In this first-hand account from explorer Frederick Selous, first published in 1893, readers follow the true story of a trailblazing adventurer in an unknown land. Selous explored the area around the Limpopo River in what is now northern South Africa and Zimbabwe. From fending off lions and hyenas to hunting the most dangerous game Africa, Selous' safari was mythic-the very foundation of the Western world's romance with the Dark Continent. Anyone who has ever dreamed of visiting Africa will be enchanted by the real-life adventures of the man who inspired the fictional Allan Quatermain. British hunter and explorer FREDERICK COURTENEY SELOUS (1851-1917) was a renowned traveler and conservationist, spending much of his time charting the continent of Africa. He sent many animal trophies back to England to be displayed in museums and helped American president Teddy Roosevelt on a similar mission to supply the Smithsonian. Selous wrote a number of books about his adventures, including A Hunter's Wanderings in Africa (1881) and Sunshine & Storm in Rhodesia (1896). A hunting reserve in Tanzania now bears his name.

From the acclaimed author of Dispatches From Pluto and Deepest South of All comes a rollicking travelogue from East Africa. NO ONE TRAVELS QUITE LIKE RICHARD GRANT and, really, no one should. In his last book, the adventure classic God’s Middle Finger, he narrowly escaped death in Mexico’s lawless Sierra Madre. Now, Grant has plunged with his trademark recklessness, wit, and curiosity into East Africa. Setting out to make the first descent of an unexplored river in Tanzania, he gets waylaid in Zanzibar by thieves, whores, and a charismatic former golf pro before crossing the Indian Ocean in a rickety cargo boat. And then the real adventure begins. Known to local tribes as “the river of bad spirits,” the Malagarasi River is a daunting adversary even with a heavily armed Tanzanian crew as travel companions. Dodging bullets, hippos, and crocodiles, Grant finally emerges in war-torn Burundi, where he befriends some ethnic street gangsters and trails a notorious man-eating crocodile known as Gustave. He concludes his journey by interviewing the dictatorial president of Rwanda and visiting the true source of the Nile. Gripping, illuminating, sometimes harrowing, often hilarious, Crazy River is a brilliantly rendered account of a modern-day exploration of Africa, and the unraveling of Grant’s peeled, battered mind as he tries to take it all in.