The name of David Livingstone has been famous for years. I was a boy when I learned it, understanding him to have been an explorer. Stanley’s famous line, “Doctor Livingstone, I presume”, while perhaps not historical, was familiar.

So, when my wife recently gathered up some small books for our evening reading, I was glad to see that she pulled one about Livingstone from our shelves. David Livingstone: First To Cross Africa With The Gospel, by Mrs. J.H. Worcester, was first published in 1888, fifteen years after his death. We read a 1987 mass market paperback reprint of it by Moody Press.

Having said that Livingstone was practically a household name at one time, I have to admit to being ignorant of details of his life. This book provided them. Born in 1813 in Scotland, he had first thought to go to China as a missionary, but that nation closed due to war, so he went to Africa instead in 1841. There he married Mary, the daughter of fellow missionary Robert Moffat, who had inspired Livingstone to go to Africa. They would have six children together.

Livingstone’s work in Africa began as a Christian missionary for the London Missionary Society. Over time, the mission work was mostly turned over to others and Livingstone became an explorer of the interior of Africa. His reason for doing this was, at least in part, because of the horrors of the slave trade. Even though most European countries and the USA had outlawed it by the time Livingstone arrived in Africa, it was still going on in large numbers. He thought if he could help Africans have different economic opportunities they might cease cooperating with the slave traders. But the alternate economy required ports and roads to the interior. Livingstone looked for these.

This was an excellent little book (125 pg) that I highly recommend. I normally like to read more in-depth biographies, but this was a good entry point into the life of Livingstone. I told Lynda we needed to find a larger and more detailed biography. Then, while looking on the bookshelves in our basement family room, I found one. An inch and a half thick, it should be just the thing.

The small book, thought good, is not a keeper. Off to the garage it goes to sell or give away. While a modern reprints of the 1888 book are not hard to find, you ought to be able to find images of the original at several places on-line.