Der Fluss der Götter

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The harrowing story of one of the great feats of exploration of all time and its complicated legacy—from the New York Times bestselling author of The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic<BR><BR>A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: THE WASHINGTON POST • GOODREADS<BR><BR>"A lean, fast-paced account of the almost absurdly dangerous quest by [Richard Burton and John Speke] to solve the geographic riddle of their era." —The New York Times Book Review<BR><BR>For millennia the location of the Nile River’s headwaters was shrouded in mystery. In the 19th century, there was  a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. At the same time, European powers sent off waves of explorations intended to map the unknown corners of the globe – and extend their colonial empires.<BR><BR>Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England. Burton spoke twenty-nine languages, and was a decorated soldier. He was also mercurial, subtle, and an iconoclastic atheist. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officer determined to make his mark, passionate about hunting, Burton’s opposite in temperament and beliefs.<BR><BR>From the start the two men clashed. They would endure tremendous hardships, illness, and constant setbacks. Two years in, deep in the African interior, Burton became too sick to press on, but Speke did, and claimed he found the source in a great lake that he christened Lake Victoria. When they returned to England, Speke rushed to take credit, disparaging Burton. Burton disputed his claim, and Speke launched another expedition to Africa to prove it. The two became venomous enemies, with the public siding with the more charismatic Burton, to Speke’s great envy. The day before they were to publicly debate,Speke shot himself.<BR><BR>Yet there was a third man on both expeditions, his name obscured by imperial annals, whose exploits were even more extraordinary. This was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was enslaved and shipped from his home village in East Africa to India. When the man who purchased him died, he made his way into the local Sultan’s army, and eventually traveled back to Africa, where he used his resourcefulness, linguistic prowess and raw courage to forge a living as a guide. Without Bombay and men like him, who led, carried, and protected the expedition, neither Englishman would have come close to the headwaters of the Nile, or perhaps even survived.<BR><BR>In River of the Gods Candice Millard has written another peerless story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers.

Antike Kulturen, Heldenmut und ein unverzeihlicher Verrat: Die größte Abenteuergeschichte des 19. JahrhundertsWährend die europäischen Großmächte zahllose Entdecker entsenden, um die unbekannten Winkel der Welt zu erforschen, entflammt auf dem Kontinent eine rauschhafte Faszination für das Alte Ägypten. Um das jahrtausendealte Geheimnis um den Ursprung des Nils zu lüften, begeben sich der exzentrische Richard Burton, ein Sprachgenie und dekorierter Soldat, und der fromme Aristokrat und passionierte Jäger John Speke im Auftrag der englischen Krone auf eine gefährliche Mission. Als wahrer Held ihres Abenteuers entpuppt sich jedoch der befreite Sklave Sidi Bombay, dessen Mut und Einfallsreichtum von der imperialen Geschichtsschreibung vergessen wurden.Candice Millard erzählt in 'Der Fluss der Götter' mitreißend und fundiert von einer der wichtigsten Expeditionen der Geschichte - und von der europäischen Ausbeutung des afrikanischen Kontinents.'Millard ist eine herausragende, historisch versierte Erzählerin, die die Gabe besitzt, längst vergessenen Geschichten neues Leben einzuhauchen.' Bookreporter'Millards Recherche und ihre sehr lesbare Erzählweise sind bewundernswert.' Wall Street Journal

The inspiration for the Netflix series Death by Lightning – now streaming! • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The extraordinary account of James Garfield's rise from poverty to the American presidency, and the dramatic history of his assassination and legacy, from the bestselling author of The River of Doubt. <BR><BR>"Crisp, concise and revealing history.... A fresh narrative that plumbs some of the most dramatic days in U.S. presidential history." —The Washington Post <BR><BR>James Abram Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, a renowned congressman, and a reluctant presidential candidate who took on the nation's corrupt political establishment. <BR><BR>But four months after Garfield's inauguration in 1881, he was shot in the back by a deranged office-seeker named Charles Guiteau. Garfield survived the attack, but became the object of bitter, behind-the-scenes struggles for power—over his administration, over the nation's future, and, hauntingly, over his medical care. <BR><BR>Meticulously researched, epic in scope, and pulsating with an intimate human focus and high-velocity narrative drive, The Destiny of the Republic brings alive a forgotten chapter of U.S. history.<BR><BR>Look for Candice Millard’s latest book, River of the Gods.