In May 1973 the Centre of African Studies of the University of Edinburgh celebrated the centenary of the death of David Livingstone by a lecture by Professor George Shepperson and a seminar on various aspects of Livingstone's life and work. The lecture and seminar proceedings have now been published by the Centre as David Livingstone and Africa, remarkable value at 50p.

The seminar emphasized the diversity of Livingstone's achievements and the complexity of his character, and again and again the point emerged that one needs to know as wide a range as possible of his writings to assemble adequate evidence to assess his life and work. He was a prolific writer of letters, diaries, memoranda and articles as well as his books, and though much has been published, extensive further material is coming to light from time to time, both in private and in institutional hands.