The classic memoir of Africa, aviation, and adventure—the inspiration for Paula McLain’s Circling the Sun and “a bloody wonderful book” (Ernest Hemingway). Beryl Markham’s life story is a true epic. Not only did she set records and break barriers as a pilot, she shattered societal expectations, threw herself into torrid love affairs, survived desperate crash landings—and chronicled everything. A … chronicled everything. A contemporary of Karen Blixen (better known as Isak Dinesen, the author of Out of Africa), Markham left an enduring memoir that soars with astounding candor and shimmering insights.
A rebel from a young age, the British-born Markham was raised in Kenya’s unforgiving farmlands. She trained as a bush pilot at a time when most Africans had never seen a plane. In 1936, she accepted the ultimate challenge: to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean from east to west, a feat that fellow female aviator Amelia Earhart had completed in reverse just a few years before. Markham’s successes and her failures—and her deep, lifelong love of the “soul of Africa”—are all told here with wrenching honesty and agile wit.
Hailed as “one of the greatest adventure books of all time” by Newsweek and “the sort of book that makes you think human beings can do anything” by the New York Times, West with the Night remains a powerful testament to one of the iconic lives of the twentieth century.
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West with the Night was published in 1942. I read it for the first time in 1980 and I was blown away with the prose of its author, Beryl Markham. Here was a writer on par with Steinbeck, and that’s sayin’ somethin’.
West with the Night is a memoir of Ms. Markham’s life. And what a life it was. Brought to Africa as a child in 1906, she grew up …
A brilliant memoir, which I originally purchased because she was an aviatrix, and the first in Africa. Then I read it because I was going to Kenya. The language is gorgeous, the descriptions unbelievable, and the rich history of colonialism and the landscape, in all its beauty and brutality, is there. But don’t take my word for it, take Ernest’s! …
I loved the quality of the writing along with the story of Beryl Markhams’ exploits. She had so much energy, courage-especially in fields where women were uncommon participants-and motivation to go after her goals. I envied her ability to tackle whatever she wanted to do.
The drama of living in Africa gave verve to her personal story, and I was …
Read this back-to-back with “Out of Africa.
One of my all time favorite books. Delightful writing, wonderful stories. Hemmingway said her writing made him look like a hack. And it’s a biography!
Disappointed that it didn’t cover more of her flying career.
What a woman. Fancy flying solo all the way from South Africa to London! Wow.
Excellent writing.
Excellent prose
Hemingway told his publisher that “Beryl Markham writes circles around all of us”. Miss Markham’s writing style is incredibly literate to describe her beloved Africa in the 1920s when she was a girl in the bush and later when she was flying biplanes. Big adventure! A look at Africa from a woman born there.
This is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. Beryl Markham had a remarkable life and was also a great writer. You will not forget her as she is completely open about all aspects of her childhood and adult life. Great reading!!!
Wonderful book that I think of periodically as it was a very interesting read.
Hard to follow
Beautifully written in a sort of stream of consciousness style. Very readable. I evenrecommended it to my ex-wife
One of a number of early aviators who have written about their experiences, and Markham may be one of the most literate.
The feat of soloing the Atlantic in the 1930s, and flying westward INTO the prevailing wind, made the feat so much more meaningful than anything tried before. Ms. Markhams writing caused Hemingway to say upon reading this book, “I felt that I was simply a carpenter with words… she can write rings around all of us. …It is really a bloody …
This is a superb book. The author is a master of words and phrases. She also happens to have lived an astonishing life. I shall be reading it again, and again most likely.
Great literature. Excellent writing. She seems to have left out her romances which were integral to her path through life.
Truly a “couldn’t put it down” classic. Written in a style that can’t be pigeonholed yet is very well conceived and carried out. Ms. Markham is in a very small group of period authors who take the reader in and don’t let go until the last word.
This is the finest of over 1000 books I have read. The evocative and lyrical style that adorns each page is of a degree and constancy I have never before experienced. Reading this made me feel ashamed I had never heard, let alone read, anything of her before. I can’t wait to reread this and seek out any other works she has penned. Absolutely …