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95th out of 121 books
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Bill Bryson's African Diary
by
Bill Bryson
“Here is a man who suffers so his readers can laugh.” — Daily Telegraph
Bill Bryson travels to Kenya in support of CARE International. All royalties and profits go to CARE International.
Bryson visits Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to eradicating poverty. Kenya is a land of contrasts, with famous game reserves and a vibrant culture. It a...more
Bill Bryson travels to Kenya in support of CARE International. All royalties and profits go to CARE International.
Bryson visits Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to eradicating poverty. Kenya is a land of contrasts, with famous game reserves and a vibrant culture. It a...more
Hardcover, 64 pages
Published
December 3rd 2002
by Broadway
(first published 2002)
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I feel like an asshole for not giving this more stars. I am an enormous Bill Bryson fan -- I've read everything else he has published (with the exception of "Shakespeare: The World as Stage" which I'm starting tonight). Unfortunately, this sort of wasn't a Bill Bryson book. It was a Bill Bryson... journal entry. It was only 49 pages, and because it was done for charity, it was overly sincere. It almost completely lacked Bryson's signature humor. He normally has such a colorful wa...more
Bill Bryson’s “African Diary” was published by in 2002.
It really is, just a diary. Bill describes what happened to him over an eight-day visit to Kenya, sponsored by the charity CARE international. It isn’t an analysis, it isn’t especially thoughtful, it’s merely a diary written up with entertaining and generally cheerful comments. It’s only about 11 thousand words on 56 pages. Please don’t think we are shirkers this month; the proposer of the book has added this book to the month’s re...more
It really is, just a diary. Bill describes what happened to him over an eight-day visit to Kenya, sponsored by the charity CARE international. It isn’t an analysis, it isn’t especially thoughtful, it’s merely a diary written up with entertaining and generally cheerful comments. It’s only about 11 thousand words on 56 pages. Please don’t think we are shirkers this month; the proposer of the book has added this book to the month’s re...more
Bill Bryson, a great travel writer, went to Africa and wrote about things he saw there so he could donate the proceeds of this book to CARE. That in itself would make the purchase of the book worthwhile. However, because it was Bill writing the book, it was both enlightening and entertaining to read. Bill wrote about Kibera, the biggest slum in Nairobi where at least 50,000 children have AIDS, where the average shanty is 10 feet by 10 feet and houses 5-6 people with no running water, no rubbish ...more
Glenn Cheney
rated it
Recommends it for:
to anyone who would like to donate $12 to CARE and has nothing else to do for 20 minutes or so.
I'm sorry to say Bryson didn't put much effort into this book. It had so much potential and so much of importance that could be said. His brief descriptions of Kenyan poverty, a refugee camp and a Nairobi slum don't do justice to the situations and all they mean. He slips in some of his trademark funnies based on fears of this and that, but there's something oddly insulting, or even offensive, about devoting more words to a ride in a small plane than to a refugee camp of 136,000 people in the mi...more
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Janet
added it
There has been some criticism about the length of this book - but the whole point of it is to raise awareness of the sterling work done by the charity ‘Care’ - as Bill Bryson puts it, you’re making a donation of £7.99 to Care - and getting a free book in return!
There isn’t really very much to add that the ‘blurb’ (which is nearly as long as the book! ) hasn’t mentioned. It’s definitely worth a read if you like Brysons writing (which I really do). His ramblings about his experiences of light air...more
There isn’t really very much to add that the ‘blurb’ (which is nearly as long as the book! ) hasn’t mentioned. It’s definitely worth a read if you like Brysons writing (which I really do). His ramblings about his experiences of light air...more
This was a very very short book. It was written as a fundraiser for CARE international. Basically CARE asks Bryson to go to Kenya and see the work they do there and write a short diary about it. The beginning is very funny as he sits down with the CARE people to discuss the trip and what to expect. More hilarity ensues when Bryson has to ride a puddle jumper plane (i don't know what they are called).
It lacks Bryson's typical expositions on the background history of where he is,...more
It lacks Bryson's typical expositions on the background history of where he is,...more
Erm, short, is what I thought, to be completely frank about it. When I got to the end (page 40 of 75 in the ebook) I wondered what on earth could be in the rest of the book. A whole chapter from 'At Home' and some promotional blurb for the charity that sent him to Africa in the first place.
So, overall, a strange publication. I enjoyed what there was, and applaud its charitable aims. But why bother adding the 35 pages of 'At Home'? They were interesting, but, in my view, detracted from ...more
So, overall, a strange publication. I enjoyed what there was, and applaud its charitable aims. But why bother adding the 35 pages of 'At Home'? They were interesting, but, in my view, detracted from ...more
Very short book but great insight into Bryson's trip around Kenya at the behest of CARE International, to which he donated all the proceeds. I was left wanting more and think that would have been easy for Bryson to give to his readers without a lot of effort. But how can one fault his intentions to make us more aware?
Guess I will have to read more about present-day Kenya someplace else. My first interest in Kenya occurred back in the late 80s when I read Barbara Wood's amazing GREEN ...more
Guess I will have to read more about present-day Kenya someplace else. My first interest in Kenya occurred back in the late 80s when I read Barbara Wood's amazing GREEN ...more
Not the longest read going, and not an indepth journey into Kenya exactly, but it was nice for a little short travel read, and an all right Bryson book (I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with his books so far!). But to be fair you can't ask for too much after only 8 days of travel in a country. It's certainly interesting - the country, landscape, people, charity projects etc; and makes you want to read more about Kenya. Also reminds you how lucky we are really, when you look at the photos...more
It is a very short book, I've probably read longer magazine articles, and I wish it had been longer. I did enjoy his descriptions of Kenya although I feel that in his attempt to be positive he must not have said a lot which is why to book is so short. Most of the humor comes from the descriptions of his fear of diseases, the train and the aircraft, but his compassion for the people of Kenya is felt in the more serious parts of the book. Not the usual Bill Bryson travel diary, it is, in the ma...more
"Kenya has become a country of ten millionaires and ten million beggars." ~Kenyan politican J.M. Kariuki, assassinated in 1975
This book is only 49 pages which suited me just fine, considering how long it took me to read my last book. I picked this book not only because it is short but also because it is written by Bill Bryson. I have read most of his books and plan to read all of them eventually; however, none of them hold a candle to A Walk in the Woods, the first Bryso...more
This book is only 49 pages which suited me just fine, considering how long it took me to read my last book. I picked this book not only because it is short but also because it is written by Bill Bryson. I have read most of his books and plan to read all of them eventually; however, none of them hold a candle to A Walk in the Woods, the first Bryso...more
Unlike most people, I guess, I had no idea that this book was little more than a 49-page pamphlet for CARE, a group doing international aid work, including work with refugees and the poor in Kenya (the focus of this book/pamphlet). I placed the thing on hold sight unseen with my library, and only when I stopped by to check it out did I find a volume rather slimmer than I had expected.
Well, I'm a big Bill Bryson fan, so I hoped that it would at least be just under 50 pages of typical...more
Well, I'm a big Bill Bryson fan, so I hoped that it would at least be just under 50 pages of typical...more
I'm torn on this one, which I almost rated a 4. The book is only 49 pages, written to support CARE International. The author and publishers donated their time and proceeds to support the organization. Bryson toured Kenya with CARE employees and wrote about his experiences.
Bryson's typical humor is still present but subdued in comparison to his best work. For one thing, he admires and cares for his companions. Additionally, he is more respectful of the struggles of the natives. Only ...more
Bryson's typical humor is still present but subdued in comparison to his best work. For one thing, he admires and cares for his companions. Additionally, he is more respectful of the struggles of the natives. Only ...more
I liked this book, but since it was about such a short trip it lacked the quality that usually makes Bill Bryson's books so good and interesting--the well-researched interesting bits of history and anecdotes that he usually includes.
This book was written as a benefit for CARE International and chronicles Bryson's week long trip to Kenya to visit some of CARE's facilities. All of the profits (including Bryson's royalties) from the sale of the book go to CARE, so if you like Bryson's w...more
This book was written as a benefit for CARE International and chronicles Bryson's week long trip to Kenya to visit some of CARE's facilities. All of the profits (including Bryson's royalties) from the sale of the book go to CARE, so if you like Bryson's w...more
I se so many reviews for this book and guess that obe more is probably not very useful. Goodreads is where I found the reference to this book and I thought that it is fitting that I put in a review for this book. It is a thin book and written with the usual Bill Bryson flourish. It is a gentle and superficial look at Africa but no less entertaining for that. There is a right mixture of adventure, humor and pathos. Loved the book and would recommend to anyone who likes to read. Oh yes, the procee...more
Bill Bryson went to Kenya to write about Somali refugees in the remote south of the country. Along the way he strolls through Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, (in Nairobi) visits some old white colonials and goes on safari. His usual good writing, but I read this book, literally, in a half hour. I wish he could REALLY go to Africa and write a REAL book. He did this one to benefit CARE, the relief agency. It has about 60 pages.
There is no doubt that this slim book was written to promote the work done in Africa by the development agency CARE. But a good cause, so one mustn’t grumble if it was thin on the ground in terms of the usual Bill Bryson observation and humour. It was a short book, if you can even call it a book. I don’t know that much about Kenya (still don’t) but it was another useful reminder of how privileged my life is.
A very short book written as a fundraiser for CARE International. The author relates his thoughts and impressions during an eight day visit to Kenya, during which he visits many of CARE's projects. This book just touches the surface and would have been better if it had gone more in-depth, but it was a decent introduction to some of the challenges faced by Kenyans.
A very short account of a couple weeks Bill Bryson spent in Tanzania and Kenya meeting several natives as well as learning about the aid missions taking place. It's quirky, informative, tender, and laugh out funny in some places... in pure Bill Bryson style.
I read it in preparation for a trip to Tanzania this December, the first of many on this subject.
I read it in preparation for a trip to Tanzania this December, the first of many on this subject.
This book may disappoint you a bit if you are used to Bryson's other books. It contains the characteristic marks of Bryson's books, but it isn't as well done as the others. Something is missing. Maybe the brief format or more serious subject matter tempered things a bit? I don't know. Oh well, this book was done for a good cause. And I applaud that effort.
Basically the size of a gift book, Bryson gives his usual mix of wit and sincerity to describe an eight-day trip to Kenya at the invitation of the Care Foundation. All proceeds of this book went to the Care Foundation. As far as the content, there's likely nothing regarding Africa you didn't already know, but it is still refreshing to read it from Bryson himself.
Being intimately familiar with both Bill Bryson's flavorful, if quirky, travel writing and Africa, I was really looking forward to this read. Although Bryson includes his usual wit and knack for laugh-out-loud observation, I do have to admit at being slightly disappointed at the brevity of this 49 page documentation and the lackluster tone which accompanies it. Written as a fund-raising effort for CARE INTERNATIONAL (at whose invitation his visit to Kenya was based) I still expected more from th...more
Kshappert
added it
This was a very quick read...sadly so...because I love Bill Bryson. This was a chronicle of his week long visit to Kenya in the company of CARE aid workers. Despite seeing extreme poverty and the worst of human conditions, Bryson can still make the reader laugh and also make them want to do something to help. So buy this book for all your friends because ALL profit goes to CARE.
Basically an extended blog of Bill Bryson’s trip to visit his friends organization (CARE International) in Kenya. What the book lacks in depth, it makes up for in humor and Bryson does provide some very apt descriptions of traveling throughout Africa. As an added bonus, all the proceeds from the book benefit CARE International.
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/1708...
The phrase short and sweet popped into my mind about this 49 page little book about Bill Bryson’s 8 days in Kenya. It is actually a bitter sweet account about the work of the charity organization CARE one of the worlds leading international organizations fighting against poverty. They believe that by working to find the source of a communities problems and solving it they can help make the world a safer and more stable place for us all.
...more
The phrase short and sweet popped into my mind about this 49 page little book about Bill Bryson’s 8 days in Kenya. It is actually a bitter sweet account about the work of the charity organization CARE one of the worlds leading international organizations fighting against poverty. They believe that by working to find the source of a communities problems and solving it they can help make the world a safer and more stable place for us all.
...more
This was a very small book and did not really have time to develop much of a storyline. Bill Bryson's trip to Africa was set up to help publicize the CARE organization which provides aid to developing countries. After reading the book I definitely would advise anyone going to Africa to stay away from small propeller planes.
This is my first book by Bryson though I've heard of him for a very long time, and now I will read others for sure. His gentle wit coupled with keen observations makes this a desirable read and the information is very accessible. This is a short summary of his impressions of Nairobi and Kenya.
Eh...I was excited about this book because I love Bryson and I wanted to read about his experiences in Africa....but really this is a short book about his week touring with Care organization.
I would not pay for this book...but as I got it for free and read it in less than a hour....it wasn't a waste of time.
I would not pay for this book...but as I got it for free and read it in less than a hour....it wasn't a waste of time.
In this short read, Bill Bryson talks about his 8 day adventure in Africa visiting various CARE projects. You get the author's usually wit and observations, and some great photographs are included. I only wish it could have been longer. Worth buying - all profits go directly to CARE.
This really isn't a book -- it is more of a short story (less than 50 pages) that Bill Bryson did to support the organization CARE (all proceeds go to support CARE's work in Africa). Although this story is witty and an enjoyable read, it is not one of his best works.
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Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. He settled in England in 1977, and worked in journalism until he became a full time writer. He lived for many years with his English wife and four children in North Yorkshire. He and his family then moved to New Hampshire in America for a few years, but they have now returned to live in the UK.
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