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Get the featured set of Essential Reading, our top picks of what to read, and get free shipping on anything else you order.

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Item EXCAF8. Buy these 5 items as a set for $93 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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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)

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)

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)

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)

Gabon Map

Gabon Map

by IGN

  • 1994
  • MAP

A folded, self-cover map of Gabon, with an inset of Libreville, at a scale of 1:1,000,000. (CAF24, $16.95)

 
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)

The Africans

The Africans


by David Lamb

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1987
  • PAPER
  • 371 PAGES

In these 17 well-written essays, news correspondent Lamb ranges throughout Africa, creating an insightful portrait of the land and especially its people. (AFR22, $19.95)

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)

Anthology of World Music: Africa-Ba-Benzele Pygmy


by Various Artists

  • MUSIC
  • 1998
  • AUDIO CD

A sampling of the extraordinary music of the Bayaka of Cameroon and Gabon. (CAF39, $17.98)

African Notebook


by Albert Schweitzer

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

This short book captures the flavor of Schweitzer's early days at Lambarene, Gabon. (CAF41, $19.95)

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)

No Mercy, A Journey to the Heart of the Congo

No Mercy, A Journey to the Heart of the Congo


by Redmond O'Hanlon

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 462 PAGES

A trek deep into the Congo with Redmond O'Hanlon, the eccentric, courageous, always-entertaining modern adventurer. (CAF01, $15.95)

Of Water and the Spirit, Ritual, Magic and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman

Of Water and the Spirit, Ritual, Magic and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman


by Malidoma Patrice Some

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

A window in the world view of West African religion, Malidoma Some's remarkable, enlightening account of his return to the Dagara people of Upper Volta shows his transformation from outsider to Shaman through a month-long initiation. (WAF110, $16.00)

Tropic Moon

Tropic Moon


by Georges Simenon

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER

In Simenon's dark tale of degeneracy and corruption in a colonial outpost, a young Frenchman, Joseph Timar, travels to Gabon. (CAF34, $12.95)

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)

Among African Apes, Stories and Photos from the Field

Among African Apes, Stories and Photos from the Field


by Christophe Boesch | Martha Robbins

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 196 PAGES

Alongside color photographs of chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas, Robbins and Boesch tell the compelling stories of wild apes and the researchers who study them. (UGD25, $29.95)

Gorillas, Natural History & Conservation

Gorillas, Natural History & Conservation


by Kelly Stewart

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 72 PAGES

An illustrated overview of the natural history and ecology of the gorilla. (CAF35, $17.95)

My Family Album, Thirty Years of Primate Photography

My Family Album, Thirty Years of Primate Photography


by F. B. M. De Waal

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • HARD COVER

Waal illuminates the striking diversity of primate social interaction, gesture and and behavior in this witty collection of 128 duotone photographs (with accompanying explanations) of chimps, bonobos, capuchin, baboons and macaques. (BST107, $40.00)

Myth and Reality in the Rain Forest, How Conservation Strategies are Failing in West Africa


by John F. Oakes

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 338 PAGES

A survey of national parks and conservation throughout West Africa, of primary interest to conservationists. Oakes uses West Africa as a case study to argue against the prevailing notion that wildlife is best protected through small-scale community development. (WAF11, $28.95)

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)

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 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)

Birds of Western and Central Africa, Princeton Illustrated Checklist

Birds of Western and Central Africa, Princeton Illustrated Checklist


by Ber Van Perlo

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

An admirably compact, comprehensive guide to 1,500 species throughout Western and Central Africa featuring 109 color plates. (WAF02, $29.95)

Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals

Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals


by Jonathan Kingdon

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

An artist and biologist, Kingdon provides both delightful full-color illustrations and informative text. (EAF128, $24.95)

The Safari Companion

The Safari Companion


by Richard Estes

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 459 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

An invaluable encyclopedic guide to Africa's mammals by a noted scientist. Written with the typical safari-goer in mind, this perennial bestseller includes black-and-white drawings, an overview of each group and in-depth information. (AFR06, $30.00)

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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.