Crossing the Heart of Africa, Julian Smith
Crossing the Heart of Africa, Julian Smith
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Crossing the Heart of Africa
An Odyssey of Love and Adventure

Author: Julian Smith

Narrator: Michael Goldstrom

Unabridged: 10 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/15/2013

Synopsis

Here is the amazing true story of Julian Smith, who retraced the journey of legendary British explorer Ewart the Leopard Grogan, the first man to cross the length of Africa, in hopes of winning the heart of the woman he loved. In 1898 the dashing young British explorer Ewart the Leopard Grogan was in love. In order to prove his mettle to his belovedand her aristocratic stepfatherhe set out on a quest to become the first person to walk across Africa, a feat hitherto thought by many explorers to be impossible (New York Times, 1900). In 2007 thirty-five-year-old American journalist Julian Smith faced a similar problem with his girlfriend of six years and decided to address it in the same way Grogan had more than a hundred years before: he was going to retrace the Leopards 4,500-mile journey for love and glory through the lakes, volcanoes, savannas, and crowded modern cities of Africa. Crossing the Heart of Africais the unforgettable account of twin adventures, as Julian beautifully interweaves his own contemporary journey with Grogans larger-than-life tale of charging elephants, cannibal attacks, deadly jungles, and romantic triumph.

About Julian Smith

JULIAN SMITH received a Banff Mountain Book Award and a Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award for Crossing the Heart of Africa: An Odyssey of Love and Adventure. The coauthor of Smokejumper: A Memoir by One of America's Most Select Airborne Firefighters, he has written for Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler, Wired, Outside, and the Washington Post, among other publications. Julian lives in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Katherine on December 11, 2010

I found this book to be very interesting. One of the other reviewers felt that it was pretty shallow as books on Africa go and that may be if you have an intense interest in the continent and wish to truly delve into its story. I have never had that depth of curiosity--especially after Heart of Dark......more

Goodreads review by Andrea on November 15, 2010

This book was another in the popular genre "I did exactly (sort of) what a famous explorer did in Africa only much later". I actually often find these really compelling. This book was okay, but didn't measure up, IMO, to some of the examples I've read recently. The author is engaged to be married, b......more

Goodreads review by Sasha on February 26, 2025

I'm with Rhys. also I will never not resent a lekhooa acting like some two month trip to Africa is life changing especially if you move around and stay in hostels the entire time......more

Goodreads review by Drew on December 16, 2024

It was really cool and easy but I definitely skimmed over parts. Fun to hear that terrible public taxi transportation is maybe a pan-African thing.......more

Goodreads review by Nancy on December 22, 2010

Two men. Two women. One huge continent. This is the basis of Smith's story of the trip taken by Ewart Grogan 107 years before Smith replicated the same trail. Grogan was intent on proving to his hopefully future father-in-law that he was man enough to marry Gertrude Watt. He started off just prior t......more

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