In 1989 the World Wide Web was invented. It was also the year of Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of the Cold War. Meanwhile, over in Africa, another episode entered the annals of history when Sean McCarthy and Lee “Shaggy” Walker became the first documented foreigners to attempt to paddle a native dugout down the Congo’s longest navigable expanse, a daunting journey that would begin only after they had traversed hundreds of miles of jungle to Africa’s geographical heart. And all on a shoestring budget. The ensuing tale would become the stuff of Congolese legend. The long-overdue memoir Sean of the Congo is McCarthy’s much-heralded account of that unique escapade.

“An inspirational page-turner” – Olympic Champion Etienne Stott MBE