Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: A Biography

My interest in Richard Francis Burton arose from my encounter with "The Book of 1,000 Nights and One Night" otherwise known as "The Arabian Nights". I wanted to learn more about the man who had done one of the several translations of this enormous and wonderful collection of stories into English. While this is the only biography about Richard Burton that I have read, I get the sense from having read it and from other reviews that it is now the definitive biography about him. The reason for this is that Edward Rice comprehensively covers the adventures but also the intellectual and spiritual development and accomplishments of his subject, all of which were multitudinous. The man traveled all over the world and wrote over 40 books while doing so. And many of these books were long multi-volume works. And he did this in the 19th century without any modern technology. And that wasn't even all he accomplished. The man was truly amazing. While this biography has an average rating of 4.5 stars, it is clear that some readers have not really liked the book. Some have complained about too many digressions and too much detail. I suspect that this is due to Rice's coverage of the intellectual and spiritual aspects of Burton's life beyond his more physical adventures. I don't mean this in a condescending way; but someone who had heard that Burton was a famous adventurer and explorer could easily view the other material as digressive. For my part, I found it all very interesting. I think the extra material makes Burton a more interesting person. It also gives you a sense of how different he was from his contemporaries. While other Europeans were also explorers, most remained intrinsically western during their adventures. In contrast, Burton embraced the cultural and spiritual beliefs of the peoples he encountered and gained a better understanding of them for it.

This was an incredible biography, which was much better than Byron Farewell's much dryer work. This version- all 500 pages of it- reads like an epic novel, full of mind twists and adventures. Picture emerges Burton the what he was, a towering intellectual, an intrepid explorer. A compulsive writer who churned out massively detailed works between his exploits of discovery in the wilds of India, Arabia, and Black Africa, scandalizing Victorian England mostly by his views on female sexual liberation (he translated the Kama Sutra) or to the superiority of Islam over Pauline Christianity- although Rice mistakenly concluded that Burton was a faithful convert to this religion for most of his life (he seems rather to have been a confirmed skeptic). In an age of hypocrisy, he certainly stands out as a not afraid to speak his mind- and he had a lot of opinions.

I first discovered Sir Richard Francis Burton when seeing his Arabian tent tomb in Mortlake, London. Felt like it was the coolest thing that I saw in London. Arriving home I started researching the man. That is when I bought this book. It is fascinating to read about him., His adventures, discoveries, accomplishments and views of life and love. I highly recommend this book. I have found one movie about him discovering the source of the Nile, but many more movies could be made about the different aspects of his life. I was shocked to discover that he came to America to learn about Mormonism. Really?

This is the way history should be written, as an interesting narrative. The author worked with a tremendous amount of source material to compose this biography of one of history's most important and fascinating characters. Where "facts" were in conflict, the author presneted multiple viewpoints. Suppositions were presented as such and not as facts. Dick Burton is undoubtedly a larger than life historical figure, however, the author portrays him as human - both his faults and his strengths are exponded upon. Much of the material is directly quoted from source material, which makes Burton and related individuals voices come alive. My only criticism of the book is minor. There are some tangents that seem to me to be given too much space in the book. The author sometimes writes mini biographies of somewhat incidental characters. This is simply my opinion, and others may, and probably will disagree. While this book is a biography, there is historical and thological gold there. Much can be learned about the 19th century Middle east, Africa and the politics of the time. Also, there is a lot of material about Islam and other religions that Burton studied.

Sir Richard Francis Burton is one of the most fascinating of the 19th century English explorers -- going into India, Afganistan, Persia, the Arabian Peninsula and parts of Africa which had never been explored (and Brazil, too). Often working as a spy and cartographer for the British and working under very dangerous conditions he spoke 27 languages and translated numerous books such as the Arabian Nights (with extensive notes), the Kama Sutra, and many more. His wife was also a force in her own right. many of the topics he wrote about and Rice discusses are very applicable to today's current events, such as the cultures of the Mid-East and Africa. Rice's book appears well researched and is very well written and if you like biographies it is well worth reading.

A bit pricey, but in excellent condition.

il testo è bellissimo, avrei solo preferito forse delle illustrazioni più chiare

Interesting read, quite a character!

All cool. Exactly as the vendor stated

Given that Captain Sir Richard F Burton's wife destroyed much of his material the author has woven a great deal of work and detail into this biography. While I believe in the argument that as a historian one should not try and judge the past by current standards. However, as a Black Man I felt uncomfortable with Rice's appraisal of Burton in regards to Africans. Likewise , his observations on Speke and his relations with African women. I think a double standard exists in history where when dealing with say subjects of Germany's treatment of the Jews between 1925 -1940 most authors make known their own views on the matter, yet in regards to the blatant racism of Colonial Britain, no outcry or view other than empathy is written. In effect the Colonial sentiment of white supremacy goes wholly unchallenged, and is carried off into the 21st Century. It is not good enough for the modern historian not to challenge these views, as they are still prevalent today. Nor should the author assume that his readership would not be multi-ethnic, especially as the author is an American. Otherwise the book, is a fascinating bundle of compelling reading, of an amazing man. I just lost my sympathy for Burton when reading about his views on Africans on his posting to Fernando Po (sp) and increased my respect of Speke the stuff English man who not only going beyond the pale in Anglo Afican relations but had the Ball or Stupidity as Rice comments to go public about it.