Native Stranger [Paperback]

Eddy L. Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 1993

Recounting his journey into the heart of Africa, an African American describes his encounters with beggars and bureaucrats, his visit to Soweto, a night in a Liberian jail cell, and more. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Harris's magnificent recounting of the year he spent traveling through Africa was an alternate selection of both BOMC and QPB. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Harris ( Mississippi Solo , LJ 10/15/88) describes the face and heart of Africa in what is much more than an extraordinarily well-written travelog. He takes seriously his idea: "To go where they go, to eat what they eat, to walk this mile in their shoes; these are the things a traveler must do." Harris squats with nomads on the border of Senegal, rides like a Berber horseman in the Arab North, and joins a British party seeking gorillas in Zaire. He is a vividly descriptive and sympathetic observer, and his first-person account provides insights into sensitive African American questions. Although he starts his journey looking for a sense of belonging, Harris discovers that he is very much the product of American culture, education, and opportunity. Both an exploration of the African continent and a geography of the black American soul, this book is highly recommended for most libraries. BOMC and Quality Paperback Book Club alternates.
- Susan Fifer Canby, National Geographic Soc. Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 315 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (February 2, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679742328
• ISBN-13: 978-0679742326
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,599,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much more than a travel book, June 1, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Native Stranger (Paperback)

This is quite possibly THE best non-fiction book I have ever read. It is a triumph of superb, lyrical writing and devestatingly honest philosophical reflection. It is a travel book, certainly - Eddy L. Harris, the author of (to my knowledge) four stunning "exploration" books like this one, travels through Africa top to bottom - but so much more.

Harris not only explores his terrain, he explores its people, its customs and the reaction he gets from Africans. At the same time, he explores his own inner being: what did he, as a Blackamerican, expect to get out of Africa? What did he really come to understand? And so on. As much as the book is about Africa the continent (and the reader is treated to descriptions of villages, recreation, transport, jungles, wildlife, etc.), it is about skin color, people, race, generosity, need, pride, and everything else that makes people human.

The description was beautiful and powerful: I would put the book down for the night, and when I started it again, would be transported instantly back to where Harris was and what he was experiencing, without any sense of a break.

This book deals with the generosity of a people who have nothing, thje patient endurance of a people who have been trampled on for centuries. This is not to say that the book was a typical liberal interpretation of the Third World; nor were Harris' experiences as a black man what one might expect. In fact, Harris' honesty was astounding. He described his neuroses about germs (and how he had to get over that in a hurry!), his anger at the condition of the African people, his sadness and pity at the tyranny of black officals. And in South Africa, he found not only a peace which he did not expect, he even felt so overwhelmed he retreated into a formerly white-only luxury hotel, an oasis amid the poverty of the black population. This, of course, was the source of further inner exploration about his guilt and his place as a black man, but an American - a true "Native Stranger."

All

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Triumph, September 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Native Stranger (Paperback)

This book was greatly informative of what modern Africa is like. Many of us have misconceptions or just a vague knowledge of the so-called "Dark Continent". Harris opens it up for us. I found his courage and his adventurous spirit to be both touching and inspirational. My imaginings manifested themselves this year when I treked through Spain on the Camino de Santiago- where I met with and engaged the culture, the elements and my own will. The process of discovery and adventure outside commercial tourisim is the REAL way to travel. With travel we change the way we think of where we live ... this book encourages this philosophy and will hopefully provoke people to take some time and go off to discover something. I encourage all readers to discover this book. It will challenge you and the enrichment you recieve may surprise. Thank you, Harris.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a delightful surprise, February 21, 2006

By 

Jeanne (DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Native Stranger (Paperback)

I found this book as I was looking for a travelogue on Africa before I went there. What a delightful surprise it was. I loved it. I've gone on to read everything that Eddy Harris has written. His self-aware, honest reflections of what he is thinking as well as experiencing are a great read. And as a person academically trained in "cross-cultural sensitivity", I thoroughly enjoyed him saying very "unsensitive" things that any American has to really be thinking in some of his circumstances. I gave this book to my sister who has no interest in Africa and she liked it as much as me. It's just a fun (and educational!) read.