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Kenya Safari: Walking with the Maasai

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXEAF420. Buy these 4 items as a set for $84 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior

The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior

by Ole Saitoti

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1988
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

Bridging several worlds with tremendous grace, Saitoti looks back on his life among the Maasai, both as spokesperson for his tribe and as one of the first Maasai safari guides. (EAF29, $27.95)

Wildlife of East Africa

Wildlife of East Africa

by Martin B. Withers | David Hosking

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

This take-along guide to 475 common species of birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, trees and flowers of East Africa features full-color photographs with detailed descriptions on facing pages. (EAF108, $19.95)

The Safari Companion

The Safari Companion

by Richard Estes

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 459 PAGES

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)

Kenya & Northern Tanzania (Serengeti) Map

Kenya & Northern Tanzania (Serengeti) Map

by Nelles

  • 2008
  • MAP

A detailed map of Kenya and northern Tanzania (including the Serengeti) at a scale of 1:1,100,000 with inset maps of Lamu, Nairobi and Mombasa. (EAF07, $13.95)

 
Bradt Guide Kenya Highlights

Bradt Guide Kenya Highlights


by Philip Briggs

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

A personal, detailed guide to Kenya, its history, culture, attractions and natural history. With color photographs, maps and excellent travel information. (EAF133, $24.99)

Say it in Swahili

Say it in Swahili


by Sharifa Zawawi

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 1972
  • PAPER
  • 205 PAGES

A palm-size pocket guide to common phrases and expressions. (EAF46, $5.95)

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)

Tribes of the Great Rift Valley

Tribes of the Great Rift Valley


by Elizabeth Gilbert

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 272 PAGES

A photojournalist based in East Africa since 1991, Gilbert (Broken Spears) turns her attention on the traditional peoples of Eritrea, the Ethiopian highlands, and plains of Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi in this collection of striking black-and-white photographs. (EAF180, $75.00)

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)

Facing Mount Kenya, The Tribal Life of the Kikuyu

Facing Mount Kenya, The Tribal Life of the Kikuyu


by Jomo Kenyatta

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1965
  • PAPER
  • 326 PAGES

A classic ethnographic account of the Kikuyu people of central Kenya by one its most famous citizens and first president. (EAF41, $14.75)

I Dreamed of Africa

I Dreamed of Africa


by Kuki Gallman

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 315 PAGES

This bestseller is a highly personal account of tragedy and magic in Kenya. Italian-born Gallman tells of her move to Ol Ari Nyiro, a ranch set in the highland plain in the shadow of Mount Kenya. (EAF23, $17.00)

No Picnic on Mount Kenya

No Picnic on Mount Kenya


by Felice Benuzzi

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

This daring tale of the author's escape from a prisoner of war camp to climb Mount Kenya is not just great reading. Benuzzi's account of landscapes, animals and habitats encountered on his way to the top could also be of interest to anyone contemplating climbing Kilimanjaro. (EAF59, $14.95)

North of South, An African Journey

North of South, An African Journey


by Shiva Naipaul

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1979
  • PAPER
  • 349 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

A sharp portrait of Africa, circa 1979. A brilliant and provocative observer, Naipaul meditates on the various peoples he encounters in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. The best, most insightful thing we've read about race relations in Africa. (EAF28, $16.00)

Out of Africa

Out of Africa


by Isak Dinesen

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1985
  • PAPER
  • 466 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

The perennially best-selling tale of a naive young woman who leaves Denmark for East Africa, Dinesen's autobiography draws us into life on a struggling coffee plantation. It's a moving story inspired by a love for Kenya and its people. Includes the novella Shadows on the Grass. (EAF22, $15.00)

The Flame Trees of Thika

The Flame Trees of Thika


by Elsbeth Huxley

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 280 PAGES

The classic account of a young woman's life as a pioneering settler in Thika, Kenya. Huxley looks back at her intrepid parents and the home they made together in Kenya's Highlands. (EAF24, $15.00)

The Tree Where Man Was Born

The Tree Where Man Was Born


by Peter Matthiessen

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

A classic portrait of East Africa, enthralling in its detail on nature and daily life. Includes Maasai, Ngorongoro, the Kenyan highlands, and Mathiessen's field trips, safaris and adventures in the Serengeti. (EAF27, $17.00)

West with the Night

West with the Night


by Beryl Markham

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1983
  • PAPER
  • 294 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Markham evokes the landscapes, people and wildlife of East Africa in engrossing detail in this memoir of adventures as a bush pilot in 1930s Kenya. A Longitude favorite. (EAF10, $16.00)

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa, A Novel

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa, A Novel


by Nicholas Drayson

  • LITERATURE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

Drayson draws on his time in Nairobi for this sweet novel about East Africa society -- revolving, naturally, around birding, and the Hunt Ball at the Asadi Club. Reality intervenes in the shape of renegade Somalis. (EAF195, $13.95)

Africa, The Serengeti

Africa, The Serengeti


by George Casey

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1994
  • DVD

James Earl Jones narrates this dazzling 40-minute IMAX documentary of the migration of wildebeest in the Serengeti and Masai Mara. (EAF120, $19.99)

Born Free, A Lioness of Two Worlds

Born Free, A Lioness of Two Worlds


by Joy Adamson

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 220 PAGES
  • YOUNG ADULTS

The 40th anniversary edition of Adamson's enduring tale set in Kenya's northern frontier district. (AFR186, $16.00)

Elephant Memories, Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family

Elephant Memories, Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family


by Cynthia Moss

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 364 PAGES

A tribute to the elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park by Cynthia Moss, founder and director of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project. Moss writes with authority and verve about her favorite creatures. (EAF79, $22.50)

Kenya Safari Companion

Kenya Safari Companion


by Alain Pons

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 80 PAGES

A colorful illustrated guide to wildlife, photographic opportunities and travel. On every page there are beautiful photographs, each accompanied by a caption with photography tips for travelers looking to get the most out of their cameras. (EAF173, $14.95)

Serengeti, The Eternal Beginning

Serengeti, The Eternal Beginning


by Boyd Norton

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 288 PAGES

Featuring 250 exquisite color photographs alongside Norton's firsthand accounts of travels in Serengeti National Park, Kenya's Masai Mara, and Ngorongoro over a decades-long career. (EAF378, $35.00)

The Great Rift Valley of East Africa

The Great Rift Valley of East Africa


by Anup and Manoj Shah

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 144 PAGES

Award-winning wildlife photographers Anup and Manoj Shah explore the diverse wildlife and habitats along the length and breadth of the East African section of the Great Rift Valley. (EAF193, $26.95)

The Wisdom of the Bones, In Search of Human Origins

The Wisdom of the Bones, In Search of Human Origins


by Alan Walker | Pat Shipman

  • SCIENCE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

A dramatic account of the discovery, in 1984, and significance of a remarkably intact skeleton of Homo erectus in northern Kenya. (ATP09, $15.00)

Birds of East Africa

Birds of East Africa


by Terry Stevenson | John Fanshawe

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 602 PAGES

Compact and comprehensive, this guide to 1,388 species of birds in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi features 286 excellent color plates, range maps and notes on habitats and conservation. A veteran tour leader, co-author Stevenson lives in Kenya. (EAF92, $39.50)

Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania

Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania


by Dale Zimmerman | Donald Turner | David Pearson

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 576 PAGES

Ideal for the Serengeti, this field guide features 124 stunning color plates. (FG39, $35.00)

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)

Wildflowers and Common Trees of East Africa

Wildflowers and Common Trees of East Africa


by David J. Allen

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 248 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

A well-illustrated plant guide. (EAF196, $25.00)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

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.