Chasing the Devil
On Foot Through Africa's Killing Fields
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:28th Apr '11
£12.99
Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.
The bestselling author of Blood River is back with a second thrilling adventure, illuminating the war-torn, complex and forbidding region of Sierra Leone and Liberia
Facing down demons from his time in Africa as a journalist, Tim Butcher heads deep into this combat zone, encountering the devastation wrought by lawless militia, child soldiers, brutal violence, blood diamonds and masked figures who guard the spiritual secrets of remote jungle communities.
For many years war made Sierra Leone and Liberia too dangerous for outsiders to travel through. Facing down demons from his time in Africa as a journalist, Tim Butcher heads deep into this combat zone, encountering the devastation wrought by lawless militia, child soldiers, brutal violence, blood diamonds and masked figures who guard the spiritual secrets of remote jungle communities.
On an epic journey that demands courage, doggedness and sheer luck, Butcher treks for 350 blistering miles through rainforest and malarial swamps to gain an extraordinary ground-level view of an overlooked region on the cusp of a remarkable recovery.
Engaging...descriptions of walking through the bush, of sweltering heat, sweat and swelling blisters are juxtaposed against moments of beauty...a test of endurance -- Aminatta Forna * Sunday Telegraph *
A brave book by a writer of skill and principle... He exposes the toxic cocktail of colonial exploitation, tribal conflict, ritual violence and blood diamonds that spits out regional monsrosities such as Charles Taylor... an admirable book -- Brian Schofield * Sunday Times *
Tim Butcher has a respect and affection for West Africa that is genuine and touching, writing in a way that brings out the exuberance and wit of its people. This book is required reading for anyone even vaguely interested in this remote and enigmatic region * Daily Mail *
Butcher is really a Victorian explorer and writer endowed with the sterling grit of that age... He is tough and he's honest * Evening Standard *
Butcher's book is packed with incident... fascinating, harrowing and eventful -- Joan Smith * Independent *
ISBN: 9780099532064
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 24mm
Weight: 290g
336 pages