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French Lessons in Africa: Travels with My Briefcase Through French Africa

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"French Lessons in Africa: Travels with My Briefcase Through French Africa" is a collection of business-travel experiences and observations in ten countries in Francophone Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Zaire). Biddlecombe careens from business-class hotel and international conference center to rural village and farm, and describes his encounters with everything from white magic in Benin, locusts in Mali, to lost luggage in Congo. He shares his encounters with Africans of all sorts: government minister, customs officer, doctor-entrepreneur, gold smuggler, chicken farmer, soap manufacturer, and cassette pirater. He shares his thoughts, knowledge, and conversations covering African leaders, economic development, the CFA franc, colonization and independence, health and nutrition, literature, music, and architecture. All with a great deal of wit and humor. This is no introductory text, but anyone with some basic knowledge of Africa will find this book informative and enjoyable.

I cannot recall where I first came across Peter Biddlecombe's books, but he really is amusing and informative. This one is about Africa, focusing on the French-speaking countries. Some of the stories are both very funny and offer quite astonishing insights to the people and practices. Whatever the man did for a living, he certainly knew how to travel the globe with a sharp eye for the curious and humorous everywhere. You have found a good "travel" author!