cover image One Dry Season

One Dry Season

Caroline Alexander. Vintage Books USA, $10.95 (158pp) ISBN 978-0-679-73189-4

British wayfarer Kingsley's 1893 West African odyssey is retraced by a modern-day adventurer in an effort to juxtapose the less ``civilized'' past with new realities. ``Alexander may come up short in her desire to `make contact with the past,' but the record of her attempt will fascinate,'' PW concluded. (Jan.)