Books

London: John Murray, 1874. Very good.. First edition of the final African journals of Scottish missionary, abolitionist, and explorer David Livingstone, including his own account of the famous meeting with Stanley. Often portrayed as "a defender of British colonialism, a zealous missionary, and a symbol of the masculine drive to explore and to civilize Africa," the truth about David Livingstone is more nuanced (Petrusic, 20). He certainly still subscribed to many racist ideas that permeated white British culture in the 19th century, but he also rebuked the colonial efforts of his home country, writing numerous letters of support for the Xhosa people who were forced to push back against violent British forces. Livingstone's veneration as a British cultural icon began with many purported "firsts" and "discoveries" covered extensively in newspapers (the native African guides who led him to these "unknown" geographical features had, of course, been aware of them for centuries).…

Published posthumously, these journals cover Livingstone's final years of exploration and his quest to find the source of the Nile.