West with the Night (1942) is the memoir of Beryl Markham, an Englishwoman raised in colonial Kenya among indigenous tribes. She recounts her adventurous upbringing—hunting with spears, speaking Swahili, and training racehorses on her father’s farm—alongside her pioneering career as a bush pilot. Markham’s daring spirit leads her to become the first person to fly solo nonstop from Europe to North America. Richly poetic and structured in four parts, the memoir blends tales of lion attacks, horse racing, aviation rescues, and personal growth against the wild backdrop of early 20th-century Africa. Though initially overlooked, the book was rediscovered in 1982 and became a bestseller.
0