This book offers the first full length biography of legendary explorer Mungo Park for over forty years. Tracing the expeditions who followed him it documents how and why he was commemorated long after his death. This is not simply one of the great stories of world exploration but a rich and varied account of Africa and its cultures at the time.

Winner of the Saltire Society Research Book of the YearWhilst documents and other written material are obvious resources that help shape our view of the past, maps too can say much about a nation's...