David Livingstone: Mission and Empire

By Gail Jacob Barker

Book Overview

David Livingstone (1813-1873) was one of the supreme representatives of the British Empire. Yet his career suffered many set-backs during his own life-time, and since his death his reputation has swung between extremes of adulation and dismissal. Were his epic journeys through Africa purely to save souls and counter the slave trade? Or were they the first steps towards bringing the peoples of Central Africa under the control of Europeans who would destroy their values and exploit them economically? Beyond these questions, there lies the puzzle of Livingstone's own character and its contradictions. Livingstone's career was certainly an extraordinary one. Born in poverty in Blantyre, Scotland, he educated himself by heroic endeavor, later proving him-self to be a remarkable linguist and scientist. His missionary journeys brought him into contact with a wide range of African peoples, for whom he showed remarkable sympathy. David Livingstone: Mission and Empire is a scholarly and readable account of Livingstone's life and of his achievements.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1852852852
• ISBN13: 9781852852856
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Continnuum-3PL
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

A fine book

This is one of the best Livingstone biographys in my opinion and I have read several of them. The author has a good understanding of Livingston's Christian motivations and recounts his life in a highly readable style. If you can't devote the time to reading Seaver's lengthier "David Livingstone - His Life and Letters" then read this one, better yet read them both. It will be time well spent.

Livingstone. One tough man.

This work, featuring many new and nuanced insights, is a wonderfully written story of a very determined missionary and explorer. As the author so ably describes, our modern knowledge of David Livingstone is heavily influenced by the fact that, in death, he has been made the icon for many causes. His legacy has been put to the service of, for instance, British imperial aspirations. But as the author recounts, Livingstone's...

Livingstone is Alive and Relevant!

> Andrew Ross' study of the life and work of David Livingstone is a worthy<br>> contribution to the literary corpus of this great man. Ross makes<br>> accessible the revealing nuances and context of this giant of the 19th <br>> century. There is special sensitivity to Livingstone because, like <br>> Livingstone, Ross is also a Scot and served as a missionary in Africa. <br>> His impressive knowledge of Africa and its history...