Synopses & Reviews
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 also 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 beloved — and her aristocratic stepfather — he 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 Leopard's 4,500-mile journey for love and glory through the lakes, volcanoes, savannas, and crowded modern cities of Africa.
Smith interweaves both adventures into a seamless narrative in Crossing the Heart of Africa: the story of two explorers, a century apart, who both traversed the length of Africa to prove themselves... and came back changed men.
Review
"Grogan's adventures in Africa are carefully researched....Smith, an award-winning journalist, tells his own story nearly a century later, as well as revealing a modern continent going through constant change." Booklist
Review
"This is two stories, of an explorer and of the author's search for him, and both are compelling. Recommended for travel readers and anyone who has ever been or wants to go on a quest." Library Journal
Review
"Smith provides an engrossing story that runs parallel to Grogan's history. Most impressive is the author's stark honesty....Smoothly written chronicle that's part travelogue, part contemporary relationship commentary, and all heart." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
In the 19th century, a British explorer named Ewart Grogan (nicknamed "The Leopard") became the first man to walk across the length of Africa. Amazingly, he did it to win the hand of the woman he loved. In 2007, Smith was inspired to repeat the journey to win his own girlfriend's heart.
Synopsis
This rapturous adventure narrative shows that love really does conquer all. Hampton Sides, New York Times bestselling author of Blood and Thunder
Charming, wise, and captivating. Dean King, bestselling author of Skeletons on the Zahara"
Synopsis
"This rapturous adventure narrative...shows that love really does conquer all." --Hampton Sides, New York Times bestselling author of Blood and Thunder
"Charming, wise, and captivating." --Dean King, bestselling author of Skeletons on the Zahara
Synopsis
Banff Mountain Book Awards WINNER
The spellbinding true story of retracing the extraordinary trek of Ewart "the Leopard" Grogan--the legendary British explorer who, in order to win the woman he loved, attempted to become the first person to cross Africa
In 1898 the dashing British adventurer Ewart Grogan fell head-over-heels in love--but before he could marry, he needed the approval of his beloved's skeptical, aristocratic stepfather. Grogan, seeking to prove his worth and earn his love's hand, then set out on an epic quest to become the first man to cross the entire length of Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo, "a feat hitherto thought by many explorers to be impossible" (New York Times).
A little more than a century later, American journalist Julian Smith also found himself madly in love with his girlfriend of seven years... but he was terrified by the prospect of marraige. Inspired by Grogan's story, which he discovered by chance, Smith decided to face his fears of commitment by retracing the explorer's amazing--but now forgotten--4,500-mile journey for love and glory through Africa. Crossing the Heart of Africa is the unforgettable account of these twin adventures, as Smith beautifully ineterweaves his own contemporary journey with Grogan's larger-than-life tale of cannibal attacks, charging elephants, deadly jungles, and romantic triumph.
SOCIETY OF AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITERS WESTERN WRITING AWARDS WINNER: GOLD PRIZE (TRAVEL)
BANFF MOUNTAIN BOOK COMPETITION WINNER: SPECIAL JURY MENTION
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF JOURNALISTS AND AUTHORS AWARDS BEST-BOOK WINNER: MEMOIR
About the Author
Julian Smith is an award-winning travel writer whose work has appeared in Outside, National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, Wired, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. He is the author of guidebooks to El Salvador, Ecuador, Virginia, and the southwestern United States, and he has been honored by the Society of American Travel Writers for writing the best guidebook of the year. He lives with his wife and daughter in Portland, Oregon.