Book Description
"This masterpiece of history and biography turns the real-life adventures of Burton into a riveting tale...The last great word on the last great explorer of the colonial age." -Wall Street Journal.
A New York Times best seller when it was first published, Rice's biography is the gripping story of a fierce, magnetic, and brilliant man whose real-life accomplishments are the stuff of legend. Rice retraces Burton's steps as the first European adventurer to search for the source of the Nile; to enter, disguised, the forbidden cities of Mecca and Medina; and to travel through remote stretches of India, the Near East, and Africa. From his spying exploits to his startling literary accomplishments (the discovery and translation of the Kama Sutra and his seventeen-volume translation of Arabian Nights), Burton was an engrossing, larger-than-life Victorian figure, and Rice's splendid biography lays open a portrayal as dramatic, complicated, and compelling as the man himself.
Customer Reviews:
He Lived Life to the Fullest.......2007-08-10
Richard Francis Burton was a very unique individual even when compared to the Victorian age when it seems Britain had an abundance of eccentric Englishman making world-shaking contributions for the benefit of their Empire or mankind. Burton had a knack for picking up other languages and dressing in native costume, so much so, that in a matter of months he could pass as a native. He exploited this gift throughout the Indian subcontinent and the Arabic speaking world. From an army to a Foreign Service diplomatic career, Burton did not spend his time idly. He led explorations in East and West Africa. Burton's name should be as famous as Stanley's or Livingston's except for happenstance. He explored various Arab speaking areas for the Royal Geographical Society and frequently passed himself off as a local by speaking Arabic fluently. He received Islamic religious training, enough to be the first or second Westerner to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca and obtain entrance into the Kabbkah. As an Author, his books of his exploits never sold well. The author of this book concludes because of the haphazard method of relating information to the reader. Burton was not good at organizing his expeditionary note, but they are full of curious facts that show his sharp scientific mind. The author of this book does an admirable job relating Burton's life to the reader. The book's quoting various diary entries and newspaper articles shows it was well researched, especially his turbulent public life. As Richard Francis Burton grew older he used his language skills to translate various books of Middle Eastern tales and poetry into English. He is perhaps best known for translating the classic A Thousand and One Nights.
This was a very rewarding book, This reader plans to read some of the books still in print by Richard Francis Burton.
A head above the rest - worthy of Burton.......2007-05-14
I believe that I have read all of the Burton biographies - all of them available on Amazon, that is, except Rage to Live, which I am reading now. It started as a keen interest in the subject, and is now just a matter of completing the task. Rice's treatment not only seems to be very correct but is free from editorial. Many other authors feel the need to second-guess the history without the means to do so, or to make him a hero or a villain. For example, his pederastic forays in Hindustan are stated matter-of-factly, with the helpful insight that there is no suggestion he never went back to it. His portrayal of a certain negress royal harem slopping up banana beer, sow-like, on all fours as his own death sentence was imminent can only be called Burtonesque - complete with a lengthy quote from the master himself. If you can only read one, this is it.
WELL WRITTEN AND WELL RESEARCHED.......2006-07-06
Of the Burton biographies I have read, this is quite by far the best. The research is great, and for a history book, this is a true page turner. I found it fascintating, that while reading this work, I had to keep reminding myself that this guy, Sir Richard Burton, was a real person, and was not some figment of a writer's imagination. Richard Burton led a fascinating life during a fascinating time in our history. The author captures both the time and the man. I highly recommend you read this one, if at all interested in this man and his time and further recommend you add it to your library as you will probably want to give it more than one read.
James Bond has nothing on this guy.......2005-10-03
I have never even heard of anyone like Richard Burton. He is one of those people that certainly took advantage of life. I often wonder how he had the time to accomplish all of those feats. This particular biography is a very balanced portrayal of Burton and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you want to be entertained then read this book.
epic.......2005-07-31
This was an incredible biography, which was much better than Byron Farewell's much dryer work. This version- all 500 pages of it- reads like an epic novel, full of mind twists and adventures. Picture emerges Burton the what he was, a towering intellectual, an intrepid explorer. A compulsive writer who churned out massively detailed works between his exploits of discovery in the wilds of India, Arabia, and Black Africa, scandalizing Victorian England mostly by his views on female sexual liberation (he translated the Kama Sutra) or to the superiority of Islam over Pauline Christianity- although Rice mistakenly concluded that Burton was a faithful convert to this religion for most of his life (he seems rather to have been a confirmed skeptic). In an age of hypocrisy, he certainly stands out as a not afraid to speak his mind- and he had a lot of opinions.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing book, amazing life.......2007-09-25
This is a book that may look intimidating with its 600+ pages, but unlike some other reviewers, I did not find a single dull moment. Edward Rice has done a truly masterful job in carrying us through the whole life of this extraordinary man.
Burton had energy and talent enough for any six normal people - perhaps more. Even in his declining years, weak and wracked by sickness, he still traveled, traveled compulsively, though in these latter days the travels did not, as always previously, produce books full of information on the places and people and societies he visited. He was now focused on the translations for which he is (among other things) famous. Yet still, when the old lion was required to return from England to his "official" consular job in Trieste, Rice notes that "Noise, fatigue, hours spent in changing trains or boarding or disembarking from steamboats did not deter Burton. Geneva, Venice, Naples, Brindisi, Malta, Tunis, Algiers, the Riviera, the Alps, with a dozen stops in between, were visited and complained about."
It's hard to give the flavor of this amazing biography - amazing life! Soaking up languages as if by osmosis, dressing and passing for any of a dozen Eastern races and sharing their ways, visiting their secret holy places - hey, what a movie or TV series, would knock spots off Tomb Raiders etc...
The pleasure is increased by Rice's occasional laconic throwaway lines: "The Maratha princes...were patrons of the great god Siva and practiced forms of phallic worship, engaged in by male and female devotees alike in very wild and primitive rites." That's all we get on that. (But then, perhaps it's all we need.)
Rice describes Doughty, another famous writer on the Middle East, as writing "a rich and tortured prose that still wins him admiration but few readers."
Many mind-jolting incidents: on Burton's wife Isabel's difficulties in South America, preaching to the black slaves: "Her only convert was a black dwarf named Chico, who betrayed her faith in him by roasting her favorite cat alive over the kitchen fire." But Chico continued in her service - no others available!
He has an eye for other people's good quotes: Burton's predecessor at Trieste had been handed the post of consul with Lord Derby's comment, "Here is six hundred a year for doing nothing, and you are just the man to do it."
I believe it would help us all to better understand the current Middle East to read this account of the sources it sprang from, 150 years ago. No, they are not like us (Westerners) and never have been. We even see the first mention of the Wahhabis, "a much-feared set of fundamentalists who were noted for their violence and puritanical beliefs..."
The writing is so accomplished that I regret having to raise one correction: in the Royal Navy you don't travel "in the H.M.S Antelope" for instance. You travel "in HMS Antelope - no "the" (and usually no periods in HMS). Doesn't make sense, anyway, when you recall that HMS stands for His (or Her) Majesty's Ship. Contrariwise, "the" is OK with "SS Oldiron" - "the steam ship Oldiron."
But that doesn't reduce the five stars!
EXCELLENT!.......2007-04-25
THIS IS a well researched.well written biography of a life that is truly inspiring.
THE definitive biography of this great man........2001-02-16
This was by far the best biography of the illustrious Richard Burton I have read. The level of scholarship displayed by the author is impressive and does justice to a man whose gifts made him one of the most impressive characters from history. I highly recommend this book as well as those written by Burton himself.
fascinating.......2001-01-09
A mostly gripping account of an absolutely fascinating life. Rice tells in great detail the travels and troubles of Burton as he searches for the source of the Nile, penetrates the forbidden cities of Mecca and Medina, brings the Kama Sutra to the west, translates the Arabian Nights, and joins a snake cult in India, and that is just a small sampling of the accomplishments and endeavors of Burton, a man who was constantly exploring himself and his world and transforming both in the process.
Rice tells the story with such attention to detail you feel like you are traveling right beside Burton, and when he doesn't know certain facts about a specific incident, he will tell you that he is conjecturing, and how he came to the conclusions he did. The net effect is that you feel like you can trust what Rice has written as being authentic and accurate.
The book is kind of slow during the earlier chapters, but stay with it and you will be rewarded with one of the most fascinating accounts you have ever read. I read it more than 5 years ago and still recommend the book and find and give away stray copies to friends. GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO GET THIS BOOK ! !
Wow........2000-06-13
The most incredible thing about this book is the fact that it's true! Burton led such an extraordinary life! I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious, but reluctant to travel, experience, and live. This book is also excellent for anyone who is interested in language, religion, or travel. Burton spoke 26 languages, experienced firsthand an assortment of different religions including Hinduism and Islam, and shows just how much one person can accomplish in a lifetime. Only 4 stars due to some dry bits in the book, but never a dull moment in Burton's life...
Customer Reviews:
Good on Biography; Poor on Geography.......2006-11-27
A splendid biography, providing additional details from previous books on the subject; a fascinating life. It must be confusing for the non-British reader to be confronted with references to 'England' and 'English'
when the correct nomenclature should be 'Britain' and 'British'. For instance, the author refers to the 'English Government', an entity which ceased to exist with the Treaty of Union in 1707. These lapses are not acceptable from an academic author
An Incredible Account of the Life of an Extraordinary Man!.......2005-11-16
This review applies to the A.D. 1990 Volume: "Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: The Secret Agent Who Made The Pilgrimage To Mecca, Discovered The Kama Sutra, and Brought The Arabian Nights To The West," written by Edward Rice and published by Charles Scribner's Sons, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York City, NY. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 89-10898.
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) is without question one of the most remarkable men of the Nineteenth Century. This text covers the exploits of the man who was the towering intellectual and physical specimen, face scarred by a Somali warrior's spear; Burton the scholar and author; Burton the scientist, soldier, explorer, and British undercover agent to boot.
Burton was one of the very first Europeans to seek the source of the Nile River in Central Africa, as daring then as a trip to the moon now. He was the first European to reach Lake Tanganyika. In disguise he went to the forbidden cities of Mecca and Medina. He was the first European to penetrate the sacred city of Harar in the unexplored East Africa. It was Burton who brought out to the Western World the classic Indian book on sex, the "Kama Sutra." And--perhaps his most celebrated achievement--Burton did the seventeen volume translation of the classic "Arabian Nights."
Burton had mastered some twenty-nine languages and dialects and operated as an undercover agent while employed as an officer for the East India Company in India. On one secret mission, Burton investigated the Mormons of Utah, the subject of his book "The City of the Saints." On another trip to the Western Hemisphere Burton explored the battlefields of Paraguay out of which came a book about the war between Paraguay and Brazil. Fascinated by swords Burton wrote a comprehensive treatise on the subject which is still in print today; "The Book of The Sword."
Burton also served as a diplomat in Trieste, Damascus, and as envoy to Dahome so as to convince the West African King to stop the celebration of the Dahoman custom of human sacrifice and cannibalism and to desist in the slave trade: "It was barbaric and of an unlimited cruelty (the celebration of custom in Dahomey). Burton did not see any executions, but in deference to him--or to his Queen--the victims were slaughtered at night--"the evil nights," said Burton--the King cutting off the first head himself. Nine men perished in the first slaughter, the victims being decapitated and castrated after death, "in respect," wrote Burton, "to the royal wives." In all, Burton counted twenty-three male victims. He was told that eighty perished during the five days of the custom, and some five-hundred during the year. Women criminals were executed by "officers of their own sex, within the palace walls, not in the presence of men," a fact that he could not resist emphasizing later: 'Dahome is there one point more civilized than Great Britain, where they still, wonderous to relate, 'hang away' even women, in public.'" (Chapter 25, p.379).
Burton's translations of "The Perfumed Garden," and of the "Ananga Ranga" were the first in English of these erotic Indian classics. Burton also had the satisfaction of seeing published his own works of "Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah," and "First Footsteps in East Africa; or, and Exploration of Harar."
Although, unfortunately, many of his works and narratives were destroyed posthumously by his wife, no modern day explorer can even hope to achieve or surmount the exploits and travels of Sir Richard Burton who was knighted during the last ten years of his life. Although the 1989 Bob Rafelson movie "Mountains of the Moon" recounts just one chapter in Burton's life (the discovery of Lake Tanganyika and relationship with Speake), it may be a good starting point for the reader.
Simply beyond belief. A remarkable saga! Five stars.
A special book worth seeking out.......2000-05-23
Sir Richard Burton was a true legend -- he spoke more than 25 languages, travelled to all sorts of remote places, and had a fascinating life. If you enjoy armchair travel books, this one if for you. Rice travelled extensively in the 10 years it took him to research Burton's life. Burton has many "firsts" to his name: the first European to look for the source of the Nile, the first to discover Lake Tanganyika, the first to disguise himself and visit Medina and Mecca, and the list goes on. If not for Burton, we would not have the Kama Sutra nor the tales from Arabian Nights. You can just see Burton in his tent in Africa translating and keeping diary notes. This is one of the most interesting biographies I have ever read. A true adventurer.
Average customer rating:
- The least informative book about Sindh
- A rare, wonderful glimpse of Victorian India
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Sindh Revisited: A Journey in the Footsteps of Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton
Christopher Ondaatje
Manufacturer: Long Riders' Guild Press
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1590482212 |
Book Description
Sindh Revisited is a remarkable story of the author's fascination with the early life of Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890). It is the story of an incredible journey, too - deep into the heart of British India, and the India and Sindh of today.
Christopher Ondaatje's
Sindh Revisited is the extraordinarily sensitive account of the author's quest to uncover the secrets of the seven years Richard Burton spent in India in the army of the East India Company from 1842 to 1849.
Here is drama and insight, danger and revelation - a rare first-hand glimpse into a world few of us know. Startling photographs complement this narrative that puts the reader on the scene in modern Sindh while never losing sight of the Victorian India of Burton.
Customer Reviews:
The least informative book about Sindh.......2000-12-26
I disliked this book. The author travels to Sindh and revists the places visited by Sir Richard F. Burton, and then writes about his observations. I have 2 problems with this book..
One is that the authors obsession with prostitution and homosexuality distorts his views of this great land. Secondly, his views are clouded by his sources which are all feudal in nature. One cannot experience Sindh without looking at the lives of the everyday people. I for one wasn't impressed by the fact that the authors hosts in Sindh were the biggest criminals and landlords of the province.
Finally, it is silly for the author to keep pointing out that Burton was well known for his controversial report about homosexuality in Karachii. We got that the first time he mentions it.
A rare, wonderful glimpse of Victorian India.......1999-03-18
While rifling through her stack of borrowed library books, during my brief visit to Sarnia earlier this month, one book stood out and beckoned me to read it. Written by one of our very own (i.e Canadian), Christopher Ondaatje, not to be confused with his brother of "The English Patient" fame, "Sindh Revisited" is what its subtitle speaks of: "A Journey in the Footsteps of Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton."
Though Burton, the 19th century adventurer, too, went looking for the source of the Nile, it was Burton's own account of his experiences covering the western seaboard of India, between 1842 - 1849, which became the basis of Ondaatje's quest to mirror a similar trek. Ondaatje is a devout admirer of Burton having read all that has been written about him as well as Burton's own accounts. To capture the true essence of his journey, and grasp the geo-social nuances of India's diversity, Ondaatje persuaded Haroon Siddiqi, editor emeritus of "The Toronto Star", to accompany him on his travels. Siddiqi turns out to be an able guide, interpreter and sometimes an effective interlocutor.
Burton served as a military officer, sometimes surveyor, with the British East India Company (BEIC). He was an accomplished linguist who spoke a number of Indian languages and dialects. rumor had it that he was in reality a spy dispatched to areas still under native control but which were coveted by the BEIC. He openly cohabited with local gals to the great consternation of fellow officers. On many of his trips he easily merged into the local scene, in dress, food, habits, gestures and of course the lingo.
Though the book is titled "Sindh Revisited", a title similar to that of Burton's book, it is in reality a much more extensive a journey which encompasses Mysore, Goa, Bombay, Baroda, Karachi and some other places of great fascination. Ondaatje gives us descriptive glimpses of what life may have been like during Burton's time and as he would have seen and experienced it, comparing it to present day life in each of these places. He captures the life of some of today's Maharajas (e.g Gaekwar of Baroda) and their painful readjustment into civilian life, a far cry from absolute rulership enjoyed by their fathers or grandfathers. There is a riveting account of a 'mujra' evening in a well-known district of Karachi. Burton fell from General Napier's grace with his reports giving lurid written accounts of boy brothels in Karachi.
Christopher Ondaatje was born in Ceylon, recieving his schooling and began his career in England, and emigrated to Canada in 1956. In 1967 he founded Pagurian Press. He was a member of Canada's Olympic bobsled team that brought back Camada's only gold medal from the 1964 Olympics. He is the author of The Prime Ministers of Canada, Olympic Victory, Leopard in the Afternoon and The Man Eater of Punanai.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to one and all.
Bhupinder
Customer Reviews:
Nothing new.......2004-09-20
If you have read Richard Lamb's book, Mussolini as Diplomat, then there's no point of buying this book as it essentialy covers the same ground, and comes to the same conclusions. What's more, even if the former is a dry, boring read, it's still a bargain at $5 for a hardcover.
A Fascinating History.......2002-07-02
Salerno really knows what he's talking about in this well written, precise and intriguing look at the build up to WWII. I found the original research accurate, the organization easy to follow and the analysis fresh and well supported.
Book Description
In 1980, disaffected editors from the student daily of Dartmouth College founded an off-campus conservative newspaper known as The Dartmouth Review. For twenty-five years, this renegade student publication, funded largely by discontented alumni, has made national headlines through its unique, provocative, and controversial brand of journalism. In doing so, The Dartmouth Review has shined a spotlight on the progressively liberal assumptions of Dartmouth College and of higher education, radically changing the terms of campus debate.
This anthology presents the history of The Dartmouth Review in its own words, featuring the student writings of the leading conservative journalists of the Reagan era to the present. It also presents the story of a newspaper under constant attack by a liberal ideology that seeks to silence dissent--and the triumph of that newspaper over those attacks.
Featuring additional commentary by William F. Buckley Jr. and Jeffrey Hart, this volume recounts an important chapter in the history of campus activism, Dartmouth College, and the American conservative movement.
Customer Reviews:
I am SO glad I didn't go to Dartmouth..........2007-03-10
While I don't agree with every single position they take, I have to tip my hat to the _Dartmouth Review_ and its writers for their willingness to stand up to the campus liberal establishment and its endless harassment. I have had some hard things to say about my alma mater, but if I'd faced the sort of treatment some Review staffers got, my parents would have been up there with blood in their eyes, and the responsible faculty would have been in a World o'Hurt.
The Review's feud with an incompetent black music professor is worth the price of the book all by itself.
I READ the book............2006-08-24
This book tells an important story about political correctness on America's college campuses today. It is told in a funny and sometimes hilarious way, as it contains stories about the screw ball left wing professors that populate our schools. Of course much of what went on was college silliness, but the Dartmouth Review has done so much to expose the pretensions of what passes for academic thought today that it can be forgiven. (P.S. the previous reviewer who did not read this book is one more example of the twisted minds out there today, a saboteur on the style of Michael Moore.)
Average customer rating:
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Conservation Handbook: Techniques In Research, Policy, And Management
William Sutherland
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing
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Conservation Science and Action
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Principles of Conservation Biology, Third Edition
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Primates in Perspective
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Field and Laboratory Methods in Primatology: A Practical Guide
ASIN: 0632053445 |
Book Description
The Conservation Handbook is a practical guide describing precisely what conservationists should do. It is not a textbook but, like the author's edited books on habitat management and census techniques, it will be of use to undergraduate students as well as to conservation professionals.
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