Ben Waddamsįrom the very beginning of this nail-biting adventure the listener is gripped and walking step by frustrating step with Daily Telegraph Africa reporter Tim Butcher who, poor man, feels a need to follow in the footsteps of Stanley (also a Daily Telegraph reporter) down the Congo River. The most depressing fact for me that comes from Tim's account, is that 1200 are murdered every day in the forests of the DRC, that's one September 11th every single day of the year and it continues yesterday, today and tomorrow. Blood River emphasises the horrific point that the Democratic Republic of the Congo is in a state of continual decay, decline and backwardness, unlike anywhere else on Planet Earth. I have never been to 'the heart of darkness', instead I have skirted round it, following Livingstone, not Stanley around the Lake Tanganyika region, but nonetheless the descriptions in 'Blood River' are eerily reminiscent of the stories I heard emanating out of the DRC when I was on the border a few years after Tim. Tim Butcher is obviously a knowledgeable author, but it is the nuances and subtleties in his descriptions of time and place that make this such a pleasure. I must confess I never managed to finish the last quarter due to the hectic pace of life, but I listened to the entire audiobook and was enthralled. It impressed me then and was/is a riveting read. I first bought 'Blood River' in paperback a couple of years ago. Africa's Broken Heart - a September 11th every day
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