David Livingstone: A New Assessment of his Life and Impact
Stephen Tomkins
David Livingstone has gone down in history as a fearless
explorer and missionary, hacking his way through the jungles
of Africa to bring light to the people – and also to free them
from slavery. But who was he, and what was he actually like?
‘He was an extraordinary character’ according to biographer
Stephen Tomkins ‘unbelievably bad at personal relationships,
at least with white people, with infinite self-belief, courage
and restlessness. He was a flawed but indomitable idealist.’
Fascinating new evidence about Livingstone’s life, and his
struggles have come to light in the letters and journals he left
behind, now accessible to us for the first time through
spectral imaging. These form a large part of the source
material for this excellent biography, which provides an
honest and balanced account of the real man behind the
Victorian icon.
