Debut author Donovan takes what might have been a derivative tale and colors it with poignancy and self-discovery. Readers will likely forgive the too-easy denouement after appreciating the artful and arresting writing. For most readers of contemporary fiction. [See Prepub Alert, 10/26/15.]
Best suited to readers interested in scouting, outdoor survival skills, the history of the American West, the Apache Wars, wars in the former Rhodesia, or the origin of the Boy Scouts. Readers may also enjoy Burnham's own memoir Scouting on Two Continents.
Acting for the British government, German national Heinrich Barth became part of an expedition through North and Central Africa in 1849, enduring a five-and-a-half-year trek over 10,000 miles and the deaths of most of his comrades finally to reach that legendary city, Timbuktu...