Malachite Lion

Libraries are full of travel books on Africa, but Malachite Lion is a narrative of an unplanned adventure, a modern odyssey that recounts the mysteries and paradoxes of East Africa.  The book describes a journey through the crowded, bustling streets of Nairobi, into the wilds of Masai Mara and Amboseli, to ancient, mystifying Mombasa, electrifying Malindi and the sensuous Seychelles.  Much of our experience with todays East Africa is limited by what we see in edited natural history documentaries and sensational news stories.  For most of us the place is a fantasy, as unreal as Sindbad's Baghdad.  Richard Modlins exciting account of his travels through Kenya and the Seychelles will dispel some of the apprehensions that cloak this strange land and its people.  His experiences as a scientist and academic have provided him with the skills to interestingly record his provocative observations, interactions, experiences, feelings and thoughts, and transport the reader beyond the confines of a tour bus.  Descriptions of his encounters with the variety of indigenous people and wildlife are poignant, humorous and heartwarming.  Malachite Lion is a definite read for anyone who has ever dreamed of traveling to East Africa realistically and vicariously.