Bill Bryson African Diary (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Bryson is one of the funniest travel writers in the business.” -- The Globe and Mail

“Bryson has become an enormously popular travel writer by coming off as the most literate tour guide you’ve ever had.” -- The New York Times

“Bryson is a terrific stylist. You can’t help but enjoy his writing, for its cheer and buoyancy, and for the frequent demonstration of his peculiar, engaging turn of mind.” -- Ottawa Citizen

“Bryson is first and foremost a storyteller -- and a supremely comic and original one at that.” -- Winnipeg Free Press --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Bill Bryson goes to Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to working with local communities to eradicate poverty around the world. Kenya, generally regarded as the cradle of mankind, is a land of contrasts, with famous game reserves, stunning landscapes, and a vibrant cultural tradition. It also provides plenty to worry a traveller like Bill Bryson, fixated as he is on the dangers posed by snakes, insects and large predators. But on a more sober note, it is a country that shares many serious human and environmental problems with the rest of Africa: refugees, AIDS, drought and grinding poverty. Travelling around the country, Bryson casts his inimitable eye on a continent new to him, and the resultant diary, though short in length, contains the trademark Bryson stamp of wry observation and curious insight. All the author's royalties from "Bill Bryson's African Diary", as well as all profits, will go to CARE International.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 69 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday & Co Inc. (December 2, 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0385605145
• ISBN-13: 978-0385605144
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,096,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars too short but fun bit of travel writing for a good cause, May 28, 2003

By	Tim F. Martin (Madison, AL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bill Bryson's African Diary (Hardcover)

Bill Bryson is a fantastic travel writer, and made this very very short book (only 49 pages!) still fun to read. I definitely wish it had been longer, but as all of the book's proceeds go to charity (specifically CARE, a wonderful organization that spends its money wisely and helps those in impoverished countries help themselves), I don't really mind.

The book recounts his all too brief time in Africa (eight days), where he tours the east African nation of Kenya. He visits some of the areas in Kenya in the most need of CARE's help, such as the Nairobi slum of Kibera and the eastern refugee camp of Dadaab, filled with Somali exiles. It is quite sad to read about the horrible conditions many of these people face (wait till you read about what a flying toilet is), but heart warming to see that many are still hopeful and that all is not lost. It would seem that many of these people are good people; all they need is a chance.

...it was still fun to read and parts were hilarious. I enjoyed his early thoughts on Africa, such as the initial conversations with those who convinced him to go to Africa that except for the "diseases and the bandits and the railway from Nairobi to Mombasa, there's absolutely nothing to worry about"! I enjoyed reading about that railroad, which Bryson writes has a tradition of killing passengers and has even been named the Lunatic Express, though Bryson rode it without any serious mishap. Also lots of fun to read was his arrival in Nairobi; expecting the sunny little country town in "Out of Africa," Bryson was amazed to instead find traffic, high rise buildings, bill boards - as he puts it, Omaha! His description of a harrowing single-engine plane ride was very funny as well.

A fun little book, one in you can read in an hour or two.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lacks the Usual "Bill-iance", June 9, 2003

By	Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Bill Bryson's African Diary (Hardcover)

Despite the book's trim offerings, I sat in a lawn chair and decided to give Bill Bryson and CARE (a humanitarian organization) the benefit of the doubt. How can you fault a writer or publisher who decides to give up time, comfort, and potentional profit for the sake of a charitable organization?

In his vintage manner, Bryson had me laughing in the opening chapter. He pulled me into his excursion to the Dark Continent with promises of adventure. This, I thought, is pure Bill-iance--using warmth and disarming revelation to ambush me with cold, hard facts.

Quickly, the thought faded. This African diary is mild on adventure, lightly flavored with humor, and boasts only a few chunks of worthy information. It's truly the sparsest of diaries.

I applaud this book and its goals. If, however, you are looking for thirty minutes of Brysonian entertainment, this hardcover carries a hefty price for its content. Buy it, instead, as a relatively small donation to good work being done halfway around the globe.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3 stars for the writing, 5 for the cause., December 8, 2002

By	"mattythecobra" (Pembroke, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bill Bryson's African Diary (Hardcover)

Bryson answered the call to help out the international relief organization CARE by accompanying them to Kenya and writing this brief diary. The heart he showed by volunteering (along with the publisher Broadway Books) to donate 100% of the proceeds is impressive, however, the heart he put into the writing is not so much. As always he shares his fears and shortcomings in a humorous way, but the gravity of his surroundings seemed to have moistened his wit more so than usual. He too briefly writes about a number of potentially interesting characters who would have been better served with a more thorough (and undoubtedly Bryson-esquely funny) description. This brevity neglects the human face of the very people CARE is trying to help. Nonetheless, Bryson still captivates, and though not up to par for him, this book would make a great stocking-stuffer for your favorite do-gooder and at the same time help those who need it most.