Into Africa: The Extraordinary Journeys of Frederick Courteney Selous. Volume 2

Into Africa: The Extraordinary Journeys of Frederick Courteney Selous - Volume 2The young adventurer has become one of Africa's greatest explorers. But Frederick Courteney Selous's most extraordinary journeys still lie ahead.In Volume One of Into Africa, Selous ventured into the African interior as an unknown young hunter, driven by an almost obsessive desire to discover what lay beyond the next river, mountain and distant horizon.Now the world around him is changing.The great elephant country is disappearing. European influence is pushing ever deeper into the interior. Old kingdoms are coming under increasing pressure, and Selous finds himself drawn from the life of an explorer into events that will transform southern Africa forever.His unrivalled knowledge of the country makes him invaluable.Selous becomes closely involved in the expeditions and events surrounding the opening of Mashonaland. He guides the Pioneer Column northwards, watches the beginnings of Salisbury and witnesses at first hand the dramatic changes sweeping across the region.Then comes war.The collapse of Lobengula's kingdom, the fighting in Matabeleland and the uprising of 1896 place Selous at the centre of some of the most turbulent events in the history of what would become Rhodesia and, eventually, modern Zimbabwe.But his adventures are far from over.His reputation spreads around the world. He becomes an internationally respected traveller and author, forms a remarkable friendship with former American president Theodore Roosevelt, and continues travelling long after most men would have been content to settle into a quieter life.Then, in his sixties, with the First World War raging, Selous does something extraordinary.He puts on a British Army uniform and returns to Africa once again.Based on Selous's remarkable first-hand accounts and other historical sources, Into Africa - Volume 2 continues the story of one of the most extraordinary explorers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Written in the same modern, engaging style as Volume One, Gordon Wallis brings these events to life for a new generation while adding his own observations of the landscapes and places he knows personally, connecting Selous's Africa with the Zimbabwe and southern Africa of today.This is not simply a story of exploration or war.It is the story of a man living through the transformation of an entire region.It is a story of extraordinary journeys, political upheaval, courage, conflict and an Africa changing almost beyond recognition within a single lifetime.And ultimately, it is the conclusion to the remarkable life story begun in Volume One.Whether you have a personal connection to Zimbabwe or southern Africa, an interest in African history, or simply enjoy true stories of exploration, adventure and survival, Into Africa - Volume 2 completes an unforgettable journey into a vanished world.Some stories deserve to be remembered.This is one of them.