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Stepping back

This was Neil's first book, written several years before his next one (and which I'd read first, "Ghost Rider"), and provides a flashback that shows a bit of the person that Neil was. Set in the context of his cycling trip through West Africa (Cameroon), you get to see some of the country and people from a much more interesting and in-depth vantage. No tour bus, hitting all the tourist traps and staying at hotel with all the modern amenities, the small group cycles through the countryside and spends the night at villages along the way. You get a glimpse into the lives of the people there, but it's also a somewhat superficial one, as the language barriers (Neil doesn't speak French fluently, and most of the Cameroonians don't speak English beyond a few words or phrases they've picked up) prevent much in the way of dialog.

The cycling group also never seems to gel, the disparate personalities keep them from being anything more than temporary travelling companions. I would love to read a similar book about other trips that he's taken, where he develops more of a relationship with his companions just to see how things differed. Neil recognizes how he does contribute to the overall stand-in she's of the group, but as he travels and comes to have epiphanies about their various personalities, it doesn't seem to make much impact in how he related to them. He mentions Steinbeck's quote about allowing others to help you here as well, but "Ghost Rider" also never has long-term travelling companions like he does here, so it's not clear if he's changed much in that regard.

He's pretty frank about the challenges and day-to-day issues with the trip, including bouts with the local microbiota, and while a trip like this is (sadly) probably never in the cards for me for several reasons, it did remind me of some half-formed plans to spend the turn of the century on safari with my best friend. We never did that, but graduation for my oldest is approaching, and maybe in a few years I can convince my wife that this would make a great gift for her.