David Livingstone: Mission and Empire (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781852852856)

David Livingstone (1813-1873) was one of the supreme representatives of the British Empire. Yet his career suffered many set-backs during his own life-time, and since his death his reputation has swung between extremes of adulation and dismissal. Were his epic journeys through Africa purely to save souls and counter the slave trade? Or were they the first steps towards bringing the peoples of Central Africa under the control of Europeans who would destroy their values and exploit them economically? Beyond these questions, there lies the puzzle of Livingstone's own character and its contradictions.

Livingstone's career was certainly an extraordinary one. Born in poverty in Blantyre, Scotland, he educated himself by heroic endeavor, later proving him-self to be a remarkable linguist and scientist. His missionary journeys brought him into contact with a wide range of African peoples, for whom he showed remarkable sympathy. David Livingstone: Mission and Empire is a scholarly and readable account of Livingstone's life and of his achievements.

Author: Andrew C. Ross
ISBN-10: 1852852852
ISBN-13: 9781852852856
Publisher: Continnuum-3PL
Language: English
Published: 05/28/2004
Pages: 274
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 9.48h x 6.44w x 1.12d

Review Citation(s):
New York Review of Books 06/23/2005 pg. 28