The Ghosts of Africa

by William Stevenson

Book Overview

A sprawling, epic saga of adventure, romance, war, and resistance based on the savage conflict in East Africa during World War I. In German-occupied East Africa during World War I, British forces have... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151353387
• ISBN13: 9780151353385
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating Little Known History

I read this book years ago and it has always stuck in my mind. I am glad to have found it again. The story is fiction because it revolves around some Americans who supposedly found themselves in von Lettow's army. But the historical setting and many of the characters and events are real. When WWI broke out, the small number of German troops in German East Africa (now Tanzania) rallied and trained the local tribes and the resident German farmers into a guerilla force to resist the much larger British army to the north in Kenya. The book details some of the tactics used, as well some remarkable inventiveness. Paul von Lettow, the commander, had an ensemble of talent in his army's baggage train that proved very handy. There was a German fellow named Ersatz who invented a lot of things out of local ingredients. (Because the Royal Navy pretty much owned the seas, there was no resupply for the German soldiers in Africa.) Everyone knows what "ersatz" means now - but this campaign is where the concept got its name! Like a medieval army, this one had no formal logistical support. It relied on many camp followers, including women and children, to keep the army fed and supplied. Many of these womens' efforts and what life was like for them in the field are described. One incredible tale told of an Imperial Navy vessel marooned in the Rufiji Delta. Some of the German farmers had domesticated African elephants, and used then to haul guns off the ship up the slopes of Kilmanjaro to shoot at the British army. It sounds highly implausible, but Stevenson gives evidence for many of the points in his story at the end of the book. This is one of those books where you learn a lot while reading a great story. Stevenson claims that von Lettow knew that the Germans couldn't hold East Africa, and that he felt he was just laying the groundwork for an African country free from future British rule. Whether this is true or historical revisionism I don't know, but the Tanzanian people did build a statue honoring von Lettow in Arusha several years later. "Ghosts of Africa" is a great title, as it refers to an incredible story that not many people know - at least in the USA. It is the reverse of "the African Queen" - and far more interesting!

An incredible adventure based on a true story

This novel really captures a lost part of Africa. It details the German resistance in Africa during WWI. The germans were led by german noble named Paul Von Lettow. For four years they tied down nearly half a million british troops with barely 12,000 of there own. Von Lettow wrote the book on guerilla warfare although he is largely forgotten today. The book contains a great cast of characters in addtion to Von Lettow, many of whom were based on real people. The book has plenty of action and romance. I highly recommend it.