What the Sahel Am I Doin' Here?

My review of  What the Sahel Am I Doin’ Here?  - 30 Years of Misadventures in Africa by Steve Wisecarver

This cleverly titled book by an experienced well-traveled American in Africa is a compilation of anecdotes that collectively paint a mostly amusing portrait of bumbling Americans interacting with Africa, in all its manifestations. Author Wisecarver was a Peace Corps Volunteer, a USAID expert and a Peace Corps director. During his thirty years on the continent he saw it all.  The book is evidence of  the stories that African hands recite: inexplicable relations with locals, communication gone awry, beasts encountered, and troubles with bureaucracies - theirs and ours.  Yet throughout the humor serious lessons of cross-culture contact convey.  Especially telling are pieces about high level U.S. government delegations and the havoc they cause,  particularly for the beleaguered embassy personnel who have to put them together. 

On a serious note, Wisecarver was inside embassy Nairobi in August 1998 when it was bombed. His first person recollection of that event is compelling.  

I found probable error in the piece about flying into the northern Congo to visit the forest, elephants , gorillas and pygmies.  Wisecarver says their flight left from Bangui when it was certainly Brazzaville.  I was the ambassador in Bangui at the time and there were no flights from Bangui to Ouesso.  Also, the folks on the trip the author describes were from Brazzaville. 

My nit picking aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It provides insight and brings back floods of memories of similar misadventures.  I recommend it for anyone who wants to get a different feel for Africa.