Cheryl's Reviews > The Shadow of the Sun

This is insightful prose written by a Polish journalist who spent years traveling around Africa (beginning in the 1950s). It is a collection of essays that follow Kapuscinski's time spent in Africa; during coups, wars, racial tensions, hunger, starvation, sickness, and more. Though I didn't love the parts of the book that seemed highly dramatized, what I really liked about this is that Kapuscinski gets into the experience, living it and detailing it. He's not a removed journalist. In fact, this book reads like a great collection of stories. He talks about the racial tensions of that time, the distinctive culture of each country in Africa, the political climate, the people, the food, the terrain, and his own vulnerabilities. There is some sun, even with the shadow.

It is a book filled with details, vivid descriptions, dialect, and history, narrated with storytelling ease. It is the type of book which intertwines serious journalism with storytelling--very appealing.