A new edition of a great, underappreciated classic of our time Beryl Markham's "West with the Night "is a true classic, a book that deserves the same acclaim and readership as the work of her contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and Isak Dinesen. If the first responsibility of a memoirist is to lead a life worth writing about, Markham succeeded beyond all measure. Born Beryl Clutterbuck in the middle of England, she and her father moved to Kenya when she was a girl, and she grew up with a zebra for a ...
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A new edition of a great, underappreciated classic of our time Beryl Markham's "West with the Night "is a true classic, a book that deserves the same acclaim and readership as the work of her contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and Isak Dinesen. If the first responsibility of a memoirist is to lead a life worth writing about, Markham succeeded beyond all measure. Born Beryl Clutterbuck in the middle of England, she and her father moved to Kenya when she was a girl, and she grew up with a zebra for a pet; horses for friends; baboons, lions, and gazelles for neighbors. She made money by scouting elephants from a tiny plane. And she would spend most of the rest of her life in East Africa as an adventurer, a racehorse trainer, and an aviatrix--she became the first person to fly nonstop from Europe to America, the first woman to fly solo east to west across the Atlantic. Hers was indisputably a life full of adventure and beauty. And then there is the writing. When Hemingway read Markham's book, he wrote to his editor, Maxwell Perkins: "She has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer . . . [She] can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers . . . It is really a bloody wonderful book." With a new introduction by Sara Wheeler--one of Markham's few legitimate literary heirs--"West with the Night "should once again take its place as one of the world's great adventure stories.
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Beryl Markham's book is one of the three best books I've ever read. I purchase it as a gift for special people. Markham herself may have been a seriously flawed individual, but she was a writer without peer. Like Harper Lee, another great female writer, Markham realized she had produced her best work in her first attempt and produced no other major literary project.
Treat yourself to one of the best books ever written.
Shelley C
Jun 26, 2010
One of the best books ever
The first chapter is a touch slow, but the rest of the book is incredible. I have purchased this book at lest 9 times because I'll lend it out and it's never returned. Fascinating stories, beautifully told. The syntax is marvelous. There may be doubt as to who actually wrote the words, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that it's one of the best -- if not THE best -- book you'll ever read.
skyprincess
Sep 13, 2008
Well Written, Dreamy Memoir
Beryl Markham lived in the 'Out-of-Africa' era and was loosely portrayed in the movie as the character 'Felicity.' She writes of a still unsettled Africa, Karen Blixen, Denis Finch Hatton and other characters portrayed in 'Out of Africa'. She writes wonderfully well (praised by Hemmingway) of a time when Africa was still untamed and flying was extremely dangerous. An amazing biography, this book is perfect for a book club or a rainy weekend.