DAVID LIVINGSTONE
The unexplored story
By Stephen Tomkins. Lion. 240 pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 0 745 955 681
It was said a generation ago that if you were to stop a man at random in a Scottish city and ask him to name a missionary, he would probably name David Livingstone. It has been good to see coverage of the 200th anniversary of Livingstone’s birth in the broadsheets. One hopes it will help his name to re-enter British general knowledge.
Livingstone’s heart is buried in Africa, his body in Westminster Abbey. Stephen Tomkins gives a sympathetic account of Livingstone’s life’s work, while retaining the critical mind of the journalist. He is not afraid to leave questions unanswered about Livingstone’s impact. But he acknowledges how much flowed from his endeavours.
