Crazy River: Exploration and Folly in East Africa

by Richard Grant

NO ONE TRAVELS QUITE LIKE RICHARD GRANT and, really, no one should. In his last book, the adventure classic God’s Middle Finger, he narrowly escaped death in Mexico’s lawless Sierra Madre. Now, Grant has plunged with his trademark recklessness, wit, and curiosity into East Africa. Setting out to make the first descent of an unexplored river in Tanzania, he gets waylaid in Zanzibar by thieves, whores, and a charismatic former golf pro before crossing the Indian Ocean in a rickety cargo boat. And then the real adventure begins. Known to local tribes as “the river of bad spirits,” the Malagarasi River is a daunting adversary even with a heavily armed Tanzanian crew as travel companions. Dodging bullets, hippos, and crocodiles, Grant finally emerges in war-torn Burundi, where he befriends some ethnic street gangsters and trails a notorious man-eating crocodile known as Gustave. He concludes his journey by interviewing the dictatorial president of Rwanda and visiting the true source of the Nile. Gripping, illuminating, sometimes harrowing, often hilarious, Crazy River is a brilliantly rendered account of a modern-day exploration of Africa, and the unraveling of Grant’s peeled, battered mind as he tries to take it all in.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Africa, Adventure, History, Book Club, World History

323 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2011

About the author

Richard Grant is a freelance British travel writer based in Arizona. He was born in Malaysia, lived in Kuwait as a boy and then moved to London. He went to school in Hammersmith and received a history degree from University College, London. After graduation he worked as a security guard, a janitor, a house painter and a club DJ before moving to America where he lived a nomadic life in the American West, eventually settling in Tucson, Arizona, as a base from which to travel. He supported himself by writing articles for Men's Journal, Esquire and Details, among others.

His third book Crazy River: Exploration and Folly in East Africa (2011) is about Grant's travels in harrowing situations around East Africa, including an attempt at the first descent of the Malagarasi River in Tanzania.

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book while I was travelling through Malawi - many of Grant's observations and insights about African culture and travel resonated with my experiences and with the stories I'd heard from other travellers, and I agreed with his views on aid.

I'm not a big fan of travel writing in general, though. Reading books like this usually makes me feel like I'm swapping tales with other travelers (which I do enjoy), except without being able to relate my own experience or get into deeper discussions/arguments about the issues.

I've also noticed that travel books tend to include far too many overwrought insights into the author's state of mind and emotions for my tastes - somehow I never seem to find myself having the same sorts of crises of conscience or emotion or identity while travelling. The few male travel writers I've read, this one included, also seem to spend a lot of time in bars, commenting on how beautiful the women around are - something I'm not particularly interested in reading (male readers may feel differently!).

[Ensiform · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author, feeling the same wanderlust as his idol Richard Burton, decides to go to Tanzania to run the length of the Malagarasi, Tanzania's second-longest river. Facing one obstacle after another, he finally gets a guide, but then his troubles really start, in the form of impassable groves and rapids, crocodiles, and poachers willing to shoot on sight. His river expedition comes to an end, but he treks on through Burundi, one of the poorest and most violent countries in the world, and onto Rwanda, where he has an appointment to interview the authoritarian president (now currently in his unprecedented third term). Along the way Grant tells parts of Burton's story as well.

Grant is a wonderful travel writer. He writes eloquently of the scenery, but does not skip over the tsetse flies, ticks, fevers, mouth sores, and other ailments he gets on his trip. He writes admiringly of the benevolent African people who give him hospitality and help him, of their strength and skill in navigating corruption. But he also looks with a grimly realistic eye at the culture of handouts, questioning the effectiveness of foreign aid and how it might create a continent of beggars. He contrasts the Western approach with how the Chinese are bringing infrastructure to Africa, not out of post-colonial guilt but to encourage trade with themselves. In Rwanda, he wonders at how in fifteen short years the desolation and genocide has been transformed into a clean, crime-free, bribe-free, independent country, but with tragedy and grievances still bubbling underneath, held in check only by authoritarian rule. The book is entertaining, especially in the first sections; in Zanzibar Grant takes up with a self-proclaimed, eccentric "golf pro," and the river expedition provides all the drama and bumbling that one might expect. The sections of Burundi and Rwanda are, of course, grimmer, but on every page Grant shows a keen eye for the picturesque, picaresque, perplexing, or profound. Highly recommended for armchair travelers who read vicariously.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suffers a bit from being unfocused. I'm not ruining anything to say the canoe trip Grant had planned didn't work out, so he wrote a book about 4 different locations which sort of ties together.
Having said that, it's a really excellent read; thoughtful, intelligent and well written. He tackles the past, present and future of central Africa and leaves you to draw your own conclusions.
Not my favourite of Grant's books, but that's only because the standard is so high

[Fadillah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dale was right. It was a beautiful stretch of river. The Mala-garasi flowed along at a good clip, generating a few white-capped riffles where it ran over submerged rocks. On the west side of the river, where we were camped, there were scattered thorn-bushes, a few stunted trees, and the vast expanse of savannah grassland we had crossed in the vehicles. On the opposite bank there was an impressive gallery forest of sausage trees, fig trees, acacias, palms, and yellow fever trees. Before the link between mosquitoes and malaria was understood, European explorers suspected these trees, with their bilious looking yellow-green bark, of emitting the vapors that caused the disease. At sunset, a pod of hippos started up their low honking grunts. There were herons and storks and ornate geese in the air, and a magnificent fish eagle. A twelve-foot crocodile lay motionless in the river. It resembled a log almost exactly, except a log would have drifted downstream with the current, and the croc held its position with a little riffle of water flowing over its snout. This was the Africa I had fallen in love with: the riverside safari Africa of tents, boats, storytelling, campfires, incomparable birds and wildlife. But I hadn't understood so clearly then that its continued existence depended on armed game scouts willing to kill and be killed to foil the hungry appetites of a desperately poor and rapidly expanding population a million people were living in ninety villages within easy reach of all this grass and bush meat.
- Chapter of Accidents - Crazy River : Exploration and Folly in East Africa by Richard Grant
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When people put ‘crazy river’ on the title, you would have expected it to be everything about river that does not make any sense, poses a lot of danger and only a handful of experienced people knew how to navigate the area. At least thats what i am thinking of when i first saw the book. Unfortunately, the book started not really from the river, it took you to the beginning of the journey to see the river, a failed original plan and a series of observation and backhanded compliment of how Tanzania, Burundi even Rwanda should be (although this one is not necessarily came from the author but from people he met along the way). Not to mention , the reading gets a little bit uncomfortable that there’s a lot of prostitution mention in the book - which most of the times the chances of this meeting is because the author loves to go to the bars and lounges in these country. The word ‘Muzungu / Mazungu’ meant white people is being used whenever Africans encountered the author in the places that he visited. Some asked him money given the assumption that all white people are rich, some asked him to sponsor them and some outrightly tried to rob him. Once i passed 100 pages of this book which i felt i used to the way it was written, i actually preferred a large chunk of political and historical commentary and bits of fun facts that was put together in it. The author revealed how much foreign Aid is being swindled by the politicians of these countries, the differences between China Foreign Investment in the East African compared to what US and European Countries has done and NGO’s tone deaf approaches in wanting to help the impoverished community but failed to understand the cultural differences and sense of thee people they wanted to help. The author pointed that tourism started to peak in some of the areas but most of the tourists don’t even have a single clue of the country’s they are visiting. Author did take advantage of his status being white man in these countries whereby the danger he encountered is minimal. He mingled with locals, stayed with them even and some even offered to show him around. This alone helped him to write about some of the community diets on cassava and sort of bbq style hippo meats. Author also highlighted some of the notorious bureaucracy practices from immigration up to the licences to visit some of the rivers - all needed a little bit ‘persuasion’. It can be money or local connection - whichever works at that time. That being said, Author remains impartial which i came to appreciate after finishing the book. Noting on the colonialism, the unequal distribution of foreign aids, the booming population and greeds, even the resourceful countries like Tanzania , Burundi and Rwanda fell behind to achieve the progress and growth at least by what the west determined. Overall, while i do want to learn about how magnificent Lake Tanganyika is, how vast Malagarasi River is and even find out the Source of Nile River that situated in Rwanda - the book didn’t really deliver (at least that’s how i felt). Nevertheless I am still grateful to learn a handful of things from this travelogue.

[Lyn Dahlstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much, but for reasons other than I expected.

As a kayaker and passionate lover of rivers, I expected to most enjoy the river journey account. It was well depicted, but amounted to a couple of big rapids, and lots of machete and grunt work to find flowing channels in low water. But the people along the river were endlessly interesting.

Descriptions of life in Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda took a reader way beyond what we usually hear from official sources. Grant meets and spends lots of time with a large variety of local, everyday people, and travels to places many wouldn't go. One is greeted by the full effects of overpopulation and vast inequality and corruption in places that bear the brunt of it. Environmental devastation and rampant lawlessness are shown in everyday lives of citizens, but also how many desperately poor people manage to live in grace and dignity amidst this. Grant also manages to give a new perspective on the expectation that white visitors give money to those who befriend and help them (rather than rob or extort, which was also omnipresent in the first two countries).

Rwanda, with its dictator, was something I had not known much about. The last I had heard of Rwanda was the horrific, brutal genocide between the two tribal units making up most of the population. But this dictator has somehow eliminated corruption, instilled pride in working and keeping trash picked up better than the US, and has the two tribes living together in outward peace (though divisions in their hearts remain for brutally massacred family members). Citizens are truly invested in making Rwanda a very good place. Grant also has a 2-hour interview with the dictator. I want to know more about how this dictator achieved the beginning of this astounding transformation.

It isn't often that one is entertained while learning a lot about real conditions and people in the world, and this book does that. Recommended.

[Randy Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Richard Grant book I’ve read this year and he is proving to be an excellent travel writer, one part travel, one part history lesson, one part his story. And he’s funny too. Crazy River is full of interesting to outlandish characters he meets along the way and he keeps a running commentary on legendary 19th century explorers Speke and Burton that he, at times is retracing their steps. This is really an excellent window into much of East Africa in the 21st century, particularly the challenges of western aid (much of it rerouted to fuel wars and/or resold in open markets) and also the book’s chapters on the Rwanda genocide and it’s remarkable turn around, particularly the role Protestant Churches played in it. Though one Rwandan’s response when John asked him what would happen if current strong man Rwandan president Kagame were to die is certainly chilling. He said without hesitation, “instant genocide.”

[Andrew Miramon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story. Some of the stories here are just jaw-dropping. Stories of wilderness exploration, partying with locals, and then an interview with the president of Rwanda? Absolutely crazy. Learned so much about East Africa from this book. He even got me hooked on Congolese music

[Layla Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am just entranced with this book! I've been to many of the places he travels through albeit in the 1980s and the correlations between his trip and Burton/Speke of 1857 is fascinating. Un-put-downable. And yeah I know the worst toilet in Africa. It's in the Kampala Uganda train station.

[Psocoptera · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Random Assortment of Insightful and Thrilling Escapades from the Heart of Africa
4.5/5

From the comfort of your living room chair, Richard Grant takes you on a chaotic adventure starting with his dodging of thieves and prostitutes in insalubrious bars in Zanzibar through to a tense interview with the first democratically elected president of Burundi. In just over 200 pages Grant manages to cram in seafaring the Indian ocean in a cargo dhow, navigating the whole of Tanzania's Malagarasi river in a raft whilst avoiding crocodiles, hippos, lions and bullets, whilst picking up on important issues in his destinations of Rwanda and Burndi, such as genocide and the questionable efficacy of foreign aid.

Following in the footsteps of Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke, Grant gives a more up-to-date view on Eastern Africa whilst suffering similar illnesses and troubles that his predecessors succumbed to. The tales of dangerous travel are interspersed with interesting reviews on the strange phenomenon that Grant encounters, such as the demonisation of Albinos in these countries.

This book is essential reading for any budding traveller, but large parts should be of interest to practically anyone.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I take guilty pleasure in reading about this man's travails throughout the world. Now that I've come back to write a review and have seen that his body of work has increased, I'm sure I'll read more.

This book also made some fascinating points about how aid and development can go terribly wrong, even if made with the best of intentions.

[Phil Overeem · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a third about Grant's ill-advised attempt to trek the full length of the Malagarisi, a third parallel history followed the legendary British explorer Richard Burton, and a third commentary on the joys and horrors of East Africa. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great look at life in Burundi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and especially Rwanda.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, occasionally grueling, insight into contemporary East Africa, with parallel analysis of previous exploration (Burton, Speke, Grant, Livingstone).

[Rock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book mostly because of its intent to parallel an expedition of Richard Burton's, a figure I'd found really fascinating in Fawn Brodie's The Devil Drives. Also I always enjoy reading about Africa, a continent that US media appears to believe is still lost, for all the coverage it gets (there have been more novels by African authors in African settings published since George Floyd's murder, but still not much non-fiction). While this book was entertaining, well-written, and explored much deeper issues than the typical travel book, it never really escaped the tension of an English guy writing, often critically, about a culture that has been so ravaged by imperialism. I stopped giving the author the benefit of the doubt when, early on, he compares the chattel slavery of the 17th-19th century Atlantic world to the tribal slavery of medieval Africa, and seems to diffuse the blame for chattel slavery by saying that "90 percent of the slaves... were originally gathered by African slavery." There are of course no sources cited for this controversial statistic, and no discussion of how European hunger for slaves might have intensified and brutalized existing slavery practices. Despite this, the author is generally fair-minded about the serious issues he's discussing, but there is something unsatisfying about the lack of depth with which a travel book can discuss deep issues. A telling contrast is the brilliance of his reflection on the immense gratitude that a woman shows when he gives her an empty whiskey bottle with his superficial dismissal of the importance of Western aid in impoverished countries.

[Tom Pellman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Account of Grant's 2009 trip through Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda - centered on descending the unexplored Malagarasi River beset with crocodiles, hippos, armed bandits, and disease. Like other modern-day exploration travel stories, Grant roughly follows a historic itinerary. His is 19th century explorer Richard Burton's journey in and around the African Great Lakes. But Grant first whiles away time in Zanzibar, led through the labyrinthine underbelly of the city by a charismatic golf pro. There he chats with bar owners, prostitutes, and other hangers-on, while constantly on the look out for pick-pockets and other dangers. The Malagarasi River trek is more-or-less doomed from the start, and Grant's eventual arrival at the source of the Nile in Rwanda is laughably anti-climatic.

The highlights of Grant's books, as always, are the in-between places, characters, and serendipitous encounters. He is a master of creating the FEELING of impromptu travel in less-developed places. He starts with a rough plan, some historical referents, but he knows that the best writing material presents itself as long as you journey with an air of looseness and openness. Theroux's travel books are great because, despite his best efforts, the messiness and chaos of travel always finds away of penetrating his personal bubble. Grant seeks out the messiness and chaos, and rides it like like an inflatable raft careening toward submerged rocks and crocodiles.

[Cathy Savage · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is essentially a travelog about the author's travels through East Africa. It details the journey from Zanzibar across to Tanzania to make the first descent of the Malagarasai River. He also is looking to see the origins of the White Nile for himself and interview the president of Rwanda. This story gives the short story of the woes of travel in East Africa, health issues encountered along the way as well as introducing us to the cast of people who helped him along the way. The writing is easy to read and the descriptions of the characters he meets are quite entertaining. The reader is able to travel vicariously through him in some of the back country areas of a part of the world not easily traveled. His report of the conversation with the Rwandan president was interesting and makes me want to learn more of East African history than the news reveals. Once I had time to sit and read the story was quite engrossing.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although what I got out of the book was a little different than what I expected, I still really enjoyed this read. Somehow I had the idea that this would be an almost exclusively water based adventure but the reader is 1/3 of the way through the book...if not more...before the author ever really hits the water. While in Zanzibar, he gets a little side tracked by a former golf pro and ends up spending quite a bit of time with him before he remembers he's supposed to be rafting down the Malagarasi River. Then when he finally gets to his watery exploration, it seems as if his crew is beset by one problem after another. When Mr. Grant finally finishes up his adventure he gets to interview the dictatorial president of Rwanda. At this point the reader gets a fair share and more of the history behind the Hutu/Tutsi genocide, which was enlightening but horrific. All in all, a great adventure.

[Neha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts exceptionally slow for me, at p 56 we move from Zanzibar to mainland Tanzania and only somewhere in the 80 pages we reach the beginning of the jaunt for malagarasi, which is, disappointingly over even before it begins, and then somehow picks up again for a short while till it is actually over. Currently living in kasulu, and hilltop hotel being one of my favourites in kigoma, there are parts of this book that resonated with me. The writing is effortless and beautiful but I still found this book was missing something. I enjoyed reading about Burundi and Rwanda too, but the book is being sold as a jaunt down malagarasi river and I would have loved to read more of than, not just the 50 odd pages of a 270 page book that are dedicated to it

[Eleena Banerji · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ride with Richard Grant as he takes you to and through the Malagarasi River in Tanzania
His encounters with pods of Hippos, crocodiles, guns and thugs make for a heady combination
Vivid descriptions of East African people's accents, lifestyle and appearances brought back a rush of memories of my stay in Nairobi two decades ago

This book is not just about his exploration of a lesser-known river but also provides an account of the unspeakable and ghastly human genocide in Rwanda in the 90s, specific details of which left me sleepless. And there must be more and worse that I don't know about

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I would hate this book more than I did.

It starts off inauspiciously. He’s in a bar in Zanzibar, he schmoozes with a golf pro, and he won’t let you forget how faithful he’s being to his girlfriend back home despite no shortage of beautiful prostitutes to his north south east west. 1 star! Why’s he even here?

But then he goes to some other places and has some more interesting things to say about bugs and wildlife and conservation and trophy hunting and NGOs, and even though the question remains (Why is he doing this?) and even though I don’t agree with all he has to say, I liked his writing enough to finish it.

[Paulo Seara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though excellent in the perspective of a very descriptive narrator; however the writer goes beyond his limited means tainted by prejudices in his analysis, and at some points writes very infatuated views kind of delirious like when he states that fisherman in Lake Victoria pay 75 thousand dollars for fishing nets with albino skin. In reality, the fishermen barely survive from their catching, and the 75 thousand dollar were stated by NGOs operating in East Africa; clearly a scam to get funding to keep their operations working. After I finished, my Ugandan partner started reading the book and found very inadequate and odd things. She likes to read this book more as entertainment.

[Charles Nevle · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Eye Opener on East Africa

Embarrassingly I came to this book nearly totally ignorant of East Africa, attracted solely as a solid fan of Richard Grant’s writing. The book, as all of his are, is entertaining. But more than that, it provides a perspective on a place that I imagine many more than myself have largely ignored.

In the book he references a quote from Ecclesiastes 1: 18 “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” There is certainly plenty of grief that comes for lifting of a bit of my ignorance through this read.

[Mike Fantauzzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic African travelogue. Grant travels through some far flung East African locations, meets very interesting people and re-counts the fascinating history of Burton & Speke traveling a similar route many years earlier. His writing is honest and insightful and I felt I learned so much about the history and present landscape of this beautiful & troubled part of the world. I will surely check out his other efforts.

[Michael Geske · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tiring, exhausting adventure. A “bring you back to reality” experience.

Really, everyone in the world should read this. A world exists in Africa that very VERY few people understand. I’m not sure that anyone does. This book will give you a new understanding, just not an elusive full understanding. It will certainly make you better grounded in understanding where YOU live, and make you a little more appreciative and definitely more wise.

[Conan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a region that's known for being a mixed bag, Richard Grant gives us a colorful and somewhat poignant look at life in Africa. He's a veteran traveler who's gone to unsavory places before, which lends extra emphasis on his travel (and folly) through eastern Africa, and we're all the better for it: he humanizes something abhorrent aspects of human nature with his optimism. Great read that'll keep you turning the page!

[April Umminger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy River is a great travel memoir, particularly if visiting far away lands is in your blood. Grant captures perfectly the mindset of the career traveler, where you most appreciate the comforts of home when you are away. He also deftly weaves African history and culture throughout his story, creating an entertaining and informative picture of modern-day life in East Africa.

[Leila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way Richard Grant writes. I love his adventurousness. He has a great way of capturing people that I really enjoy. If he has one fault, it is that he tends to overstate some points and opinions. Specifically, I felt that the criticisms of all aid work were overdone. Still loved the book and will read more by him.

[Marcia Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that remind you how ignorant you really are. There was so much here that it will take me a long time to process all of it, even as I add more books to read about the genocide in Rwanda, Burton, colonialism, Paul Kagame, and Livingstone...just to name a few. Mindblowing.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a “River Rat” I loved it! But especially the last 2 chapters, when the author travels from Tanzania through Burundi to Rwanda, where he interviewed it’s President.

Fascinating, albeit written & published in 2009. Hopefully, things have changed in Burundi in the last 16 years. It doesn’t sound like the Burundis are eager to loose their freedoms.

[Polly · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Dar book club for Feb. this was a mixed bag. It ended on a high note, and I really enjoyed the parts of the book in Burundi and Rwanda. However, I did not like the Tanzania section, especially the river rafting. Some of the commentary on life in Tanzania also did not ring true, which casts some doubt for me over the parts about Burundi and Rwanda. Still, a good book for discussion