AT THE MERCY OF THE RIVER: An Exploration of the Last African Wilderness

Stark was a happily married, 48-year-old father of two when he answered a crew call for "the first descent" of northern Mozambique's Lugenda River. The hazards—man-eating crocodiles, unknown rapids—worried him, but the thought of being able to immerse himself in a true wilderness was just too tempting. As the group of five made their way down this obscure and unyielding river, they learned to depend one another's strengths and ignore irritating differences. Stark, an experienced kayaker and the expedition recorder (he contributes to Outside ), would read aloud the occasional bedtime story from an anthology of memoirs of past African explorers, accounts that raised key questions: What is the meaning of wilderness places? What motivates explorers? What keeps diehards pushing ahead even when their expeditions are doomed? Stark's musings are often more diverting than his account of the group's daily progress through the whitewater. He's aware of the ironies of their own journey: cruising in their high-tech plastic kayaks, munching imported energy bars, how could they tell "these people in dugout canoes and with vine-woven nets not to hunt, not to cut trees, not to touch anything because we need that wilderness?" This report, a nice mix of thoughtful and sweaty, is perfect for history-minded armchair adventurers. Photos. Agent, Frances Kuffel. (On sale June 28)