Blood River Av Tim Butcher

<p><b>**THE NUMBER ONE <i>SUNDAY TIMES</i> BESTSELLER**</b><br><b><br>A compulsively readable account of an African country now virtually inaccessible to the outside world and one journalist''s daring and adventurous journey.</b><br><br>When war correspondent Tim Butcher was sent to cover Africa in 2000 he quickly became obsessed with the idea of recreating H.M. Stanley''s famous nineteenth century trans-Africa expedition - <b>but travelling alone.</b><br><br> Despite warnings that his plan was ''suicidal'', Butcher set out for the Congo''s eastern border with just a rucksack and a few thousand dollars hidden in his boots. Making his way in an assortment of vessels including a motorbike and a dugout canoe, helped along by a cast of unlikely characters, he followed in the footsteps of the great Victorian adventurers. <br><br> Butcher''s journey was a remarkable feat, but the story of the Congo, told expertly and vividly in this book, is more remarkable still.<br><br><b>‘A masterpiece’ John Le Carré</b><br><b><br>‘Extraordinary, audacious, completely enthralling’ William Boyd</b><br><b><br>‘A remarkable marriage of travelogue and history, which deserves to make Tim Butcher a star for his prose, as well as his courage’ Max Hastings</b></p>