Tim's Friend Comments

Stephen wrote: "Tim - I didn't expect a personal message from you, so it was a treat to receive it! I understand about the problems with including photos - I have personal experience of that when I had to abandon ..."

Hey Stephen - thanks for leaving this message on my profile. Wishing you good health and rich reading in this strangest of times, TimB

Tim - I didn't expect a personal message from you, so it was a treat to receive it! I understand about the problems with including photos - I have personal experience of that when I had to abandon the idea myself when I recently self-published my own travelogue. No matter, the photos on your website are excellent.
What I wish I had expressed in my review, now that I know you actually read them which is refreshing in itself, is my admiration for you undertaking the journey at all - with or without helicopters!
I'm trying to expand my knowledge of travel writing from Daniel Defoe to Paul Theroux, and I'm pleased indeed to have discovered yours. Your vast experience in journalism, especially in challenging locations, really shows! I shall now move on to Trigger and look forward to it very much. Best wishes, Stephen

Cheers for the feedback James. Wishing you good health and rich reading, TimB

James wrote: "Hi Tim,

Thanks for the message and above all a good thought provoking read. Look forward to reading your other books, and good luck in lockdown.

James"

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the message and above all a good thought provoking read. Look forward to reading your other books, and good luck in lockdown.

James

Funny you should reach out today. I actually just got home from picking up a copy of The Trigger.

All the best.
-Ryan

Thanks for letting me know. Delighted to make it onto that list. Cheers Alison, TimB

I see you made a list for Fathers day read:
http://groveatlantic.com/fathers-day-...

Thanks for the message. I had had your book on my "to-read" list for such a long time, I'm really happy I finally did. I'm planning on reading "Chasing the Devil" soon. It looks great.

I didn't spend much time in Liberia, I was only there for a week at the start of the Ebola crisis to visit my dad. Because of the Ebola risk I couldn't really leave Monrovia, but I was happy to get to see a country that you don't normally here much about. Best wishes in your future writing!

Hi, Tim,
I'm glad you liked my review of Blood River. I came to Africa through studying its art. I took an African Art History class in graduate school. I wrote a paper on the memory board of the Luba people, the lukasa. They use the board as a memory aid. The beads on it represent different events, people, etc. depending on the story they are telling. My focus at the time was on the culture, not so much the history. I think the Luba were living in the East Congo maybe a little more to the south than where you started your trek/ordeal. Had you heard of them? I did a quick search online and it seems they're not around anymore.(?)
I'm looking forward to reading your other books: the Trigger and Chasing the Devil!

Hi Tim, I thought about your great book, Blood River, the other night watching Anthony Bourdain on CNN with his Congo segment of "Parts Unknown" - the tension he felt being there, a decades-long dream fulfilled, was palpable in the film. I now have a copy of Chasing the Devil and look forward to reading it along with Paul Theroux's latest, The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari. Hope all is well with you!

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your message, that's really thoughtful. Loved Blood River, fascinating read.

Jim

Hi Tim, accepted your friend request. .. welcome to goodreads! I enjoyed Blood River very much and passed my copy on to a friend who also gave it the thumbs up. I'd love to travel in Africa and one of my ambitions is to take part in the Dakar rally.

Hi Tim,
Thanks for the friend request ... and also for your book! I loved it - looks like I'll be moving on to Chasing the Devil next;-)

Hey I read your book a wee a couple of months back now, and was enthralled by the idea of a trip up the Congo... other than war, rampage and pillage it's unfortunately a country that gets zero coverage, so was certainly a very interesting read!

I read Blood River twice, thinking that i rated it to high the first time, a year later I read it again and wondered why I doubted my first rating....because of the rarity of this genre of books I try to get hold of everything available but without a doubt I will read Blood River again in the future!
ps. Also enjoyed Chasing the Devil and it is waiting for me to be re-read...

Read it twice Tim....loved the power of it.

Thank you. I love a good African account. I am working on my own adventure personal story. Some of it can be found at www.MattoleFreeState.webs.com Thank you so much.

Hi--I definitely enjoyed Blood River and am looking forward to reading Chasing the Devil. Am I crazy or did Anthony Bourdain meet up with you in Liberia when you were working on that book?

a friend who served as a peace corps teacher in liberia recently recommended "chasing the devil".

it's a literate, superb book and a terrific read
and opens the door to a whole new spectrum of
literature on that area, including Greene's original
1935 book (at my library) and tim's "blood river".

i've read a lot of first person travel accounts.
devil tops the list. --brian wiersema