Hermann Norden Explained

Hermann Norden (1868/1869–November 1931) was an American travel writer.

He was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the American Geographical Society.

Of German origin, Norden made his money as a cotton broker in South Carolina. He died in London after falling and fracturing his skull in Leicester Square, aged 62.^[1]

His book "White and Black in East Africa" was a great success,^[1] however it was criticised in African Affairs as "of a surface nature... marred by many inaccuracies, exaggerations and statements which are both sweeping and incorrect."^[2]

His book "Byways of the Tropic Seas: Wanderings Among the Solomons and in the Malay Archipelago" was criticised in Nature as superficial and inaccurate.^[3]

For his book "Africa's Last Empire", he met Ras Tafari (Haile Selassi).^[4]

His last book, A Wanderer in Indo-China, was published a week before his death.^[1]

Books

• "From Golden Gate to Golden Sun: A Record of Travel, Sport, and Observation in Siam and Malaya by Norden". H. F. & G. Witherby, London, 1923.
• "Fresh Tracks in the Belgian Congo: From the Uganda Border to the Mouth of the Congo". H. F. & G. Witherby, London, 1924.
• "White and Black in East Africa". H. F. & G. Witherby, London, 1924.
• "Byways of the Tropic Seas: Wanderings Among the Solomons and in the Malay Archipelago". H. F. & G. Witherby, London, 1926.
• "Under Persian Skies: A Record of Travel by the Old Caravan Routes of Western Persia". H. F. & G. Witherby, London, 1928.
• "Africa's Last Empire: Through Abyssinia to Lake Tana and the country of the Falasha". H. F. & G. Witherby, London, 1930.
• "A Wanderer in Indo-China: The Chronicle of a Journey Through Annam, Tong-King, Laos, and Cambodgia, with Some Account of Their People". H. F. & G. Witherby, London, 1931.

Notes and References

1. News: H. Norden is dead; American explorer; Wealthy traveler and writer fractures skull in fall on London streets . 28 December 2023 . The New York Times . 5 November 1931.
2. White and Black in East Africa . African Affairs . July 1924 . XXIII . XCII . 335–335 . 10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a100023 . 28 December 2023.
3. Byways of the Tropic Seas: Wanderings among the Solomons and in the Malay Archipelago . Nature . May 1927 . 119 . 3004 . 777–777 . 10.1038/119777a0 . 28 December 2023 . en . 1476-4687.
4. Westermann . D. . Africa's Last Empire. Through Abyssinia to Lake Tana and the country of the Falasha. By Hermann Norden. 240 pp. with 81 photographs and a map. London: H. F. & G. Witherby, 1930. . Africa . January 1932 . 5 . 1 . 113–114 . 10.2307/1155350 . 28 December 2023 . en . 1750-0184.