List Out Of Books The Shadow of the Sun
| Title | : | The Shadow of the Sun |
| Author | : | Ryszard Kapuściński |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 336 pages |
| Published | : | April 9th 2002 by Vintage (first published 1998) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Cultural. Africa. Travel. History. Writing. Journalism. European Literature. Polish Literature |
Ryszard Kapuściński
Paperback | Pages: 336 pages Rating: 4.38 | 10124 Users | 805 Reviews
Representaion During Books The Shadow of the Sun
In 1957, Ryszard Kapuscinski arrived in Africa to witness the beginning of the end of colonial rule as the first African correspondent of Poland's state newspaper. From the early days of independence in Ghana to the ongoing ethnic genocide in Rwanda, Kapuscinski has crisscrossed vast distances pursuing the swift, and often violent, events that followed liberation. Kapuscinski hitchhikes with caravans, wanders the Sahara with nomads, and lives in the poverty-stricken slums of Nigeria. He wrestles a king cobra to the death and suffers through a bout of malaria. What emerges is an extraordinary depiction of Africa--not as a group of nations or geographic locations--but as a vibrant and frequently joyous montage of peoples, cultures, and encounters. Kapuscinski's trenchant observations, wry analysis and overwhelming humanity paint a remarkable portrait of the continent and its people. His unorthodox approach and profound respect for the people he meets challenge conventional understandings of the modern problems faced by Africa at the dawn of the twenty-first century.Present Books Concering The Shadow of the Sun
| Original Title: | Heban |
| ISBN: | 0679779078 (ISBN13: 9780679779070) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Out Of Books The Shadow of the Sun
Ratings: 4.38 From 10124 Users | 805 ReviewsArticle Out Of Books The Shadow of the Sun
Goodreads changed my experience with this book. For much of the time I was reading it, I was mesmerized by the writing, flabbergasted by some of the information about Africa, and convinced I was encountering the continent in a nuanced and subtle and authentic manner. I planned to give a copy to my husband for his birthday and to recommend it to my book group. Curious about what other readers thought, I looked at some of the almost 500 reviews of it on goodreads, and it was there that I cameShifting seamlessly from vignettes of daily life to grand excursions into Africa's turbulent political past, Kapuscinski zig-zags across vast expanses of scorching desert and lush greenery in this masterful piece of journalistic travel writing. He describes people, politics and landscape with equal ease. The lioness stalking in the tall grasses is as riveting as the utterly fascinating character study of Idi Amin.The first chapter was studded with generalisations about Africa and Africans that
Opening - More than anything, one is struck by the light.Page 122 - In the desert, the first thing man sees when he opens his eyes in the morning is the face of his enemy - the flaming visage of the sun.Page 125 - The water, disgusting Saharan water - warm, dirty, thick with sand and sludge - extended my life but took away my vision of paradise.Page 199 - For years now the regime in Khartoum has availed itself of the weapon of hunger to defeat the South's inhabitants. It is doing today with the
For my money, Ryszard Kapuscinski should be better-known than he is, despite a difficult-to-pronounce name -- he's one of the most outstanding journalists of the 20th century. As the Polish Press Agency's only reporter in Africa, he has covered just about every coup, revolution, civil war, and natural disaster there since 1957 (and also found time to cover conflicts in various other parts of the world as well).There's an important difference between Kapuscinski and reporters from Western
A fantastic introduction to this mysterious continent. The experiences of over 40 years travelling in and reporting from Africa are beautifully condensed in this small book. Here is a long quote:"The European and the African have an entirely different concept of time. In the European worldview, time exists outside man, exists objectively, and has measurable and linear characteristics. According to Newton, time is absolute: Absolute, true, mathematical time of itself and from its own nature, it
Though I enjoy travel journals of Africa, I found this book to be way overgeneralized and romantic. Yes, he has seen a great deal of Africa, but why must authors continue to try and describe such a diverse continent as a whole in generalities? I suppose this criticism only applies to the opening and concluding portions, but the last chapter was particularly bad.
I have just added a new favorite author, Ryszard Kapuscinski. His work is completely amazing. Kapuscinski was a Polish journalist who arrived in Ghana in 1957 as the first African correspondent of Poland's state newspaper. The career which would follow constituted of almost 50 years of covering the Dark Continent. Kapuscinski is a not just a journalist, an explorer or cultural scientist. He is an artist of words. His reporting is the height of what the writer and journalist can hope to achieve
0 Comments