916. Books on geography and travel in Africa

For more recent travel books on Africa, see Library Lin’s Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction, which will be published in Spring 2022.

Further Reading

Graham Greene Journey Without Maps, 1936.

In 1935, English novelist and travel writer Graham Greene traveled to Liberia, founded for released slaves. Upon arriving, he found a republic devoid of colonization. The people there were refreshingly free of Western influences and seemed to Greene to embody a uniquely free African spirit.

Mary H. Kingsley Travels in West Africa, 1897.

Who would have ever thought crinolines could save someone from being impaled on sharp sticks? Or that it would be possible to fight off a leopard with a pot? Reading Victorian lady Mary H. Kingsley’s recounting of her adventures as a White woman, traveling solo in late-19th century West Africa to collect plants and animals, will enlighten you on these subjects and more.

Mungo Park Travels in the Interior of Africa, 1799.

Scottish explorer Mungo Park was the first Westerner known to have reached the central portions of Africa as he traveled through Senegal and Mali to the Central Niger River. Travels in the Interior of Africa details his first trip. He returned in 1805 to complete the journey again.

For more information on the Further Reading series, see Further Reading: Start Here.