Reviews for The Blue Nile
Review - Blue Nile, The
Why I read the book: I read The White Nile in 1988 and have always meant to read this book. It was referred to regularly as a source on George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman on the March, which I read back in February, and that got me re-interested.
What the book was about: Broken into four parts. 1) The early exploration of the Blue Nile by Englishman James Bruce in 1771. 2) Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798. 3) The Turkish invasion and empire between the French invasion and British colonization. 4) Napier’s march into Ethiopia to rescue European hostages from Emperor Theodore in 1868.
What I liked about the book: Very well written, with interesting anecdotes and amazing history.
What I didn’t like about the book: There were two large maps on which I could follow most of what was happening, but a few more specific maps would have been nice.
The most interesting quote: James Bruce returned from Africa with stories of what he saw (all later proven to be true). He wasn’t believed, and this made him angry.
Just occasionally he flared up, as when a guest at a country house-party was rash enough to say that it was impossible that the Ethiopians could eat uncooked meat. Bruce went out to the kitchen and returned with a piece of raw beef which he had peppered and slated in the Ethiopian manner. “You will either eat that, sir, or fight me,” he said. When the unfortunate guest had consumed the whole steak Bruce said, “Now, sir, you will never again say it is impossible.”
On modern Ethiopians (as of 1962): Theirs is a world of mosquitoes, of smoking cow-dung fires, and of cattle-worship so extreme that a man will spend all day with a favourite cow, caressing it, crooning to it, absorbing its cow-ness into his being. One even hears of boys gazing at their frelections in puddles of water in the hope that they will discover some way of decorating their faces so that they will resemble the animal they adore.
Recommendation: I gave it an 8. Three other Alan Moorehead books I’ve read, The White Nile (Stanley and Livingston and all that), Gallipoli (on the WWI battle in Turkey) and Cooper’s Creek (on the exploration of Australia) have all rated 8s.
What the book was about: Broken into four parts. 1) The early exploration of the Blue Nile by Englishman James Bruce in 1771. 2) Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798. 3) The Turkish invasion and empire between the French invasion and British colonization. 4) Napier’s march into Ethiopia to rescue European hostages from Emperor Theodore in 1868.
What I liked about the book: Very well written, with interesting anecdotes and amazing history.
What I didn’t like about the book: There were two large maps on which I could follow most of what was happening, but a few more specific maps would have been nice.
The most interesting quote: James Bruce returned from Africa with stories of what he saw (all later proven to be true). He wasn’t believed, and this made him angry.
Just occasionally he flared up, as when a guest at a country house-party was rash enough to say that it was impossible that the Ethiopians could eat uncooked meat. Bruce went out to the kitchen and returned with a piece of raw beef which he had peppered and slated in the Ethiopian manner. “You will either eat that, sir, or fight me,” he said. When the unfortunate guest had consumed the whole steak Bruce said, “Now, sir, you will never again say it is impossible.”
On modern Ethiopians (as of 1962): Theirs is a world of mosquitoes, of smoking cow-dung fires, and of cattle-worship so extreme that a man will spend all day with a favourite cow, caressing it, crooning to it, absorbing its cow-ness into his being. One even hears of boys gazing at their frelections in puddles of water in the hope that they will discover some way of decorating their faces so that they will resemble the animal they adore.
Recommendation: I gave it an 8. Three other Alan Moorehead books I’ve read, The White Nile (Stanley and Livingston and all that), Gallipoli (on the WWI battle in Turkey) and Cooper’s Creek (on the exploration of Australia) have all rated 8s.
Reviewed by Roger on 2006-07-26 13:42:50