The Blue Nile

Two years after the success of "The White Nile" (1960), Moorehead spinned further yarns of African adventurers and Nilotic history. This time the year span is from 1798 to 1858 and the location is on the Blue Nile, dealing with Sudan and Ethiopia. European exploration of this lesser but not least branch of the mighty river started further back in time because of its easier accessibility from the Red Sea coast. After a brief description of the ancient history and geography of the river, we meet Bruce, a Scottish explorer who despite his meticulous research and extraordinary scripts passed at his return home as a megalomaniac. Successive events find Napoleon's invasion accompanied by the savants and the destruction of the Mameluk rule that really represented the turning point of the modern history of the valley of the Nile. After Napoleon's departure the Turk Muhammad Ali regained power destroying a greater part of the Sudanese population. The last part of the book deals with King Theodore of Ethiopia, a mad chieftain that captured and held in ransom over 400 people for four years, and that was overcome by the British army.This book can be read alone or better as a sequel of "The White Nile". The narration is equally effective and the limits are those of a book written in the 1960's. The episodes are less dealing with only four major topics. I read the book in a day and half, considering it took me three days to read the "The White Nile". Now I have to look for further stories by this great writer.

Outstanding read about the history of a key region in the world. Very well written, with a host of fascinating characters and delightful expositions of little known but pivotal events (Napoleon's invasion of Egypt for instance), this (and its sister book) were an eye opener. This is the second book of two written by Mr. Moorehead about the Nile rivers. The first, The White Nile, covers about 1850 to 1890 or so, and The Blue Nile from 1650 to 1900. I have to mention that these are western-centric histories and now are quite dated (1962-65 or so) and there's probably quite a lot for the historian to quibble about. But for a general appreciation of the events surrounding western exploration and colonization, I can't think of a better read. Recommended.

What a fantastic book, enjoyable to read and full of interesting, well presented history. I read it over the last 2 weeks while on a boat on the Nile river, everything in the book checks out with reality.It gives one the history of exploration of the Blue Nile from its source in Ethiopia to the Mediterranean Sea.Thank to this book I am planning to visit the Sudan and Ethiopia.

This was the first Moorehead book I read. I fell in love with him as a writer. He writes like a talented British journalist, which he was. His books are well-researched, well-organized, filled with historical facts I did not know, and written in a compelling and entertaining, tongue-in-cheek style. Because he wrote decades ago, it is difficult to find all of his books now. I have read three of them--this, The White Nile, and Gallipoli. I thoroughly enjoyed all three. I have failed to turn up a copy of his biography of Montgomery, which I would love to read. If you enjoy reading history, I highly recommend any Moorehead book you can find.

I read the companion piece, The White Nile, some time back. The Blue Nile is a story, basically, of the three military actions that conquered the region of this tributary. There are also a few customary eccentric explorers thrown in. I wish some pictures of the ancient ruins mentioned throughout and of the tribesmen, cities, geography and even military forces mentioned had been included.

A captivating and witty history of Europe's discovery and exploration of the upper Nile in the 19th century, first published in 1962 but still fresh and even more pertinent today, given the upheaval in Egypt and North Africa. Interesting view of the slave trade (alas, still extant) and French, Turkish and English military forays there. Of course the Turks come off poorly in the comparison, given their taste for rape and pillage. (Conversely, of the Brits' Ethiopian invasion one contemporary journalist wrote, "No swarthy damsel was subjected to any rude gallantry on the part of the redcoats.")A fine, well-researched book.

Book is nearly 60 years old but a timeless classic. History as it should be written, clear, colorful, personal, objective, and better than any fiction could possibly be. The Blue Nile and The White Nile are both extraordinary reads!

This author's in depth descriptions and research we're seamless in their presentation and made me feel a part of his travel. And with today's internet access to place and people images truly made the history come alive.

Pour vous rafraîchir la mémoire sur l'expédition d'Egypte et pour vous relater des épisodes peu connus (de moi en tout cas) sur l'histoire de l'Ethiopie.

libro bellissimo scritto in un inglese fluente arrivato puntualmente senza dubbio una lettura consigliavi porta in tempi lontani con un occhio lucido e attento

scritto come solo gli autori inglesi sanno scrivere su questi argomenti.Suggeritissimo non deve mancare nella biblioteca di un appassionato dell'epoca vittoriana.

c'est un cadeau pour la St Michel, un livre que mon mari cherchait depuis des années. Ce n'est pas la même collection que le White Nile qu'il a déjà. Je suis déçue car il y a tamponné de partout le nom de la bibliothèque d'où ça vient et il y avait même à l'arrière la feuille avec la date prévu de retour du livre.

'The Blue Nile' was written more than a generation ago. I found out about it thanks to Harry Flashman, who - reportedly - participated in Napier's epic march to Magdala. 'The Blue Nile' features in the 'recommended further reading' of that book, and clearly for all the right reasons.The book is made up of four parts:1. The travels to Ethiopia by the arrogant yet imposing aristocrat Bruce, who found the source of the Blue Nile (although 16th century Portuguese arguably did that already a few centuries before)2. Napoleon's Egyptian adventure and his defeat of the Mamelukes3. The rise of Muhammad Ali in Egypt and his conquest of the Sudan4. Theodore of Ethiopia, his madness and Napier's liberation of the hostages at MagdalaIts companion 'The White Nile' deals with finding the source of the White Nile as well as with Gordon - Kitchener - Omdurman.There is a huge amount of phenomenally interesting material and the writing is off the scale fantastic. To me the most unknown bit was the third part. Muhammad Ali rose as a warlord/gangster in the chaotic Egypt after the French involuntarily left. He became an important figure, as his modernized Egypt started to threaten the Ottoman Empire (taking over much of the Middle East in the process, in addition to conquering Sudan in an attempt get the slave trade going again), eventually triggering an international crisis when the European powers got involved. Before that, his son Ibrahim played a large role in the Greek revolt (it was Ibrahim's navy that got thrashed at Navarino). It would have been nice if Moorehead had expanded a bit on the exploits of this dynasty outside Africa - frankly that's the only flaw I could find in this awesome book.On to the White Nile!