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Malaria Dreams: An African Adventure
Malaria Dreams is a tale of high adventure across Africa, recounted with the wit and humor that delighted readers of Night Train to Turkistan, Stuart Stevens' highly praised first book. "A rollicking, off-beat African odyssey".--Publishers Weekly.
236 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1989
About the author
Stuart Stevens
12 books72 followersAn American travel writer, political consultant and Daily Beast columnist. He is the cofounder of Washington, DC-based political media consultancy Stevens & Schriefer Group. He served as a top strategist for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
December 11, 2020
Cute story about the author and his female companion traveling to the Central African Republic to pick up a land rover that a friend in Europe wants back. So they find the Land Rover and travel through several countries along the way meeting bar owners, soldiers, villagers, city dwellers and many Peace Corps Volunteers. I found it mildly amusing and interesting. I was pretty surprised how much his female companion figures into the story, she’s barely there. Once in awhile he writes, “Ann said,”.
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December 11, 2023eventually gets good but like 90pp is squandered on trying in vain to leave bangui (established early on as a place where nothing happens, which is amply corroborated). if you've only got time for 1 stuart stevens make it night train to turkistan
February 20, 2016
Malaria Dreams is a book about the author and his friend's trip from West Africa to the Mediterranean in a questionable car, and it's well written. So why the one star?
I like adventure travel and adventure travel books better than the next guy usually- depending on who the next guy actually is, of course. But this book? The whole idea for the trip sounds like it was inspired by a malaria nightmare and the reality of it was even worse.
I've read a couple other adventure travel books (a ridiculously long canoe trip, a ridiculously long motorcycle trip, etc...) and thought upon finishing them that I would NEVER attempt anything so incredibly unappealing. This book belongs on the top of that pile.
By and large, the people encountered were deceitful, greedy and bullying. The mechanical difficulties were varied but constant. The landscapes and towns were ugly and monotonous. The overall account was little more than a dry stream of difficulties that meandered tracklessly through the wastelands of Africa.
Although the author's sense of humor, strained but still evident, lightened the tone of this book, the overall conclusion I formed was that the whole thing from idea to execution should have been avoided. I advise the same for the book.
I like adventure travel and adventure travel books better than the next guy usually- depending on who the next guy actually is, of course. But this book? The whole idea for the trip sounds like it was inspired by a malaria nightmare and the reality of it was even worse.
I've read a couple other adventure travel books (a ridiculously long canoe trip, a ridiculously long motorcycle trip, etc...) and thought upon finishing them that I would NEVER attempt anything so incredibly unappealing. This book belongs on the top of that pile.
By and large, the people encountered were deceitful, greedy and bullying. The mechanical difficulties were varied but constant. The landscapes and towns were ugly and monotonous. The overall account was little more than a dry stream of difficulties that meandered tracklessly through the wastelands of Africa.
Although the author's sense of humor, strained but still evident, lightened the tone of this book, the overall conclusion I formed was that the whole thing from idea to execution should have been avoided. I advise the same for the book.
September 11, 2012
My friend and I are trying to plan a trip to Africa next year, so my new project is reading travel memoirs that take place in Africa to familiarize myself a little with travel there and things we might want to do or see. This book was fun and a very quick read. It's the story of a man who road trips from Bangui, Central African Republic, to Algiers, Algeria, on a three-month long trip. Lots of fun stories about misadventures, cultural differences, etc. And in a surprising twist of events, I Googled the author when I finished the book and found out the man who once drove halfway across Africa in a beat-up old Land Cruiser is currently Romney's head campaign strategist. He's apparently quite the jack of all trades.
February 9, 2017
What a funny, absurd, eye-opening adventure. Reading "Malaria Dreams" was like an immersion into a world designed by Kafka and ruled by Murphy's laws.
The book rang very true for me. I hitchhiked from Kenya to S. Africa about the same time and encountered the same bewildering mix of corrupt govt. officials and generous individuals: with one set of rules for Africans and another for Westerners. I had to bribe my way out of Tanzania (where the border guards hadn't been paid in months) only to have the guard on the other side of the bridge in Malawi share his lunch with me.
My only criticism of the book is that the writer sort of ran out of gas in the end. (Pun intended.)
The book rang very true for me. I hitchhiked from Kenya to S. Africa about the same time and encountered the same bewildering mix of corrupt govt. officials and generous individuals: with one set of rules for Africans and another for Westerners. I had to bribe my way out of Tanzania (where the border guards hadn't been paid in months) only to have the guard on the other side of the bridge in Malawi share his lunch with me.
My only criticism of the book is that the writer sort of ran out of gas in the end. (Pun intended.)
May 17, 2020
This is the kind of African travel adventure that you might expect when the reader is told at the outset that Stuart Stevens decided to travel on a whim and prepared for his trip by buying (but not reading) several travel guides. I was entertained but I can understand how some readers might be put off by the fact that Stevens starts right out ill prepared, ill informed, and ill equipped.
Comments:
I may have missed it (and I'm not going to re-read the chapter to find out) but I didn't catch why Stevens was traveling with an apparently nubile young girl while his wife was left behind in England.
Stevens' admits that he has no mechanical skills and, when his car breaks down literally in Timbuktu (the middle of Lake Chad, actually), he reveals that he also has rotten bargaining skills. The handyman offers to fix the car for $200 and Stevens counters offering to pay him $10 which he calls " a more reasonable price" and the handyman stalks off. Good job, Stu.
Before heading out, Stevens bought guidebooks, one of which apparently contained an 1853 map of Timbuktu, as well as a bundle of presumably more recent maps of Africa at a map store in Paris. None of these was a topographical map and, only on reaching the Sahara Desert, did Stevens find out that the preferred maps are aircraft charts.
I had two thoughts on maps. First, that I shopped at a world-class map store in London (probably the equivalent of the Paris map store) where the most recent paper maps were over 20 years out-of-date and second, that there is probably no cell phone reception in the middle of the Sahara Desert.
Pet peeve: The cover of the book I have shows three buildings that resemble the takienta of the Batammariba people, a broken down car, a very large snake and two giraffe. The design is by Wendy Kassner. Wendy apparently thought that a book about Africa should have a snake and two giraffes on the cover whether they appear in the book or not. Ants and mosquitoes would have been more appropriate.
There is no index.
Comments:
I may have missed it (and I'm not going to re-read the chapter to find out) but I didn't catch why Stevens was traveling with an apparently nubile young girl while his wife was left behind in England.
Stevens' admits that he has no mechanical skills and, when his car breaks down literally in Timbuktu (the middle of Lake Chad, actually), he reveals that he also has rotten bargaining skills. The handyman offers to fix the car for $200 and Stevens counters offering to pay him $10 which he calls " a more reasonable price" and the handyman stalks off. Good job, Stu.
Before heading out, Stevens bought guidebooks, one of which apparently contained an 1853 map of Timbuktu, as well as a bundle of presumably more recent maps of Africa at a map store in Paris. None of these was a topographical map and, only on reaching the Sahara Desert, did Stevens find out that the preferred maps are aircraft charts.
I had two thoughts on maps. First, that I shopped at a world-class map store in London (probably the equivalent of the Paris map store) where the most recent paper maps were over 20 years out-of-date and second, that there is probably no cell phone reception in the middle of the Sahara Desert.
Pet peeve: The cover of the book I have shows three buildings that resemble the takienta of the Batammariba people, a broken down car, a very large snake and two giraffe. The design is by Wendy Kassner. Wendy apparently thought that a book about Africa should have a snake and two giraffes on the cover whether they appear in the book or not. Ants and mosquitoes would have been more appropriate.
There is no index.
August 18, 2023
Had I read the reviews before reading this book I may never have read it. Thankfully, that was not the case. I too traveled in W. Africa, solo, for six months in a car I purchased while there. The difficulties Stevens encountered couldn't have been told better. He brought into focus the difficulties of traveling in this area of the world with wit and humor. I wondered about Ann too, but understanding the problems a writer can get into if brutally honest about another person, most likely kept him reined in! I thought her character was delightful, the African people as warm, friendly, and frustrating as i found them. I'll read it again. And I'll go back to that continent again too. Can't help but thinking the negative reviews were from people who have never traveled there, certainly never driven there themselves.
September 7, 2021
let me say that i was 3/4ths through this book when i looked it up and found out the author is a prominent republican strategist. SIGH!!!
if i am able to set that aside (and i’m not really able to) it was a genuinely funny book. i thought it has a real david sedaris quality to the writing- that observant, frank sort of humor. i really enjoyed it and i liked that it wasn’t making fun of the people in africa, it was making fun of the author. i laughed out loud several times, will add the quotes later if i remember.
honestly i wish there had been more, the ending felt abrupt. or maybe i was just enjoying the ride?
sigh. would’ve given 5 stars if he wasn’t a republican. it was actually funny. almost made me miss chad
if i am able to set that aside (and i’m not really able to) it was a genuinely funny book. i thought it has a real david sedaris quality to the writing- that observant, frank sort of humor. i really enjoyed it and i liked that it wasn’t making fun of the people in africa, it was making fun of the author. i laughed out loud several times, will add the quotes later if i remember.
honestly i wish there had been more, the ending felt abrupt. or maybe i was just enjoying the ride?
sigh. would’ve given 5 stars if he wasn’t a republican. it was actually funny. almost made me miss chad
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2019
Bijzonder verhaal over twee Amerikanen die naar Afrika zijn gegaan om de landrover van een vriend op te halen. Dat blijkt lastiger dan ze dachten en uiteindelijk reizen ze met een daar gekochte auto van de Centraal Afrikaanse Republiek naar Algiers. Mooi beschreven hoe ze zich geleidelijk steeds meer schikken in het Afrikaanse tempo en de Afrikaanse gewoonten. Het is geschreven in 1989, dus voor internet en digitale telefoons. Onderweg treffen ze regelmatig bizarre situaties, veel vriendelijke en behulpzame mensen, heel veel controleposten met stempels en geweren en ook veel sjacheraars die proberen geld aan ze te verdienen. Goed geschreven met humor en met respect.
May 12, 2022
In the 1980’s, when a friend of the author says he has a Land Rover in the Central African Republic that needs to be driven to Switzerland, Stevens and a woman named Ann take on the job. I would have liked to know more about Ann, who she was and why she was there. She is never fully explained. They slogged through Africa and I slogged through the book. It is dated, and not very well written. Stevens and Ann have a “holier than thou” attitude toward Africa and its people and one wonders why they ever bothered to go in the first place (and perhaps why I ever bothered to read the book.)
April 21, 2019
Pleasant enough tale of a man and woman who, as complete strangers to one another, agree, via a middleman, to go to Africa , retrieve a vehicle and drive it back to Europe. What could possibly go wrong?!!! Especially interesting imagery of the tiny villages in the bush country, although overall, not especially well written. But considering my ongoing Africa flights of fancy, more enjoyable (at least for me) than not.
March 27, 2021
The only reason I finished this book was because it was only 236 pages. This was the most boring, uneventful ‘travel’ book I have ever read. The title and synopsis of this book were very misleading. Literally, nothing exciting happens to them. They face some minor inconveniences and none of them are worth writing an entire book about. So disappointed in this book. I only give one star reviews to books I couldn’t finish, but I’ll make an exception for this one.
March 17, 2017
Although I had high hopes for this book, seeing how the back cover mentions a rather "off-beat" type of narration through Central Africa, the succeeding chapters prove that the views towards the safari, and the people they met along the way were quite dated to the point that it seems to take for granted how the culture affects the transient with more depth. The speaker seems to be a haughty individual who starts out with a thirst for adventure, but continues to meet disappointments that he inserts all these Western influences that project a sense of entitlement.
And while it is a fast read, the rendering of the African landscape is outweighed by the alleged contributions of the West towards the progress of Central Africa. However, one can give it to the writer, looking at the attempts of inclusion, particularly on how much the countries within the region are torn with familial strife, stark poverty, and civil war.
And while it is a fast read, the rendering of the African landscape is outweighed by the alleged contributions of the West towards the progress of Central Africa. However, one can give it to the writer, looking at the attempts of inclusion, particularly on how much the countries within the region are torn with familial strife, stark poverty, and civil war.
September 12, 2017
This guy is probably my favorite writer. He has the rare ability to convey wit in through the written word.
May 20, 2018
Not as exciting as I thought it would be, the writer’s funny at times and he gets into some interesting escapades but there’s a lot of better books out there on Africa.
August 23, 2018
Entertaining account of travels across West Africa. Worth the read.
October 29, 2019
Steven's what-else-could-possibly-go-wrong, mis-adventure travelogues, are as fun and entertaining as travel writing gets!
December 2, 2019
I read this years ago and find Stevens' travel adventures, or misadventures, very entertaining. It is written in a crisp, spare style.
May 30, 2020
Africa is synonymous with adventure, and Stevens does not disappoint.
August 28, 2020
All in all I enjoyed the setting and anecdotes, but the writing and narrative were so choppy I was left feeling ambivalent by the end.
September 7, 2020
Amusing in the beginning but author probably ran out of steam half way through his writing.
May 2, 2021
Delightful depiction of a couple of travelers navigating their way through West Africa.
March 13, 2022
Dated but funny account of a white guy's road trip through several countries in Africa. The cultural differences are interesting. The adventurer's mishaps provide lots of chuckles.
June 20, 2023
If this is an african adventure, count me out!
March 10, 2017
This is a fun but frustrating read as the journey is nicely depicted but the circumstances in the text do not match the blurb on the book I was reading. The reason given for the journey is very weak and we know Stevens just wanted to have another book to sell and make some money. He is talented but this is light reading. The best point of the book is to learn a little bit about African geography and politics, etc.
January 22, 2016
This book was my first introduction to travel writing, and possibly the first piece of nonfiction I'd ever read that I actually liked (!!!), and it was a hoot to read back in 1994 when I was an excited and impressionable high school sophomore in World Geography class.
In a way, this class was my first foray into (unknowingly) studying anthropology, and I really did well, despite taking the class to avoid taking World History (we had a choice between the two), because I've always sucked at history due to my TERRIBLE short term memory. I thought it would be drawing maps and pinpointing locations on a globe and learning capitals, but it was WAY more than that, and it was an early indicator of what I would later study at a university.
Anyway, the premise of the book starts off as simple: a man and his female assistant journey to the Central African Republic to retrieve a friend's car, and drive it to Paris for him. Obviously things go awry and "shit happens," because the book is several hundred pages long, and then you begin to wonder how in the world such crazy things could actually happen to two people (again, it's a true tale!), and it becomes even more interesting!
I personally have never had the urge to visit Africa, but after re-reading this book as an adult with an M.A. in anthropology, I would pay to visit the continent with Stuart Stephens and hope that the same comedy ensues.
In a way, this class was my first foray into (unknowingly) studying anthropology, and I really did well, despite taking the class to avoid taking World History (we had a choice between the two), because I've always sucked at history due to my TERRIBLE short term memory. I thought it would be drawing maps and pinpointing locations on a globe and learning capitals, but it was WAY more than that, and it was an early indicator of what I would later study at a university.
Anyway, the premise of the book starts off as simple: a man and his female assistant journey to the Central African Republic to retrieve a friend's car, and drive it to Paris for him. Obviously things go awry and "shit happens," because the book is several hundred pages long, and then you begin to wonder how in the world such crazy things could actually happen to two people (again, it's a true tale!), and it becomes even more interesting!
I personally have never had the urge to visit Africa, but after re-reading this book as an adult with an M.A. in anthropology, I would pay to visit the continent with Stuart Stephens and hope that the same comedy ensues.
February 26, 2010
One day, while the author is hanging out with his friend in London, the friend mentions that he has a car in the Central African Republic, just waiting for someone to drive it back to the UK. What could go wrong?
Obviously, everything, or else this book would be pretty boring. Everything breaks, the author and his companion don't have good maps or an understanding of how things work, they get mistaken for smugglers: good times.
I was hoping this book would be somewhat like the TV series "Long Way Down", in which actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman ride motorcycles from the northernmost point in Scotland to the southernmost point of Africa, except with a car instead of motorcycles, and without a huge support crew. At its best points, this book definitely captures some of that feeling. Unfortunately, most of the book didn't quite get to that level: it focused too much on some of the mundane details, and not enough on crazy situations. I realize that even in trips with lots of wild adventure, most of the time is going to be spent sitting around just waiting -- but you don't have to put quite so much of that in the book.
It's an enjoyable read, but it could have been more so.
Obviously, everything, or else this book would be pretty boring. Everything breaks, the author and his companion don't have good maps or an understanding of how things work, they get mistaken for smugglers: good times.
I was hoping this book would be somewhat like the TV series "Long Way Down", in which actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman ride motorcycles from the northernmost point in Scotland to the southernmost point of Africa, except with a car instead of motorcycles, and without a huge support crew. At its best points, this book definitely captures some of that feeling. Unfortunately, most of the book didn't quite get to that level: it focused too much on some of the mundane details, and not enough on crazy situations. I realize that even in trips with lots of wild adventure, most of the time is going to be spent sitting around just waiting -- but you don't have to put quite so much of that in the book.
It's an enjoyable read, but it could have been more so.
March 3, 2012
In this adventure, a dodgy acquaintance of Stevens asks if he would like to go to the Central African Republic to retrieve his Land Rover, and drive it to France. Amazingly (though really not so surprising, considering the craziness of his earlier Chinese adventure) Stevens agrees. He drafts an attractive female friend into the adventure, and the two of them set off.
Immediately they run up against the patent corruptness of African governments: some minister took a liking to the Land Rover and more or less requisitioned it. Stevens tries multiple strategies to get the car back, to no avail. Inexplicably, he decides to buy another car and continue his planned journey through Africa. Clearly he is insane – he can’t find a mechanically trustworthy car and everything in Africa is overly expensive due to government corruption. Then of course there’s the fact that traveling through the African bush is a dangerous prospect at best. Yet Stevens is gung-ho, and surprisingly enough, so is his friend, Ann, and despite it all, they make their crazy journey, and again, have a lot of fun along the way. Again, I was hooked reading it, and envious of their trip.
Immediately they run up against the patent corruptness of African governments: some minister took a liking to the Land Rover and more or less requisitioned it. Stevens tries multiple strategies to get the car back, to no avail. Inexplicably, he decides to buy another car and continue his planned journey through Africa. Clearly he is insane – he can’t find a mechanically trustworthy car and everything in Africa is overly expensive due to government corruption. Then of course there’s the fact that traveling through the African bush is a dangerous prospect at best. Yet Stevens is gung-ho, and surprisingly enough, so is his friend, Ann, and despite it all, they make their crazy journey, and again, have a lot of fun along the way. Again, I was hooked reading it, and envious of their trip.
July 3, 2007
It was a while ago that I read this book, but I do remember thinking that some of Stevens' experiences in Africa were remarkably similar to my own. The story is of a man who goes to Africa in an effort to fetch a car for a friend and drive it back to Europe. What ensues is an adventure that lasts months, covers thousands of miles, and leaves the author with great stories and hundreds of ant bites. It's written with quite a lot of humor, a major love of adventure, and (as much as I can remember) not all that much "white guy-osity" about Africa. Instead of criticizing Africa or exoticizing it, he seemed to genuinely appreciate the craziness and beauty of the things and people he saw and take his experiences for what they were- forays into other cultures, not major political or economic statements. He didn't seem to generalize about Africans, that I remember, and his writing was more than decent. So, thumbs up. It was a fun read while in Namibia, for sure.
March 19, 2013
Very funny book about the misadventures of an American traveling through Africa to pick up a car for an acquaintance. I guess I have to consider this just a travel book, because there were no deep thoughts coming from the author--just wry, sarcastic observances. He never revealed how he really felt about anything (and lots of positively crazy things happened), and never revealed much about himself. More than halfway through the book we finally discover he's married. And we know next to nothing about his traveling companion, Ann. The book ends quite abruptly, too--as if his editor just told him to stop writing--NOW. At any rate, it WAS entertaining, although the bureaucracy and poverty were pretty sad.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews