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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Exploring the Cultural & Natural Diversity of Africa

Essential Reading

Item EXWAF42. Buy these 6 items as a set for $96 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Africa's Turn?

Africa's Turn?

by Edward Miguel

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 144 PAGES

Refreshingly optimistic, Berkeley economist Edward Miguel brings together nine experts on Africa and international development to respond to his observation that African nations are making modest but genuine recent gains in the standard of living and better government. (AFR240, $14.95)

Lucy's Legacy, The Quest for Human Origins

Lucy's Legacy, The Quest for Human Origins

by Donald Johanson

  • SCIENCE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 309 PAGES

Paleoanthropologist Johanson explores the breakthrough findings since the 'Lucy' skeleton was unearthed in his follow up to Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind. (ATP21, $15.00)

The Door of No Return, The History of Cape Coast Castle and the Atlantic Slave Trade

The Door of No Return, The History of Cape Coast Castle and the Atlantic Slave Trade

by William St. Clair

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

St. Clair draws on correspondence, government records, artifacts and ship logs for this intimate, absorbing history of the British slave trade as seen through life at Ghana's Cape Coast Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Although focused on Ghana, this is an essential record of the transatlantic slave trade. (WAF116, $15.95)

Journey Without Maps

Journey Without Maps

by Graham Greene

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

No one captures local personalities and complicated morality than Graham Greene, who had a particular interest in West Africa. This account traces his trek to the Liberian coast. (WAF15, $16.00)

National Audubon Society Field Guide to African Wildlife

National Audubon Society Field Guide to African Wildlife

by Peter Alden

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 988 PAGES

This comprehensive photo guide covers 850 birds, mammals and reptiles of Africa. With range maps and a good country-by-country overview of habitats and parks. (AFR25, $24.95)

Africa Map

Africa Map

by Collins Maps

  • 2008
  • MAP

This folded, full-color map shows the continent and surrounding islands, including the Arabian Peninsula, on a single sheet at 1:10,000.000. (AFR19, $16.95)

 
Bradt Guide Ghana

Bradt Guide Ghana


by Philip Briggs | Hilary Bradt | Annabel Milne

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

Complete with maps and town plans, this guide to Ghana features practical information on the country's history, culture and attractions. (WAF27, $26.99)

Bradt Guide Sao Tome and Principe

Bradt Guide Sao Tome and Principe


by Kathleen Becker

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

A practical guide in the British series to the West African island nation. (CAF31, $25.99)

Bradt Guide Sierra Leone

Bradt Guide Sierra Leone


by Katrina Manson

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A comprehensive guide in the popular Bradt series. (WAF133, $25.99)

Eyewitness Guide Morocco

Eyewitness Guide Morocco


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 408 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

Gorgeously illustrated and filled with excellent maps, this compact guide introduces Morocco's history, culture and attractions. (MRC58, $30.00)

Lonely Planet West Africa

Lonely Planet West Africa


by Lonely Planet

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 904 PAGES

A comprehensive guide to all West Africa, this is the book to carry for travels from Mauritania to Niger, with both a good overview of culture and history and the usual Lonely Planet attention to practical travel information. (WAF10, $33.99)

Time Out Cape Town

Time Out Cape Town


by Time Out

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 280 PAGES

Compact, informative and lively, this outstanding guide covers where to go and what to do in Cape Town and surroundings. (SAF164, $19.95)

Africa

Africa


by Michael Lewis | John Reader

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2001
  • HARD COVER
  • 320 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

Published by National Geographic, this informative survey of the geography, culture and wildlife of Africa features 175 color photographs and accompanying text by John Reader. (AFR111, $50.00)

Africa and Africans

Africa and Africans


by Paul Bohannan | Philip Curtin

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 301 PAGES

This handy primer, geared for undergraduates, presents a notably clear, concise overview of African people, religion, history, art and culture with an eye towards debunking popular myths. (AFR165, $29.95)

Africa, A Biography of the Continent

Africa, A Biography of the Continent


by John Reader

  • HISTORY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 816 PAGES

With the ease of a practiced journalist, Reader weaves a masterful and lively tale of the continent, from ancient cultures to modern times. Both authoritative and informal, this is a splendid introduction to all of Africa. (AFR49, $18.95)

Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles

Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles


by Richard Dowden

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 592 PAGES

Africa editor of The Independent and The Economist, Richard Dowden draws on decades of experience in this multi-faceted, vivid portrait of contemporary Africa -- an Africa that, Dowden effectively argues, can only be developed by its own people. (AFR242, $19.95)

Born on a Monday, A Photo Documentary of Ghana

Born on a Monday, A Photo Documentary of Ghana


by Carrie Brown

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 64 PAGES

Carrie Brown documents the people, culture and daily activities of the village of Woe in Ghana in this striking collection of color photographs. With accompanying essays by Brown and Cross-Cultural Solutions' Ghanaian staff. (WAF79, $24.95)

New News Out of Africa, Uncovering Africa's Renaissance

New News Out of Africa, Uncovering Africa's Renaissance


by Charlayne Hunter-Gault

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

A PBS correspondant addresses the current state of affairs in South Africa, Rwanda, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Angola and Sierra Leone, incorporating his own experiences and the continent's troubled and tangled history. (AFR203, $14.95)

Saltwater Slavery, A Middle Passage from Africa to American Diaspora

Saltwater Slavery, A Middle Passage from Africa to American Diaspora


by Stephanie E. Smallwood

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Smallwood offers a clear, engaging study of Slavery and the Middle Passage, drawing upon journals, narratives and letters from slaves transported in harsh conditions across the Atlantic. (WAF115, $19.95)

The Scramble for Africa

The Scramble for Africa


by Thomas Pakenham

  • HISTORY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 738 PAGES

Absorbing and meticulously researched, this in-depth history of the Victorian land grab in Africa includes excellent portraits of the egomaniacal personalities who overran the continent. (AFR26, $23.99)

The Shadow of the Sun

The Shadow of the Sun


by Ryszard Kapuscinski | Klara Glowczewska

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 325 PAGES

A collection of intelligent, wide-ranging essays on Africa by the veteran author and war correspondent. He addresses important themes with insight, including the devastating impact of AIDS and recent political disasters in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Rwanda. (AFR88, $16.00)

West Africa Before the Colonial Era, A History to 1850

West Africa Before the Colonial Era, A History to 1850


by Basil Davidson

  • HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 257 PAGES

Davidson puts the stories of peoples and empires into context in this lively, scholarly history. With maps, illustrations and a timeline. (WAF07, $60.00)

African Art, An Introduction

African Art, An Introduction


by Frank Willett

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

A concise, well illustrated overview of the art and culture of Africa, portraying the range of spectacular art produced throughout the ages. (AFR18, $21.95)

African Textiles

African Textiles


by John Gillow

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

Region by region, John Gillow's absorbing, superbly illustrated and colorful survey covers the traditional, handcrafted and indigenous textiles of the whole continent. Gillow also authored the marvelous Traditional Indonesian Textiles (INS22) and Indian Textiles (IDA543). (AFR137, $44.95)

Inside Africa, South and West


by Angelika Taschen

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 448 PAGES

This sumptuously produced book with African cloth covers showcases the diversity of interior style across Africa from stunning village architecture to luxurious lodges, ornate palaces and celebrated homes. (AFR191, $59.99)

African Silences

African Silences


by Peter Matthiessen

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 225 PAGES

In this narrative of Equatorial Africa, Matthiessen recounts several trips to The Gambia, Senegal, Zaire and the Congo Basin in search of rhinos, elephants and other endangered wildlife. (WAF36, $13.00)

Exploration of Africa, From Cairo to the Cape

Exploration of Africa, From Cairo to the Cape


by Ann Hugon

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 173 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

This jewel of a book chronicles the 19th-century exploration of Africa with hundreds of contemporary paintings and prints, brief chapters on the expeditions, and a very useful chronology. Livingstone, Burton and others are featured in a series of journal excerpts. (AFR03, $15.95)

French Lessons in Africa, Travels with My Briefcase Through French Africa

French Lessons in Africa, Travels with My Briefcase Through French Africa


by Peter Biddlecombe

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 434 PAGES
  • CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE
    • >

A scandalously entertaining and useful introduction to Francophone Africa by the hilarious British writer and inveterate traveler. Organized geographically, he devotes a chapter each to Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Zaire. (WAF68, $17.95)

In Morocco

In Morocco


by Edith Wharton

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 223 PAGES

Wharton's enjoyable account of her month-long journey through Morocco after WWI captures the landscapes, architecture and many aspects of Muslim culture and history, and especially the cities of Rabat, Fez and Marrakech. (MRC02, $10.95)

Long Walk to Freedom

Long Walk to Freedom


by Nelson Mandela

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 640 PAGES

An unpretentious tale of an extraordinary life, Mandela's autobiography is essential reading for an understanding of South Africa. His grace and his love for his country shine throughout. (SAF15, $17.99)

Michael Palin: Sahara


by Michael Palin

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2006
  • DVD

In this BBC travel documentary, the peripatetic Palin spends 99 days in the desert, depicting the Sahara's diverse cultures with enthusiasm, wit and unflagging curiosity. (NAF73, $34.98)

My Traitor's Heart

My Traitor's Heart


by Rian Malan

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 425 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

The Afrikaner and journalist recounts his return to his homeland just before the collapse of Apartheid. Malan grapples with the black and white heart of South Africa, drawing on the 300-year history of his family in Africa, legends of the Zulu nation and some brutally honest reporting. (SAF19, $15.00)

The Caliph's House, A Year in Casablanca

The Caliph's House, A Year in Casablanca


by Tahir Shah

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 343 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

Shah is a marvelous storyteller, weaving Moroccan customs and history with deft portraits of neighbors, craftsmen and others in this entertaining tale of the transformation of a crumbling palace in Casablanca. (MRC66, $16.00)

The House at Sugar Beach, In Search of a Lost African Childhood

The House at Sugar Beach, In Search of a Lost African Childhood


by Helene Cooper

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

Cooper, a New York Times correspondent, traces her childhood in Liberia, the devastation of civil war and her reunion with a foster sister who had been left behind when her prominent family fled to America. (WAF131, $15.00)

No Sweetness Here and Other Stories

No Sweetness Here and Other Stories


by Ama Ata Aidoo

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

A collection of eleven short stories about the lives of women and men in postcolonial Ghana and the tensions between traditional village and urban life; Aidoo's stories emphasize Ghana's prominent oral culture. (WAF23, $14.95)

West African Folktales

West African Folktales


by Jack Berry | Richard Spears

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 229 PAGES

These 123 unembellished tales reflect the rich oral tradition of cultures throughout West Africa, particularly Ghana and Nigeria, where the pioneering Berry did much of his field work. (WAF13, $21.00)

A Certain Curve of Horn, The Hundred-Year Quest for the Giant Sable Antelope of Angola


by John Frederick Walker

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 516 PAGES

Walker weaves tale of exploration and adventure with the politics and history of 20th century Angola in this portrait of the magnificent antelope. (SAF235, $15.00)

Gabon: The Last Eden

Gabon: The Last Eden


by National Geographic Society

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2007
  • DVD

This stunning film documents the work of scientists and rangers in Gabon and the elephants, hippos, buffalo, gorillas and other abundant, diverse wildlife of Central Africa. (CAF37, $19.98)

Sahara, The Extraordinary History of the World's Largest Desert

Sahara, The Extraordinary History of the World's Largest Desert


by Sheila Hirtle | Marq de Villiers

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 326 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

A chronicle of the geography, history and nature of the Sahara. The authors combine travelogue, science and archaeology in this informative report. (NAF13, $14.00)

The Last Place On Earth

The Last Place On Earth


by Mike Fay | Michael Nichols

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 480 PAGES

A two-volume boxed set, this authoritative, spectacularly photographed book by National Geographic documents Michael Fay's 465-day, 2,000-mile Mega-Transect with photographer Nick Nichols from the Congo highlands to the Atlantic Ocean shore of Gabon. With Nichol's extraordinary color photographs (vol. 1) and a facsimile edition of Fay's diary (vol. 2). (CAF38, $150.00)

Through a Window, My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe

Through a Window, My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe


by Jane Goodall

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES

The now-classic account of Jane Goodall's research into the life of the chimpanzees on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. (EAF42, $15.95)

World Atlas of Great Apes and Their Conservation

World Atlas of Great Apes and Their Conservation


by Julian Caldecott

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 456 PAGES

This handsome, authoritative natural history of bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, published in conjunction with The Great Ape Project, features essays by leading scholars, color photographs and maps. (BST106, $55.00)

Birds of Africa South of the Sahara

Birds of Africa South of the Sahara


by Ian Sinclair | Peter Ryan

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 760 PAGES

This compact field guide, the first to describe and illustrate all of the birds of sub-Saharan Africa, features 359 color plates and 2,100 range maps. Especially useful for those southern African countries without their own field guides. (SAF143, $49.50)

Birds of Western Africa

Birds of Western Africa


by Nik Borrow | Ron Demey

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

A compact field edition of Barrow and Demey's comprehensive handbook, covering nearly 1,300 species from Senegal to Congo and featuring 150 color plates. (WAF76, $45.00)

The Wildlife of Southern Africa, A Field Guide to the Animals and Plants of the Region

The Wildlife of Southern Africa, A Field Guide to the Animals and Plants of the Region


by Vincent Carruthers | Kenneth Newman

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

With 1,200 color illustrations by a range of experts, this compact field guide includes all the birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, fish and plants that a traveler is likely to encounter in Southern Africa. (SAF59, $29.95)

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Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.