West with the Night

Name: West with the Night
Brand: Blackstone Audiobooks
Availability: InStock
Author: Beryl Markham
ISBN: 9781481580380

Author: Beryl Markham

Narrator: Anna Fields

Unabridged: 8 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Published: 06/27/2005

Categories: Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Memoirs, Historical Biography, Transportation, Aviation

Synopsis

This beautifully written autobiography brings us the remarkable life story of Beryl Markham, the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west. Brought up on a farm in Kenya, Markham chose to stay in Africa when, at seventeen, her father lost their farm and went to Peru. She began an apprenticeship as a racehorse trainer which turned into a highly successful career. In her twenties, Markham gave up horses for airplanes and became the first woman in East Africa to be granted a commercial pilot’s license, piloting passengers and supplies in a small plane to remote corners of Africa.As rich and inspiring as when it was first written, West with the Night captures the spirit of a true pioneer woman.

About Beryl Markham

Beryl Markham (1902–1986), born in England, was taken by her father to East Africa in 1906. She spent her childhood playing with native Maruni children and apprenticing with her father as a trainer and breeder of racehorses. In the 1930s, she became an African bush pilot, and in September 1936, became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west.

About Anna Fields

Anna Fields (1965–2006), winner of more than a dozen Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award in 2004, was one of the most respected narrators in the industry. Trained at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, she was also a director, producer, and technician at her own studio, Cedar House Audio.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ian on July 13, 2007

This letter from Ernest Hemingway to Maxwell Perkins in 1942 sums up the book better than I ever could: "Did you read Beryl Markham's book, West with the Night? I knew her fairly well in Africa and never would have suspected that she could and would put pen to paper except to write in her flyer's log......more

Goodreads review by Jaline on March 24, 2019

I feel honoured and privileged to have had the opportunity to read this remarkable memoir. Beryl Markham’s story is outstanding enough by itself. What makes this memoir even more spectacular is the writing. On the cover is a quote from Ernest Hemingway: “[Markham] can write rings around all of us wh......more

Goodreads review by Candi on January 20, 2020

"Africa was the breath and life of my childhood. It is still the host of all my darkest fears, the cradle of mysteries always intriguing, but never wholly solved. It is the remembrance of sunlight and green hills, cool water and the yellow warmth of bright mornings. It is as ruthless as any sea, mor......more

Goodreads review by Belinda on January 09, 2019

4,25 stars - English hardcover - I have dyslexia - What a lady, what an adventures in Kenya in the 20, 30-s. One of my favoutite lady's in history. When I was in the libary someone hand me a copy of this book. An older man. "I think you have to read this novel." And surely it was. 😀🦋🌹🌷......more

Goodreads review by Chris Lee (away) on November 06, 2023

I do not even know how to accurately review this book. It is a special book. One that showcases Africa in all its splendor. The people, the landscape, the dangers, and the lands serenity are detailed with such a grand literary prose that fills the soul with inspiration. It’s an utterly mesmerizing s......more

Quotes

“Did you read Beryl Markham’s book, West with the Night?…She has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer…I wish you would get it and read it because it is really a bloody wonderful book.”

Ernest Hemingway, in a letter to Maxwell Perkins

“Much more than a pilot’s memoir, West with the Night is a wise, funny, and inspiring exploration of a life well lived.”

Nation

“In a memoir almost lyrical in quality, Beryl Markham shares the story of her remarkable life…Markham’s rich and poetic passages are deftly caressed by narrator Anna Fields…Especially notable are Fields’ portrayal of Africans, her wistful humor, and her reverence for nature.”

AudioFile