Selous' ability to describe what he sees still amazes me. This book is about the period of time after he wrote "A Hunter's Wanderings in Africa", roughly from 1883 to 1893. The quality of writing is there, but the action is less than his first book. He spents a great deal of time describing his efforts to build a road for Cecil Rhodes' company and his exploits collecting animals for exhibition in England and the UK. There are several amazing escapes and encounters with the natives and dangerous game. He comes in contact with many of the famed early elephant hunter/poachers along with several characters from the Portuguese government. He also discusses in detail his interactions with the various native chiefs which tells me that they ended up with the same type of "deal" that the American Indians ended up with.

Overall, I am a Selous fan, but this book can get tedious with his travels in between adventures. A very good read, well written, but not as good as his first book. If you are a Zim/Moz/Bots history buff, this book tells a lot of tales about the Europeans and the locals that is truly first hand info. I felt that Selous was encouraged to write this book because of the success of his first book and that he kept extensive diaries to draw upon. Overall, a solid book, but can only rate it a 6.5 out of 10 with a recommendation to read if you are truly a Selous fan or a serious history buff.