MODERN SAFARI

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21726, 7 March 1936, Page 19

MODERN SAFARI

Over African Jungles. By Martin Johnson. George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd. 249 pp. (12s 6d net.)

Mr and Mrs Martin Johnson first explored Africa on foot. Then came the “rough-riding, but reasonably dependable” motor-car, which was soon discarded for the Sikorsky amphibian. With some daring Mr Johnson bought two of these magnificent machines and shipped them in January,, 1933, together with pilots, engineers, motion-picture cameramen, and a vast quantity of stores, to South Africa, whence they were carefully flown to Nairobi, in Kenya Colony,

During two years the Johnsons flew approximately 60,000 miles "over Kenya, Tanganyika, and the Belgian Congo, and they took endless photographs and films. Landing in remote parts and establishing temporary camps, they lived in close quarters with all kinds of wild animals and game. They flew over the highest mountains in Africa, the densest' forests, and the largest lakes; and all the while their standard of safety was greater than that enjoyed by a tramping party in the backblocks of New Zealand.

The last fact is perhaps the most remarkable in a fine book. Time after time it is stated, and the incredulous reader finally believes. It is to be hoped, therefore, that the book will have many readers, all of whom will learn not only that aviation is the safest and most efficient form of modern transport, but that darkets Africa has been badly maligned by its first footsore and malaria-ridden white explorers. They will discover that faith the help of aeroplanes and careful organisation it is possible to be more contented and comfortable in the heart of the African continent than in the centre of London or New York, and that with the exertion of a little tact and some patience it is possible to become as friendly with lions and baboons as with society hostesses and members of Parliament.,

AUTHOR IN AFRICA African Log. By Shaw Desmond. Hutchinson and Co. Ltd. 282 pp. Through Whltcombe and Tombs Ltd.

Shaw Desmond has so many and so interesting impressions of his journey through Africa that it is a pity his book is written in the form he has chosen. It would have less of a tome and more of a book and would have made more interesting reading if the author had been able to withstand the temptation to interlard the story he has to tell with interminable allusions to his personal reactions to the changing environment of his travels. If the reader can discard or ignore the impression that the book is more about Shaw Desmond than Africa, he can better appreciate the really interesting observations of the author and the pleasantness of his style. It is fair to say that it is nowhere suggested or implied that the book is an attempt to treat with any depth of African problems; it is rather a stimulant to interest for the prospective traveller over the same ground; and for those who have to do their travelling from an armchair, its impressions are deep enough to prom’ote thought without requiring too active concentration. The book’s best foments spring from the author’s fovr ing interest in things, and people and occurrences out of the ordinary. The book is profusely illustrated with a varied and well-chosen assortment of photographs.