Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown

Theroux is not everyone's cup of tea. He is opinionated--curmudgeonly is a word very frequently used to describe him--and will often shock readers who expect the usual "cultural relativist" pap with his unflinching willingness to hold the residents of other lands he is writing about accountable for their own inability or unwillingness to assume some sense of responsibility. I have read many of Theroux's books--I have been reading Theroux since he first wrote an article in Esquire in the 1960s about getting kicked out of the Peace Corps--and this is one of his best. He has written many books in the travel narrative genre, and this one is about Africa. I also feel well qualified to comment on the book, since I, like Theroux, was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa in the 1960s and, also like Theroux, have many vivid memories of those times.Theroux set out to take an overland journey from Cairo to Capetown, and to write about it. In doing so he manages, in slightly less than 500 pages, to encapsulate the sad story of the last 40+ years of African history. In many ways, this is a sad, even tragic book. Theroux remembers when Africa was full of hope. Newly freed from the ravages and exploitation of colonialism, Africa was full of optimism. Determined to free themselves from dependence on the west, most newly independent countries opted for socialism and were very cozy with the Soviet Union and Maoist China. This, according to Theroux, was what led to their downfall. Central planning led to one party dictatorships throughout the continent, and in turn to incompetence and corruption, and in some cases, tyranny and mass murder. Theroux's journey documents many of the aftereffects of these events.Most of the people Theroux meets on his journey are ordinary people who have no idea who he is. However, Theroux is not remiss to use his stature as a world famous writer to gain access to literary gatherings, to public officials, some of whom are old friends from his Peace Corps days, and on one occasion to the U.S. embassy. Good for him; the book is better as a result. It was difficult not to seethe with rage at the pompous African official who mocks the Indian merchants who were kicked out of the country for going through their stores with a calculator tallying the value of each item in the store. Theroux explains that this is simply taking inventory, a basic tool necessary to the efficient running of a business. The official scoffs at this, saying that Africans just aren't cut out for that sort of thing, something Theroux bluntly characterizes as "bullshit." As a result of this type of thinking, the merchant shops which used to appear in nearly every village in Africa, and which were intended to be run by Africans after the Indians were forced to leave, now lie vacant.This is a theme that Theroux pursues relentlessly: the unwillingness of Africans to learn the skills and to put in the effort needed to remedy their dire situation. He places the blame for this not only on the governments, but also on aid organizations, NGOs, and missionaries, all of whom engage in handouts, resulting in the Africans' failure to help themselves. Theroux seems personally stressed by this as well. At one point he snaps at a man who asks him for money just after Theroux has been very ill, asking the man why he should give him money. Aren't you a man, he says, can't you take care of himself? He also paints a harrowing picture of the takeover of white-owned farms by government sanctioned squatters in Zimbabwe, with the expected result that the farms become much less productive than they were before, with the squatters expecting the farmers to do everything from giving them seeds to helping them plant to threshing the grain.I don't wish to give the impression that Theroux's portrayal of present day Africa is totally negative. He meets many individuals, black and white, of whom he paints a positive picture. There are an African father and son who help him travel by canoe across a national boundary. There is even a nun for whom Theroux seems to have a very high regard. And he esteems Nadine Gordimer. But most of his portraits are scathing.In spite of my praise and high regard for the book, I did not give it 5 stars because I think Theroux fails to mention anything at all about indigenous African society, by which I mean society at the tribal level. I think Theroux knows very well that African societies function very well at this level. The blunt truth is that the mess that Africa finds itself in today is the direct result of colonialism, and that the western forms of government that Africans seem unable to get to function well are artificial forms imposed on their indigenous cultures. This does not excuse present day Africans from their responsibility to learn to cope with the situation as it is, but Theroux lets the west off the hook far too easily. He also fails to mention that there is a kind of rough justice involved in the African squatters taking over the white-owned farms, because in most cases the ancestors of the present day farmers themselves stole the land from Africans. But the positives of this book far outweigh the negatives. Highly recommended for anyone interested in contemporary Africa.

I traveled this African route in the 1970’s and witnessed many of the events that the Dark Star describes. But my travels where twenty years prior. In my case I was doing a soft drink survey for Dixi Cola. After my travels public television had a documentary on the White Nile. I was riveted. Other recommendation: Morehead was mentioned who wrote the White and Blue Nile. In addition Ted Simon wrote Jupiter Travels of his sponsored BSA (Triump) motorcycle trip through Africa in the ‘70s same route that Dark Star took -with the repair challenges and navigation of the route without the civil war. Note: Simon although bitched about his African ventured was bitter after arriving by freighter in South America. South America was a nightmare. Lastly the Author mentioned how Africa has became a welfare Continent enabled by NGO’s dependent — insisting upon reinforcing dependency reinforced by romantic notions of “Out of Africa” , clueless Safari visitors and short term hands off Diplomats. He did mention the missionaries appear the only one making a difference in sustainment. Today Africa is a basket case torn once again over geo power struggles, internal civil warfare, and misplaced political initiatives.

Theroux is a wonderful, pull-no-punches writer, so he doesn't shy away from describing the poverty, maddening inefficiency, corruption, and environmental degradation he sees, contrasting it sadly with the promise he held as a Peace Corps volunteer in the East Africa of the 1960s. He skewers humanitarian workers (whom he views as promoting dependency (recounting a volunteer's reference to a "wet feeding" of Africans), while at the same time driving the latest Safari-worthy SUVs and refusing to give him a ride). Local people crowd under a remaining tree in the hot sun, without anybody taking the initiative to plant some more shade trees. They also allow libraries established in the 1960s to fall into ruins, the books having been stolen long before. However, in the time since the 1960s, the population of the area has more than quadrupled, which you wouldn't learn from this book, which perhaps explains more than the apathy of the local people. I would have liked to see more background on demographic, political, economic, and ecological ravages over the past 50 years that help explain the current situation. I think part of the sourness is Paul Theroux's confrontation with his lost youth, but certainly the thievery and parasitic infestation he experienced would dampen anyone's enthusiasm for this trip.

This book is over a long journey Paul Theroux made through Africa about 20 years ago. He had determined before leaving that he would travel with as little as possible, and wore old clothes and shoes so that he could fit in with the crowds although he, as a white man, was always marauded by children and beggars seeking food and money. This was a journey from Cairo to Capetown where the inhabitants are described, housing, atmosphere, and scenery of the many countries which certainly give the reader an impression of a continent. He did this at a time when he was going to celebrate his 60th Birthday toward the end of this great journey, and in my opinion, not so many people in this age category would be able to withstand such a difficult adventure. I don't want to say more in order to not give away any secrets. I just urge you to read this book--you will feel justifiably rewarded. There is a reason why Mr. Theroux 's books are so in demand and well received.

Der andere Blick auf den Kontinent und seine Bewohner. Der Autor ist kein Tourist, kein Politiker, kein Mitarbeiter einer Hilfsorganisation oder Kirche. Insofern nehme ich die Aussagen zwar als subjektiv, aber als sehr authentisch wahr. Es ist kein gutes, kein hoffnungsvolles Bild das entsteht. Da sind Länder mit großem Potenzial, das aus den verschiedensten Ursachen nicht zum Wohle der Menschen vor Ort genutzt wird. Viele Missstände (aus europäischer / amerikanischer Sicht) und Probleme die beschrieben werden, erscheinen hausgemacht. Hilfsorganisationen wirken in ihrem eigenen Kosmos und erhalten sich ihre Bedingungen. Ein Buch das sehr interessant ist, mich auch traurig gemacht hat und zeigt wie wenig Einflussnahme von außen zu bewirken scheint. Mehr Geld erscheint jedenfalls keine Lösung zu sein! Die Sprache ist manchmal nicht ganz einfach, aber man/frau kommt dahinter was gemeint ist. Unbedingt zu empfehlen.

Another excellent book by Paul Theroux, probably my favourite so far. Paul’s stories are all about the people he meets, the chance encounters, and the adventures. A great book, balanced, honest, truth telling.

Full of unique insight to the problems that grip so much of Africa. Seen through the eyes of Africans met on an adventurous, challenging, even dangerous trip alone from Cairo to Cape Town. I now question the value of aid to third world countries who do not present sound business statements of what the aid would be for and how it is to be administered. No further handouts to dependent, corrupt, governments. Even religious organisations have become a conduit for a do-nothing mentality in the recipients. No more projects by NGO's unless they are developed by the people who are intended to benefit. They do the work. They provide the idea. They take responsibility.Countries like Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, must stamp out dependence on foreign aid and learn to take responsibility for their own future economies. A century of being shown how has made them utterly reliant and developed a beggar mentality which is self destructive. A must read if you have an interest in any part of Africa.

Terrific read. Has to be one of the best books I've ever read.In fact, I don't recall any other author who writes quite like that--for example: One who can uplift my spirits at the beginning of one paragraph and onto the turn of the page, and reduce me to tears by the end of the next paragraph; one who manages to make me cry two or three times; and yet reading his account is an immense pleasure.