Love, Africa

A Memoir of Romance, War, and Survival

By: Jeffrey Gettleman

Narrated by: Charlie Thurston

Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

From Jeffrey Gettleman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist, comes a memoir about finding love and finding a calling in one of the most violent yet most beautiful places in the world.

A seasoned war correspondent, Jeffrey Gettleman has covered every major conflict over the past 20 years, from Afghanistan to Iraq to the Congo. For the past decade, he has served as the East Africa bureau chief for the New York Times, fulfilling his teenage dream of living in Africa. Love, Africa is the story of how he got there - and of his difficult, winding path toward becoming a good reporter and a better man.

At 19 Gettleman fell in love - twice. On a community service trip in college, he went to Africa - a terrifying, exciting, dreamlike continent in the throes of change that imprinted itself on his imagination and heart. One day, he vowed, he would return there to stay. But around the same time, he also fell in love with Courtenay, a fellow Cornell student - the brightest, fiercest, kindest woman he'd ever met.

Courtenay became a lawyer in America, and all Gettleman wanted was to be with her. But he also hungered to be in Africa. For the next decade, he would waver between these two abiding passions. Finally, after a great deal of growing up, he learned to be honest with himself about what he wanted - a realization that ultimately fulfilled both of his deepest desires.

A beautifully rendered coming-of-age story in the tradition of Barbarian Days, Love, Africa is a tale of passion, professional rivalries, tortuous long-distance relationships, marital strife, forgiveness, parenthood, and happiness that explores the power of finding yourself in the most unexpected of places.

©2017 Jeffrey Gettleman (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Liked the story, did not like the guy who read it

Did not like the guy who read it- he was too dramatic and did not sound like a normal person who would be telling stories from his life. The guy who read it made it seem so staged and overly dramatic. It took me out of it.

Liked the story overall.

Fantastic book!

One of the best books I recently listened to. Enjoyed every moment of it and will probably read it again.

How to do what you love with someone you love.

Work/life balance is a difficult thing, especially when your work is your passion. This book covers decades of an individual life and describes some of the inherent tension in pursuing a lifelong passion.

Love and loathing in Africa

Where does Love, Africa rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the middle

What did you like best about this story?

Aspects of wars and people who live in Africa. Their unique stories. Villains and saints, but all very human and fragile.

What three words best describe Charlie Thurston’s voice?

too soft, unconvincing,

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

Overall, it is the memoir of a self absorbed, compassionate and singularly driven human who happens to be a writer, and is surrounded by people who care about him. Pretty interesting.

This is how a memoir is written

Funny, detailed & describing with such love & care some of the toughest, life changing experiences a person could have in life.

Loved this book!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Love, Africa to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the printed version so I have no way of comparing the two.

What other book might you compare Love, Africa to and why?

It has the complicated love story of a David Nicholls book with the current affairs value of The Economist. This guy was there for every major African event of the past twenty years: the rise of Somali pirates, Iraq (and Afghanistan), the Nairobi shopping mall attack. You get an insider's view that offers more than just a headline and death toll.

What does Charlie Thurston bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

From Ivy League lawyers to Ethiopian warlords, Charlie Thurston does a good job of navigating all the different characters with their myriad backgrounds and sensibilities.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

In among all the chaos and despair of Africa, there's a love story at the heart of this book that you're really routing for.

Any additional comments?

Brutally honest and often, just brutal, this book will do more to give you the travel bug than any brochure.

A book you can't stop listening to!

This book is very riveting and beautiful. A story of the love of a place, the love of a woman and the complexities that follow. The authors insights into Africa are compelling; I learned so much. I saw the author interviewed on PBS and what stood out to me was the person he is and I admired him. The narrator was very good, but at first his tone didn't fit the author as I experienced him. Now I realize it was the wisdom of a life well lived that shone thru on the interview, something a narrator could not convey.

Brings back memories

As someone who had spent time in East Africa I found this story fascinating plus what it took for him to get there. The love story is and added plus. Highly recommend.

Everything I expected...and more

I loved every minute of it. Since I may never travel East Africa I was looking for someone to take me there. Thanks Jeffrey! You even get a first-hand view of Iraq and Afghanistan as a bonus, which are not even in Africa. Personally I liked the love story that he wove into it. Kudos to the narrator for being able to handle so many different genders and accents masterfully.

Africa and a bit of Florida

I enjoyed this true story very very much it had a lot of my hometown in it . Brooksville, Seffner Mango, Tampa, Florida. all of which is my hometown and stomping grounds. I love the story it was back and forth to Africa to Afghanistan and America , It was well worth listening to. I remember the newspaper articles and news on TV of the some of the things the writer talked about in this story. I listened to the whole story all in one day . I just could not quit listening to it . I will listen to this story many more times. I hope you get the chance to listen to the whole story it gets better and better and it is worth every bit of your time to listen. I hope you enjoy it too.😊