The Last Hero (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Historical adventure in the grand style, this is a richly fictionalized account of what was possibly explorer Stanley's greatest exploit: the military rescue of Emin Pasha, mysterious and beleaguered governor of Britain's only province in central Africa to resist the Mahdi and his dervish hordes after the fall of Khartoum in 1885. Thirsting to avenge the death of General Gordon and to restore its imperial honor, Britain chooses Stanley as the obvious, indeed the only man for the job. The wily, ruthless and indomitable Stanley eschews the easiest route of access and chooses the most arduous: through 5000 miles of uncharted Congo, having made a secret deal with King Leopold of the Belgians. Held together, though only just, by Stanley's iron will, the expedition survives disease, desertion, hunger, hostile natives and the treachery of the notorious Arab slaver Tippoo-Tib, not to mention the hazards of the great river it must navigate. The story is as much that of Stanley's chief lieutenants as of the great explorer and Emin Pasha; and Forbath ( The River Congo ) has a knowledge of the region that helps to give his narrative, with its exciting climax and ironic finale, an impressive authenticity. Major ad/promo.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The great explorer, Henry Morton Stanley, finder of Livingston, returns once more to the dark continent of Africa. It is 1887 and Stanley is determined to rescue Emin Pasha, leader of the last organized Egyptian force left in the Sudan, before he too, like Gordon at Khartoum, falls into the hands of the hellish dervishes. Forbath gives us a magnificent Stanley, egotistical and autocratic but blessed with an iron resolution, who will not let anything or anyone deter him. Equally glorious is Africa itself, awesome in its beauty, admirable even as it offers danger after danger to Stanley's men. Forbath has taken an intriguing piece of history and fashioned an epic adventure. Highly recommended. Lydia Burruel Johnson, Mesa P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 729 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1St Edition edition (September 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671242857
• ISBN-13: 978-0671242855
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,294,382 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seldom, if ever, does a book capture you this thoroughly..., August 17, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Hero (Paperback)

Not many novels have the effect of this one. If I have to pick a 'prequel' to Robert Ruark's _Something of Value_ than it is surely this one. If you like Forbath's, then read Ruark's!

_The Last Hero_ sweeps you away to a time when honor and ego and plain old guts -- combined with the vast heart of unexplored Africa meant adventure. I read this novel in amazement, at the rich characterization, the lavish settings, the graphic narrative; only to be further amazed when I learned that this wasn't a mere work of historical fiction, but rather a fictionalized account of real events.

Read it. You won't find many novels that do this. Serious business, deep in the Congo Ituri rainforest, late 19th century...no one can hear you scream.

Kurt W. Wagner [e-mail]

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Written Historic Novel, June 21, 2000

By	Ed Gibbon www.congocookbook.com (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Hero (Paperback)

The story told in "The Last Hero" is that of Sir Henry Morton Stanley (of "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" fame, but that's another story) who, in 1885 organized and led a mission to rescue Emin Pasha, governor of Equatoria, the southernmost province of the Egyptian Sudan, which was surrounded by the Mahdist uprising. Amazingly, Stanley decided to approach Equatoria from the Atlantic side of Africa by going up the Congo river and overland through central African forest. The expedition crossed hundreds of miles of then-unknown Africa, encountering every obstacle and difficulty along the way. The eventual end of the mission is one of history's great ironies, but I don't want to give anything away.

"The Last Hero" is a very well-written adventure story, all the more interesting because it is true. My only complaint (a very minor one) concerns the absence of notes and bibliography which could have given some historical documentation and sources.

Another good book is "The River Congo: The Discovery, Exploration and Exploitation of the World's Most Dramatic River" (nonfiction) which is also by Peter Forbath (a journalist who reported on Africa). Henry Morton Stanley was also a bestselling author, he wrote: "How I Found Livingstone" (1872); "Through the Dark Continent" (1878); and "In Darkest Africa" (1890).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Last Hero, February 2, 2005

By	Carole Barrett (Southern England) - See all my reviews

This book is quite simply amazing. From the first page you are hooked and become an invisible member of the crew hacking your own way through the Ituri Forest. Stanley is brought to life along with many other real-life people, including Tipoo Tib, the slave dealer. Read this book and you will never forget it, the whole atmosphere of unexplored Africa and its hidden tribes will be with you always. The unknown beauty of the Congo River and its people take you into a new world with different standards, different morales and a very different slant on life. The actions of Emin Pasha will move you to tears and the whole experience of this book is one that every person should enjoy.