Walking the Nile – Levison Wood
Some people are driven to monumental accomplishments, or perhaps failures. But the small and mundane are not their bailiwick, such as it is mine. Walking the length of the Nile River certainly falls into the category of a monumental effort, and clearly the author of this book is driven to such extremes. Yet even he failed to accomplish all that he wished, due to civil war in South Sudan and restrictions regarding travel around a certain dam on the Nile. Still, he covered the greatest part of the length of the river, which is something that I would never even contemplate doing, let alone be able to do. Kudos to him.
This book is the story of his journey, the dangers of which, if anything, are understated. He was fortunate to have some good traveling companions along the way and also benefited greatly from sponsors. Indeed, he probably would not have been able to walk the section of the Nile through Egypt without some large last minute contributions. Africa may be a place of beauty, but it is also a place of tribal, political, and religious conflict, and that takes extra effort (and money) to work through.
Scattered through the pages are bits and pieces of history, which make the book more than just a slog along the Nile. Mr. Wood also touches upon current ecological and cultural conditions, raising important questions about both. Everyone outside of Africa thinks that it should be kept as some pristine, fence free, protected nature preserve, while the native population needs to clear land and protect it in order to progress into the modern (relatively speaking) world. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too, and some of the situations in this book point this out rather well.
Gratefully, I can leave major expeditions such as this to people like the author, and read about it from the comfort of my living room. Long distance learning works for me, and this book taught me several new things.
Finished 12/30/16