Around Africa: From the Pillars of Hercules to the Strait of Gibraltar

by Peter H. Marshall

Following in the wake of Vasco de Gama, Peter Marshall set off in early 1992 to circumnavigate the huge continent of Africa. Having been warned that he might never make it, he found himself travelling on a wide variety of craft, ranging from a Portuguese caravelle, a Moroccan fishing boat, French, German, Greek and Polish container ships, a sanctions-busting South African cargo ship and a Swahili dhow to an Italian cruise ship. On his way, he went deep into the interior of many countries, spending time with drummers in Senegal, pygmies in Cameroon, NC militants in South Africa, war refugees in Mozambique, lions in Tanzania and the ghosts of pharaohs in Egypt. His voyage took him over seven months on a dozen ships, through four seas, fifteen countries and 17,000 miles and was a voyage of self discovery as well as the discovery of a continent.

404 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 1994

About the author

Peter Hugh Marshall (born 23 August 1946, Bognor Regis, England) is an English philosopher, historian, biographer, travel writer and poet. He has written fifteen books which are being translated into fourteen different languages. He wrote, presented and partly filmed the 6-part HTV series 'Voyage Around Africa', first shown in 1994. He also wrote and presented the two-part series 'Celtic Gold: A Voyage around Ireland' for BBC Radio Wales in 1995, which later became a book.

Reviews

[Antonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested to read this to see how my impressions of Africa compare 30+ years on. While I enjoyed reading his experiences and the historical details provided about the places visited, I was frequently distracted by errors in the text and towards the end wearied a little of his self-reflection.