He who goes gently, goes safely; he who goes safely, goes far. Thomson was a British geologist and explorer who played an important part in the Scramble for Africa. He was the first European to enter several regions of eastern Africa and his writings are outstanding contributions to geographical knowledge, exceptional for their careful records and surveys. His motto is often quoted to be 'He who goes gently, goes safely; he who goes safely, goes far'.

'In 1882 the Royal Geographical Society launched what was to be Thomson's major expedition, to try to find the shortest route from Zanzibar to Uganda. Travelling unarmed from the coastal city of Mombasa, in modern Kenya, he went by way of Kilimanjaro, surviving two crossings through the country of the Masai people, who had previously barred passage. He was the first European to note the existence of Lake Baringo, and he reached Lake Victoria on December 10, 1882' (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Thomson's gazelle and Thomson's Falls are named after him.

The work provided Rider Haggard with the inspiration for King Solomon's Mines.

First U.S. edition; 8vo, xii, 583 pp., frontispiece, numerous wood-engraved illustrations, 14 full-page, 2 coloured folding maps, original green cloth gilt ruled in black, pictorial gilt vignette to upper cover, neat repairs to inner hinges, light wear to extremities, a very good example.