Dangers of obsession, ignorance, and arrogance represent one the key themes in Rivers of the Gods. Candice Millard focuses on the tolls these dangers take on individual people and entire cultures. There are numerous examples of the dangers of obsession in the book, but most have to do with personal obsessions.

For example, after the Hajj, Burton was obsessed about his failure to not cross the Arabian Peninsula to get to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Royal Geographic Society would not have allowed Burton to attempt this crossing because it was extremely dangers. Despite this, Burton became depressed due to this obsession. Isabel also harbored an obsession for Burton. Not only did she put her life on hold for him until they married, she also allowed Burton to practice his skills as a hypnotist on her. Burton boasted to a friend that “at the distance of many hundreds of miles he could will her to do anything he chose as completely as if he were with her in the same room” (260). Finally, the British government, Royal Geographic Society, and British public obsessed about finding the source of the Nile River before any other European country.