Things Are Different in Africa: A Memoir of Dangers and Adventures in the Congo [Paperback]

Frederick Pitts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2004

“**** (4 stars)”
—CurldUp.com

“Strongly recommended reading, especially for armchair travelers wanting to know something about the culture and geography of far flung countries of the world.”
—Midwest Book Review

“An excellent personal insight both into the complexities of Congolese culture and the life of a Peace Corps volunteer. [I] thoroughly recommend it.”
—SpikeMagazine.com

“I highly recommend Things are Different in Africa. This is the most fascinating, informative chronicle of life on the [African] Continent I’ve ever read.”
—MyShelf.com

Most Americans have never set foot on the African continent and have no true inkling of what day-to-day survival is like in that part of the world.

Things Are Different in Africa is a true account of life in an equatorial village deep inside the Congo, where the author was immersed with the villagers for nearly a year. Explained in vivid detail are dangerous encounters with animals, risky skirmishes with robbers, dealings with crooked police officials and more.

While the beauty of the Congo is vividly portrayed, it is the mysterious culture that will cause laughter, sometimes frustration and occasionally even anger. Toward the end, one is taken along for a motorcycle crash in the jungle 360 miles from medical care, and then drawn step by step deep into political unrest, violence in the cities, and evacuation to another country near the Sahara desert.

Throughout this unique and often irreverent journey, one’s senses are challenged. And he or she finishes with a far greater understanding of life in an obscure part of planet Earth.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Frederick Edward Pitts is a biologist by degree, a white-collar salesman by profession, and a philosopher by preference. Now retired, he lives and writes in Milton, Florida.

Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (October 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595332048
• ISBN-13: 978-0595332045
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,229,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book For Anyone, March 9, 2005

By 

Robert Travis (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Things Are Different in Africa: A Memoir of Dangers and Adventures in the Congo (Paperback)

I don't usually like to spend nineteen dollars for a paper back, but
I'm sure glad I did. I was totally surprised at the frankness of THINGS
ARE DIFFERENT IN AFRICA, the way it told the story without any regard
for political correctness, and how nobody was spared (not even the Peace
Corps). I liked the descriptions of the villages, the people, the
contryside and the rainforests, but even more I liked the way I was taken on
an emotional ride that ranged from anger to laughter, anxiety to
relief, understanding to frustration. Anyone who wants a highly informative
view of the Congo and its culture, told with straight up language,
cannot go wrong with this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Older Volunteer Goes To Help, March 30, 2008

By 

V. Campbell "ME3TV" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Things Are Different in Africa: A Memoir of Dangers and Adventures in the Congo (Paperback)

Here we find a man who is middle-aged ...
... and experienced with life - taking a part of his life to devote to bettering the lives of others. The altruistic Peace Corps helps him to reach that goal. In the process - he discovers bureaucracy of governments and the inefficiencies of worldwide networks of people down the smallest scale of community and survival. Some of the Peace Corp's elite do NOT (I repeat- NOT) appreciate his candor as he exposes the rather seamy side of international aid as it relates to human interaction at the most basic levels. If you are looking for a perception of the glories of the Peace Corps - this book is not it. If you would find interest in observing personal interaction with nature and communities that are totally foreign to what a successful life might hold in America - then Fred delivers with a raw and critical narrative. I think if Fred had the backing of a government grant to dress this book up with better pictures and maps - the book could attract a wider audience, but the people who get those kinds of grants are already wrapped up with professorships at elite universities and film budgets and advance fees from PBS. Fred casts a jaundiced eye at the system. For this - he is not welcomed among some of those the system favors. His observations could be helpful to anyone looking for a real flavor of volunteerism in Africa. As Fred notes - it is good to volunteer - but it is also good to do so with your eyes wide open.
Fred Pitts died of heart failure not a week after I met him in Milton, Florida in 2007. It was obvious when he spoke that his health was not good and he did note that lingering health issues followed him home from Africa.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book - Very Easy Read - Highly Recommended, April 15, 2009

By 

John Paskey (Phila, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Things Are Different in Africa: A Memoir of Dangers and Adventures in the Congo (Paperback)

A "smashing grab" and an insightful and personal look into a culture and attitude of the people in this part of the world. A very easy read and very well written giving a very good, honest and personal insight in to the Congolese people. Highly recommended for anyone at all interested in that part of the world or trying to understand the psyche of a different culture and thte differences they have with the western world. Having spent a bit of time in Mali, I don't agree with Fred's views on this country, but hey, it's all opinion and it was an interesting comparison to my own thoughts on that culture. Bottom line, great memoir of some time spent in the Congo. One of the better books I've read on the area.