The Discovery of the Nile [Hardcover]

Gianni Guadalupi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

For millennia, the Nile was the world's most intriguing geographic enigma. Where on earth might the source of such a powerful river lie? Roman legionnaires, Portuguese Jesuits, Scots, and Frenchmen all tried in vain to reveal the great river's secret; all were defeated by impassable swamps or diverted along deadend branches. It was not until the mid-19th century -- almost 400 years after the discovery of America -- that the mystery was resolved, thanks to the efforts of the British explorers Sir Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, James Augustus Grant, and Samuel White Baker. "The Discovery of the Nile" tells their stories and those of all the other adventurers who tackled the secret of the source. It also recounts the gradual exploration of the course of the river and its tributaries, from the ancient Egyptians to the Napoleonic conquest, from the British expedition to Abyssinia to the Egyptian invasion of Sudan, from the slave and ivory trades to the epic death of General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, from the stories of the stranded white men 'rescued' by Henry Morton Stanley after a march of thousands of miles across the Congo, to the re-conquest of the Sudan by the British.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Explorers have sought the sources of the Nile River since the days of the pharaohs. This superbly illustrated, oversized book details the quests of those ancients, but concentrates more on the 19th-century efforts of men who were well known in their day: Sir Richard Francis Burton, Sir Benjamin Baker, John Hanning Speke, Sir Henry Morton Stanley, David Livingstone. Gianni Guadalupi also covers lesser-known explorers, especially generally uncelebrated Africans in the employ of Mehemet Ali, the Albanian pasha who conquered Egypt and much of the Sudan in the early 19th century. Packed with ethnographic drawings, paintings, maps, and charts, The Discovery of the Nile will fuel the dreams of those who long to undertake a latter-day Nile voyage of their own.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 351 pages
• Publisher: Stewart Tabori & Chang (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556706006
• ISBN-13: 978-1556706004
• Product Dimensions: 14.2 x 10.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,721,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Plates!, June 23, 2006

By 

David Adams (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Discovery of the Nile (Hardcover)

The plates in this LARGE volume are absolutely stunning! If you are at all interested in the history of Africa, it will be well worth your while to get this book before all of the cheaper copies are bought up.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, August 9, 2008

By 

PamR "readyreading" (Oak Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Discovery of the Nile (Hardcover)

With over 300 pages, countless well-reproduced color illustrations mostly from historic prints (printed in Italy- no surprise)and oversized pages around 10 x 14 inches, this book is one of my favorite "coffee table" books. But it is more than that. It is engagingly written and filled with information on the discovery of the Nile and more. I especially like all the historic maps reprinted in it. There is so much more, too, including David Roberts' prints in very accurate color. If you are at all interested in this subject, you will love this book!