William F. Wheeler

draft ~

I love journals and diaries. In fact, I'm a person who gravitates to primary sources of any type, and so I was overjoyed to receive this book to review.

Appearance:
I don't recall ever setting aside a section in a review for the physical appearance of a book before -- at least for an adult book. But honestly "Alive in Africa" is one of the prettiest books I have seen in decades. The pages are heavy and glossy and have the appearance of rustic parchment. The photography is outstanding (Dr. Wheeler has had his photos published professionally); and the photos, examples of woven cloth, and ... are presented beautifully and creatively. It is almost worth buying the book just for the look and feel of it.

Content:
The book is divided into three adventures which were taken from the author's personal journals. An adventurer in the true sense of the word, Dr. Wheeler spent his life treading the path less traveled. (He recently lost his battle with cancer, at too young an age.) The first journey is through the Sahara. The second is through the Rift Valley, and the third we follow him into the Rainforest.

While the title of the book suggests that the journeys were all on foot, in truth that only really applies to his sojourn into the Rainforest. In the Sahara, Wheeler traveled by Camel. And fascinatingly, in the Rift Valley, he rode a horse. The interesting thing about the author's travels, and what no doubt sets him apart from the rest of us, was that he was determined to travel with native guides, and more or less without backup safety measures -- with the exception of antibiotics.

What I was hoping for when I began this book was that it would draw me into the experience. That like Nick Danziger's book, Danziger's Travels" that I would feel the grit of the road, the inconveniences of bureacracy, and emerge as if I understood something of the local culture.

traveled the Silk Road and did a superior job of drawing the reader into the experience. William Wheeler's travels are just as extensive and he also succeeds in drawing us in to his journeys as he travels through the Sahara by Camel, through the Rift Valley on horse, and through the Rain Forest by foot. However, it was not as well written. In fact, I can say with a clear conscience that it was in need of an editor. In places there are incomplete sentences... and worse, in places there are incomplete thoughts. It's alright for the reader to be left wishing for "more, more, more", it's not entirely right for them to be left asking for continuity.

For example, in one place Dr. Wheeler is describing a recollection of how on a previous trip to Africa that he and two friends were attacked by a Water Buffalo. He escapes into a tree. His one poor friend is at the base of the tree with his back broken, and the other friend was last left running, when in the next paragraph he appears in the tree. A good editor could have helped smooth out the writing; and perhaps that could have/would have happened if the author had not died.

I mention these lapses not to convince you not to buy the book, but rather as a warning. I know some people will be bothered to distraction by these details. BUT if you can, approach the book like I did, as a historical work of value, then you'll be able to see clearly the worth of the content herein. Here after all are journal entries from a man who has recently made these travels. His comments come at a point where history, weather, and politics are profoundly changing these distant places.

Wheeling observes the Maasai world as it stands today. A world with trucks, but where young men still yearn to be warriors, to earn their iron spear and the right of circumcision. He writes about the Pygmies, a people who live in the deep forest where the Bantu and other tribes fear to go.

In fact, Wheeler apparently was fearless. He writes:

"After nearly two weeks hanging around Epulu, three Efe pygmies arrived for unknown reasons. Althougt the Mbuti and Efe speak completely unrelated languages, I found out that they were willing to take me back with them.

"Carrying enough food for one month, alone and with no interpreter and no possible way of communicating with them, I followed them back into the forest. For six days I traveled with them through the rain forest without seeing the sun and unable to speak even a word to my companions. Sometimes there was an animal trail, but most of the time there was no trail at all. I had no way to know where we were or which way we were going." … (mere)