Blood River- A Journey To Africa's Broken Heart By Tim Butcher

Former Daily Telegraph correspondent Tim Butcher has been obsessed with the Congo River ever since he was assigned to Africa in 2000. His obsession soon evolved into a trip following the footsteps of H.M Stanley's famous expedition in the 1870s. Butcher set out on his trip with a backpack and a few thousand dollars hidden in his shoes. His plan was to travel the length of the Congo River, for the uninformed reader the Congo River runs through one of the world's most dangerous countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC has been in a near state of war since the early 1960s with rebels fighting the Government with support from Rwanda and Uganda amongst others. Butcher expertly covers the history of the DRC from the cruel Belgium colonial period right through to the present day civil war. This gives an excellent background to his journey, the sights and sounds that Butcher encounters are a direct result of the Belgium colonial period and the subsequent battles for the country's precious natural resources. The towns, once containing brimming, vibrant, and a bustling populace, Butcher travels through are all run down and scarred by the result of 50 plus years of war. Ever since Belgium granted the DRC independence it has been in a near constant state of war. Tim Butcher covers all of this superbly but also adds personnel insight, his mother once travelled the Congo River as a young lady and this can be seen in Butcher's own obsession with the Congo River. An excellent addition to the sparse resources on Africa's broken heart.

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