I had been curious about Livingstone for a while being aware of the general controversy surrounding his status as a missionary or otherwise.

This biographical journalistic account begins after the famous explorer's first return from Africa to public applause and virtual celebrity status in Britain. He sets off again, this time with government funding having sacked his missionary organisation. It seems this was more of a strategic decision than anything else because the Christian organisation was trying to tie his hands in different ways and Livingstone was a man of fierce independence. He refers often to his Christian faith in his journals but saw himself more as someone preparing and mapping the way for future missions than as an actual evangelist. He was unable/unwilling to share his faith effectively for most of his life due to the circumstances he found himself in, although there were several converts after his death.

Livingstone saw himself as a failure after repeated mission disasters and it was only really after his death that the extent of his work became known and was used in the ways that he had dreamed it would be. He continually highlighted the plight of those who were being trafficked as slaves throughout East Africa. He witnessed the barbarity and the lack of value of a human life. Stamping out this evil became his over-riding passion to the exclusion of all else at times. He frequently made impulsive decisions placing himself and others in danger and wasn't easy to work with, although later in his life this apparently changed.

It was sad to read about the neglect of his wife and children and the consequences for some of them. It seems that some of these great men make a choice and place their ministry/service above their family which is not as God intended it.

There is just one swear word in this book but frequent violence although it wasn't sensationalised, some was graphic. There is no sexual content.

As a general biography I would give this five stars. It is well written/ well-researched and compelling. In places it reads like a novel of fiction with extraordinary escapades and the like. However, I'm docking a star because there wasn't much spiritual content. I can see the dilemma that the missionary organisation faced regarding Livingstone. He was primarily an explorer who happened to be a Christian. It may have been better to accept this as there is a need for Christians in every field of work, rather than try to make him into something he wasn't.

Recommended reading about this controversial character. ( )

This was a thoroughly engrossing read. The story is one I was only vaguely familiar with but I imagine even someone with an expert knowledge of these events would enjoy this book and those without that knowledge would--as I did--find this book fascinating.

It is at once a biography, a book of history, and a book that inspires your faith.

David Livingstone is presented here with all of his faults--and some of them were considerable--yet at his root he was a man of intense passion and focus. He was tenacious in his mission to destroy slavery in East Africa and was committed to that cause despite the intense deprivations he suffered again and again.

He was a man who was tempered in his character through his sufferings. However, this book describes a man with a mettle I don't know even exists anymore. It is a powerful story and one I recommend. ( )

For those, like me, entirely unfamiliar with the life and career of David Livingstone, this book proved a useful account of his historical legacy and importance. This said, it is not, in the strictest sense, a full or complete biography- the focus and overall argument is clear from the outset. It proposes that his main goal was to destroy the central African slave trade- thus those looking for a conventional biography laying bare the great man’s personal life may want to look elsewhere.

There are many personal insights and accounts of his adventures (or more often misadventures) in Africa, and relationship with the people and fellows. Sometimes, a less than flattering picture emerges. Livingstone was passionate about his convictions, certainly, but also comes across as obsessive and obstinate to a fault- and at times, unwilling to admit responsibility for mistakes, an aspect which provides a useful and better-rounded view of the man.

It would be easy, in hindsight, to consider Livingstone to have been a failure, but as the full picture presents a different story. Perhaps the overarching argument that the abolition of slavery was the principal goal all along has some shortcomings, but this was the main way in which he ultimately, proved successful.

My only real complaints mostly regard small details. The author made the common error of conflating England and Britain throughout, and the writing seemed a little repetitive and patchy in places. The bibliography demonstrates the level of research and dedication that has gone into the work, which is commendable for an author from outside the historical discipline.

I received a copy of this book free from Thomas Nelson via Booklookbloggers in exchange for review. I was not required to write a positive one and all opinions expressed are my own. ( )