Dead man and woman walking -- in Africa

It was a long, very strange trip. British big-game hunter and adventurer Samuel Baker teamed up with fellow traveler Florence Von Sass, a young Bulgarian, when he bought her at a local slave auction. They quickly married and became one of the great exploration teams of the 19th century.

They joined the great quest of European explorers of the day, setting out from Cairo in search of the source of the Nile. In their wanderings the Bakers would survive plague, starvation and mutiny, and also make significant discoveries, including Lake Albert and Murchison Falls. Given up for dead by their associates, they finally surfaced at Khartoum after four years deep in central Africa.

This absorbing narrative conveys the danger in confronting Africa’s vast uncharted territory. It also reveals the life of a very tough woman, who journeyed alongside some of the bravest men of her time and who didn’t forget her roots. The woman who was once auctioned off would go on to lead a campaign to end the slave trade along the Nile.

-- Michael Koehn