biographers than David Livingstone...Nevertheless it is a worthy addition to the corpus, if only because...he manages to imbue it with a sense of the spirit that drove Livingstone on." This England

About the Author

Andrew C. Ross is the author of A Vision Betrayed: The Jesuits in Japan and China, 1549-1742 and Blantyre Mission and the Making of Modern Malawi. He is Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Divinity, University of Edinburgh.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Hambledon Continuum (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852855657
• ISBN-13: 978-1852855659
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,439,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Livingstone. One tough man., July 17, 2004

By 

Stephen Bell (Wilton, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: David Livingstone: Mission and Empire (Hardcover)

This work, featuring many new and nuanced insights, is a wonderfully written story of a very determined missionary and explorer. As the author so ably describes, our modern knowledge of David Livingstone is heavily influenced by the fact that, in death, he has been made the icon for many causes. His legacy has been put to the service of, for instance, British imperial aspirations. But as the author recounts, Livingstone's complexity defies any neat categorization.

Livingstone was possessed of a ferocious curiosity. He was born into a life of poverty, but became both a medical doctor and an ordained minister. He fathered a large family from whom, due to his travels, he was often away. Both his physical endurance, and his capacity to withstand pain were prodigious. His respect and admiration for African cultures was incomprehensible to his contemporaries. Witnessing firsthand the depredations of the slave trade, he devised strategies for development that, had they been heeded, provided a chance for leaving African cultures intact.

Livingstone mapped the unknown interior of Africa. His expeditions were remarkable both in the beauty of the places "discovered", and the grueling physical and consequent emotional demands on the explorers. During Livingstone's final expedition, the American journalist H.M. Stanley so famously "found" Livingstone. The meeting is replete with irony, and the context and effect of this meeting are very movingly described. Very moving, as well, is the story of Livingstone's death in Africa, and the transport, by loyal friends, of his body fifteen hundred miles to the coast.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Livingstone is Alive and Relevant!, June 18, 2004

By 

Irv Brendlinger (Portland, OR,, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: David Livingstone: Mission and Empire (Hardcover)

> Andrew Ross' study of the life and work of David Livingstone is a worthy
> contribution to the literary corpus of this great man. Ross makes
> accessible the revealing nuances and context of this giant of the 19th
> century. There is special sensitivity to Livingstone because, like
> Livingstone, Ross is also a Scot and served as a missionary in Africa.
> His impressive knowledge of Africa and its history serve the reader
> well in grappling with both the facts and implications of what
> Livingstone did. His research is thorough and objective, while his
> portrayal is winsome and inspiring. This book is necessary for an
> accurate understanding of Livingstone. Reading it is a delightful
> experience!

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine book, March 13, 2010

By 

Gregory Hope - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: David Livingstone: Mission and Empire (Hardcover)

This is one of the best Livingstone biographys in my opinion and I have read several of them. The author has a good understanding of Livingston's Christian motivations and recounts his life in a highly readable style. If you can't devote the time to reading Seaver's lengthier "David Livingstone - His Life and Letters" then read this one, better yet read them both. It will be time well spent.