David Livingstone Mission and Empire [Hardcover]

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 Empireis a scholarly and readable account of Livingstone's life and of his achievements.

...meticulously researched and beautifully written... Times Literary Supplement

This is a marvellous book, academic yet highly readable, compassionate but always honest The Scots Magazine

he has no difficulty in convincing the reader of Livingstone's gifts, and above all of his humanity towards the people of Africa... The Sunday Telegraph

The Displaced Gael * A Student in Glasgow and London * The LMS and Southern Africa * Kuruman and Mabotsa * Kolobeng and the North * South African Politics * Coast to Coast * Years of Triumph * The Zambesi Expedition * Linyanti * Failure and Defeat * Home and Family * Bombay to Bangweulu * Last Journeys * Livingstone and Imperialism

Andrew Rossis the author ofA Vision Betrayed: The Jesuits in Japan and China, 1549-1742andBlantyre Mission and the Making of Modern Malawi. He is Honorary Fellow of the FacullcÀ