A SCOTTISH MISSIONARY'S STORY: New Book Now Available at Amazon.com!

I've been away from my blog for many months now, working diligently on my latest release, BEFORE THE SCRAMBLE: A SCOTTISH MISSIONARY'S STORY, which tells the tale of a distant relative and Scottish missionary, James Sutherland, and his adventures in British Central Africa in the early stages of the colonial period in Africa. [Full disclosure: my full name is Roderick Sutherland Haynes] James Sutherland maintained a journal for the first six months of his five years in Africa, detailing the life of an ordinary "artisan" at the Livingstonia mission on Lake Nyasa (today known as Lake Malawi). The artisans were ordinary seamen, engineers, gardeners, teachers, carpenters and other workers at the missions who were not ordained clergy. Livingstonia was a mission sponsored by the Free Church of Scotland. It's present-day location in the African country of Malawi is the third and final spot selected by the missionaries, after the first two locations proved to be disastorous spots due to the constant threat of tropical disease. At the first two mission sites, between 1875 and 1881, the attrition rate of staff (deaths and permanent disability) exceeded 40%. The third and final location of Livingstonia (selected in 1895) was high up in the western hills overlooking Lake Nyasa below, a much healthier place. The idea of this writing project was to transcribe Sutherland's journal (the original is now the property of the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh), preceding the text of the journal itself by providing readers a few informational sections about how I came to write the book, who James Sutherland was, what the situation in southern Africa was when Sutherland arrived there in late 1880, and to also explain the impact of Scottish national hero and medical missionary-explorer David Livingstone, on young missionaries like Sutherland, who set out from Scotland for Africa, India, and China to spread the word of God. Sutherland's journal and three letters home (included in their entirety in the appendix section of the book) chronicle his being forced to undergo witchcraft rituals, some close calls with hostile wildlife, his daily struggles with tropical disease, and his eye-witness encounters with the slave trade in and around Lake Nyasa. Importantly, a number of ordained missionary leaders had their overseas experiences published for profit after returning home from overseas. But Sutherland's purpose in keeping his journal seems much more personal and less focused on sensational story telling. His story is sensational WITHOUT the typical embellishing found in Victorian literature, including many self-serving missionary biographies identified in this book's reference section. Sutherland's story is authentically compelling. It is good primary source material for scholars of the colonial period in Africa, and also fascinating reading for novice historians and descendant members of the Sutherland clan, like me. A SCOTTISH MISSIONARY'S STORY will be available to the public in early September. I invite readers to purchase the book (paper back) at amazon.com or the electronic version (KINDLE). Most importantly, I strongly encourage my readers to write their honest impressions of the book on amazon.com, in the section where the book is being marketed under my name. All critiques, good or bad, are welcome. Please feel free to participate.