Drums Along The Congo

In the heart of the Congo is rumored to live a dinosaur called Mokele-Mbembe, or the god-beast. A handful of scientific expeditions have searched for it over the years with little success, but Nugent relied less on science than a desire to document the obscure. He made his way by dugout canoe and foot to Lake Tele, reputed home of the brontosaurus-like creature. It’s an environment little changed since the age of dinosaurs and he spent weeks paddling and trekking the area. He finally spotted a periscope-shaped object moving through the water. But when he tried to get closer, his guides threatened to shoot him, explaining that the “the god can approach man, but man never approaches the god.” Nugent’s photographs have been reprinted hundreds of times by those who believe in the god-beast. Drums Along the Congo merited inclusion on “Best 50 Books of the Year” list compiled by every major US newspaper.

An American explorer and cryptozoologist chronicles his adventures on the Congo searching for the elusive Mokele-Mbembe, a dinosaur-like creature reported to live in the river. By the author of The Search for the Pink-Headed Duck. Original.

Veronica Cecil was twenty-five years old when her husband was offered a job at a large multi-national company in the Congo. Filled with enthusiasm for their new life, the couple and their eleven-month-old son set off for an African adventure. Very soon, however, Veronica began to realise that life in the Congo was not what she had imagined. Food shortages were an everyday occurrence; she felt like an outsider at the club in Léopoldville, which only the Belgians and other expats frequented; and flickers of violence were starting to erupt everywhere. Six months later Veronica and her family were sent to Elizabetha, a remote palm oil plantation on the banks of the Congo River. But even here paradise didn't last. Civil war broke out, and the rebels captured the neighbouring town of Stanleyville and took all the whites hostage. Despite the fact that Veronica was on the verge of giving birth, the situation was so dangerous that she and her toddler had to be evacuated. Leaving her husband and all their possessions behind, she and her son began on a two-day journey through the jungle. But on the plane back to Leopoldville, the first labour pains began... Praise for Letters From Abroad, written and read by Veronica Cecil, BBC Radio 4: '... absolutely enthralling' Daily Telegraph; 'Blending her personal memories with the wider picture, Miss Cecil effortlessly packs more into her quarter hour than many an hour long documentary...' Daily Mail.

This book looks at 55 years of independence, over eight decades of colonial rule, and earlier kingdoms and groups that shared the Congolese territory. This fourth edition highlights new developments and the increasing importance of the DRC in the Great Lakes Region and Africa, in particular, as well as its important role in the international environment.. This fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In this fourth volume of studies in the historical musicology and organology of Asia, Jonathan Condit completes his survey of Korean scores in mensural notation, and Roger Blench examines the morphology and distribution of sub-Saharan musical instruments of North African, Middle Eastern, and Asian origin.

The remarkable essays in this volume were written for the expressed purpose of helping both the newcomer to spiritual thinking as well as the skilled practitioner to see the everyday objects - from the wind and ships to deserts and lakes - and subjects - from dogs and ravens to dolphins and whales - surrounding us as concrete embodiments and living symbols of the fundamental spiritual Essence from which everything has evolved. These universal symbols are not just accidental mental constructs but are living realities that not only point to spiritual dimensions far beyond themselves but profoundly embody those spiritual realities. Learning to see the world around us afresh in the light of its spiritual dimension reorients us to taking up again the age-old task of treading the Path and aids us in activating our higher spiritual capacities which, when awakened, shed the pristine light of universal Theosophy on the path of spiritual self-regeneration in the service of humanity. The 28 wide-ranging articles in this volume span a wide spectrum of human thought: from the Tetraktys to the Cross, from the Altar to the Mirror, from the Pentagram to the Dodecahedron, from the Dog to the Dwarf, from the Heart to the Fool; indeed, from Shamballa to Paradise. These essays reveal the fundamental religious, philosophical, and scientific aspects to the most mundane and most refined realities of our common, everyday world. Both the serious reflection upon and casual reading of these essays is a joyous expedition through the all-too-common truncated perceptions we have of our world to a higher level of awareness of the myriad ways in which the life of the universal Spirit is made manifest.

From the serpentine "Champie" of Lake Champlain to the venerable "Nessie" of Loch Ness, extraordinary-and un-explained-creatures of the deep have been reported in sightings throughout the twentieth century. Now, two of the world's leading cryptozoological investigators provide a globetrotting field guide to when, where, and what kind of mysterious aquatic beasts have gripped the public—and sometimes the scientific—imagination. Filled with comprehensive drawings, classifications, and maps, their book offers an invaluable and unusual resource for the intrepidly curious to investigate these sightings firsthand or to simply enjoy the fascinating accounts that others have given.