My Heart Is Africa: A Flying Adventure
by Scott Griffin
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Book Summary Information
Author: Scott GriffinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-06-22
ISBN: 088784748X
Number of pages: 296
Publisher: House of Anansi Press
Book Reviews of My Heart Is Africa: A Flying Adventure
Book Review: "Come fly with me . . . "
Summary: 5 Stars
One can only wonder how "Ol' Blue Eyes" would have fared. Scott Griffin opens his tale in the dark of night, far out in the Atlantic. Communications are gone. Gathering clouds portend a storm. Only a single engine and a doubtful pilot stand between life and a cold, watery demise. Griffin is nothing if not courageous. Some, as later events prove, might call him foolhardy. But he's also resourceful and dedicated. All these aspects of a successful businessman turned to a life of service provide the background to a story of adventure. His aim is to reach Africa to begin that new existence. He will work with the Flying Doctors Service in East Africa. Just getting there is a journey on a par with those Exploration Age ship's captains who entered the unknown centuries ago.
In this page-turning story, Griffin tells of his flight across the Mediterranean Sea and down the African coast to Nairobi. He has a tight schedule, brooking no delays. From Portugal he fronts suspicious Algerian air controls and a massive storm. He avoids the one, but takes on the weather in a flight that in other circumstances might have seen his ticket pulled. Against the odds, he survives. He even survives running out of fuel - at the last moment, he realises he forgot to switch to the reserve tank. And this is all before reaching his destination!
In Nairobi, Griffin takes up his duties with the Flying Doctors. While not life-threatening, they are adventurous enough. His task is to turn an organisation that's fallen on hard times into a working operation. There are many obstacles in his way, not the least, of course, is his status as an "outsider". He proves himself, however, making friends with pilots, ground crew and administrators [the biggest challenge!] alike. While plying his trade as a business planner, there are opportunities for more adventure. Not all of them are without risk. After all, this is Africa. The pranges he avoided in reaching Nairobi catch up with him later.
Griffin, and his wife Krystyne who joins him from Canada, take Africa to their hearts. Krystyne, after an initial disaffection with Nairobi conditions, becomes interested in local bead work. Before long, she develops expertise in the field and becomes internationally known for her work. One wishes she had produced a companion volume, or they'd written alternate chapters of this book! The pair are given an opportunity to expand their horizons further by flying south to reach the Cape. That the trip is slightly marred by the presence of two adolescents in a minor matter. Griffin is able to get closer to his aim of circumflying the continent. Along the way, his attachment to our home continent grew and intensified. Flying the Rift Valley, deserts and mountains and wide variations in landscape brought him insights previously unconsidered. Returning to Canada, he kept those images close. Yet he's very able at imparting them to us, making this a fluently-told tale.
This book is testimony to the notion that "adventure" is not a word modern society should scorn nor abandon. There are challenges to meet. Demanding conditions are still part of our modern life. Griffin's flights nearly totalled a circumnavigation of the globe. Given the types of countries he traversed and the conditions encountered, one might think some kind of pilot award is overdue. Griffin himself would likely say he's gained rewards none of us can offer. Read his tale and find out why. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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