River of the Gods

Viac o knihe

From the New York Times bestselling author of RIVER OF DOUBT and DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC comes a stirring tale of one of exploration's great feats and its complex legacy. The Nile River, the world's longest, nurtured ancient Egypt's civilization, yet its headwaters remained a mystery for centuries. Pharaonic and Roman efforts to locate them failed due to a vast swamp, and later expeditions were equally thwarted. The 19th century saw renewed interest in ancient Egypt following the Rosetta Stone's discovery, coinciding with European explorations aimed at mapping the globe and expanding colonial empires. Two British explorers, Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke, were dispatched by the Royal Geographical Society to uncover the Nile's source. Burton, renowned for his travels and linguistic skills, was a complex figure—an iconoclastic atheist and a decorated soldier. In contrast, Speke, a young aristocrat and Army officer, was passionate yet less knowledgeable about the local cultures. Their partnership was fraught with tension, leading to significant hardships and illness. When Burton fell ill, Speke claimed to have discovered the source in Lake Victoria. Their rivalry intensified upon their return to England, culminating in a tragic confrontation before a public debate, where Speke took his own life. Amidst this drama was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, an enslaved man whose remarkable journey as a guide was crucial to the expeditions'