Man Eaters Motel - Hardcover

Another splendidly keen-eyed and cant-free book from Boyles (African Lives, 1988), who takes the old travel chestnut--a journey by train in the wilds--and turns it into a tart but not unsympathetic commentary on East Africa, past and present. Boyles begins on the once-prosperous clove-growing island of Zanzibar, center of the Arab-run slave trade and the first British foothold in East Africa. He next travels to Mombasa, the former Arab stronghold on the Kenyan coast and the first stop on the railway, planned by the British to run from the coast through Nairobi and Kenya to Kisumu on Lake Victoria. Begun in 1896 and built with imported labor from India, the railway's progress into the interior was slow, and events at Tsavo--site of the very real but much underused Man Eaters Motel of the title--almost ended the project. Now a sleepy railway halt in the middle of the Taru desert, Tsavo was once the scene of a terrifying spree by man- eating lions, who before they were finally shot had killed more than 128 people, often snatching them from their tents while they were sleeping, or, in one instance, from a stationary railway carriage. The rest of the journey to Kisumu, a place ``trouble enough for most people,'' is relatively tame in comparison but typically enlivened by Boyles's cogent observations and penchant for the unusual. Vivid writing, well-chosen anecdotes, illuminating facts, and a special knack for finding and delineating memorable characters make this a treat for those who delight in the offbeat, always objective, and never pompous travel book. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Inspired by his train travels aboard the Mombasa-Nairobi Express, Boyles, senior editor of Men's Life and author of African Lives ( LJ 9/1/88), unravels some of the mystique of East Africa with a blend of historical fact, personal anecdote, and droll humor. One intended stop along the way is the Man Eaters Motel near Tsavo which, save for its dining room, turns out to be nonexistent. However, situated on a stretch of land where man-eating lions once roamed, it sets the stage for a gruesome yet fascinating account of the man-eaters which stalked Indian laborers while they built the East African railroad. For even the most stalwart armchair traveler, this may be rough going due to the bleak impressions given by references to the hot climate, animal poaching, and oppression of East African peoples. However, this might be just the thing for someone content to simply read about East Africa.
- Elizabeth DeMarco, Onondaga Cty. P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.