Forty Years in Africa

Describing the old colonial life, this is the story of one man's love affair with Africa. This autobiography recounts how the author's Italian father came to be living in Somalia, and how his childhood was shattered by his parents' early deaths. It describes his ill treatment in orphanages and the neglect shown by his relatives.

---

This is the extraordinary and exhilarating story of one man's love affair with Africa. Lamberto Tofani has lived a life of many parts. He begins his autobiography by recounting how his charismatic Italian father came to be living in Somalia, and how his own idyllic childhood was shattered by his parents' early deaths. Then in harsh contrast to his early years, he describes his ill treatment in orphanages in Africa and Italy and the uncaring neglect shown by his relatives. During the Second World War, Lamberto joined the Italian Air Force and returned to his beloved Africa, albeit to the battle-ravaged deserts of the North. By describing this period, Lamberto gives some interesting insights into the Italian and the German views on the war as well as some unusual observations on England and the English, based on his time as a prisoner of war in the countryside. In the late 1940s, he once again returned to Africa to work in the electricity industry, first in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and then Kenya. Unlike many others, Lamberto stayed long after independence - and exchanged his hunting rifle for a camera.
The picture Lamberto paints of the old colonial life is enticing and his description of big-game hunting is thrilling. "Forty Years in Africa" is a thoughtful, exhilarating account of a changing world seen from an unusual angle.