spectator.co.uk

Aidan Hartley:

A too-rare treat, Aidan Hartley has a piece in this week's London Spectator. He's writing on sacrifices, accidental and intentional, such as are made in pursuit of a great goal:

While suffering nicotine cold turkey, I tried to hunt down some fag butts in the rubbish bin, only to find the farm workers had beaten me to it. I also discovered a bottle of cooking sherry in the kitchen cupboard last night. Not even I will sink that low.

And the reason I'm undergoing these little trials is to feed my one big indulgence. At last we have secured our own small patch of Laikipia's wilderness. It's cost everything we have and a lot more besides.

If you're looking for a good book, let me suggest Hartley's The Zanzibar Chest. It's the finest book I've read on Africa in a very long time. It's an extraordinary look into Africa, from the colonialism of his father's day to the blood of Rwanda. It's also just a fine read, well written and enthralling.

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