More of wot I have read...

Blood River, A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart by Tim Butcher
This is an interesting read as it documents a part of the world that is almost as hidden as it was years ago during the time of the early Victorian explorers. The terrible troubles in the region are catalogued in this documentary style book and show just what circumstances led to the downfall of this natural resource rich region.


‘When Daily Telegraph correspondent Tim Butcher was sent to Africa in 2000 he quickly became obsessed with the legendary Congo River, and the idea of recreating H. M. Stanley’s famous expedition. Despite warnings that his plan was ‘suicidal’, Butcher set out for the Congo’s eastern border with just a rucksack and a few thousand dollars hidden in his boots. Making his way in an assortment of vehicles including a motorbike and dugout canoe, helped along by a cast of characters from UN aid workers to a campaigning pygmy, he followed in the footsteps of the great Victorian adventurers. Butcher’s journey was a remarkable feat, but the story of the Congo, told expertly and vividly in this book, is more remarkable still.’



Fatherland by Robert Harris

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it had a good, well paced action/police/conspiracy story and the ‘what if the Nazi’s had won’ setting was fascinating too.


‘April, 1964. The naked body of an old man floats in a lake on the outskirts of Berlin. In one week it will be Adolf Hitler’s 75th birthday. A terrible conspiracy is starting to unravel...’