The Last Train to Zona Verde

Theroux is at his best when he tells [people's] stories happy and sad . . . Theroux's great mission had always been to transport us beyond that reading chair to challenge himself--and thus to challenge us. -- <em>Boston Globe</em> <p/> Paul Theroux's best-selling <em>Dark Star Safari</em> chronicled his epic overland voyage from Cairo to Cape Town providing an insider's look at modern Africa. Now with <em>The Last Train to Zona Verde</em> he returns to discover how both he and Africa have changed in the ensuing years. <p/> Traveling alone Theroux sets out from Cape Town going north through South Africa Namibia then into Angola encountering a world increasingly removed from tourists' itineraries and the hopes of postcolonial independence movements. After covering nearly 2500 arduous miles he cuts short his journey a decision he chronicles with unsparing honesty in a chapter titled What Am I Doing Here? Vivid witty and beautifully evocative <em> The Last Train to Zona Verde</em> is a fitting final African adventure from the writer whose gimlet eye and effortless prose have brought the world to generations of readers. <p/> Everything is under scrutiny in Paul Theroux's latest travel book--not just the people landscapes and sociopolitical realities of the countries he visits but his own motivations for going where he goes . . . His readers can only be grateful. -- <em>Seattle Times</em> <p/> If this book is proof age has not slowed Theroux or encouraged him to rest on his achievements . . . Gutsy alert to Africa's struggles its injustices and history. -- <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em>