Welcome!

Enrich Your Travels with Longitude

We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.

SIGN UP FOR

Longitude News

Get our monthly e-mail update

GET A

Catalog

BEST OF 2011

Wild Coast

John Gimlette

SEE ALL >

FOR THE HOLIDAYS

To the Arctic

Florian Schultz

SEE ALL >

OUR FAVORITES

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

SEE ALL >

GLOBES

The Pioneer

Replogle

SEE ALL >

SOUTH AFRICA

More Books

20th-Century South Africa

20th-Century South Africa


by William Beinart

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

A lively, readable social, political and economic history of the last 100 years. (SAF153, $30.00)

Africa

Africa


by Phyllis Martin | Patrick O'Meara

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

African history and prehistory, popular culture, art and economics -- it's all here in the most popular introductory text for undergraduate African studies courses in North America. With maps, photographs and drawings. (AFR07, $26.00)

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)

African Predators


by M.G.L. Mills | Gus Mills | Martin Harvey

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2001
  • HARD COVER
  • 160 PAGES

A natural history of the giant cats and other predators of Africa. (AFR114, $39.95)

African Wildlife

African Wildlife


by James Kavanaugh

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1999
  • PLASTIC CARD

Slip this laminated foldout guide in your pocket for quick reference in the field. (AFR109, $5.95)

Agaat

Agaat


by Marlene Van Niekerk

  • LITERATURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 581 PAGES

Van Kiekerk's novel portrays the relationship between Milla, a 67-year-old white woman, and Agaat, her black maid turned caretaker, in apartheid-era South Africa. (SAF303, $19.95)

The Anatomy of the Zulu Army, From Shaka to Cetshwayo, 1818-1879


by Ian Knight

  • HISTORY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 282 PAGES

A detailed account of the structure of the Zulu army during the 60 years before they defeated the invading British army at Isandlwana in 1879. (SAF87, $22.95)

Beethoven Was One-Sixteenth Black

Beethoven Was One-Sixteenth Black


by Nadine Gordimer

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

The Nobel Prize winner daringly explores racial identity, sexuality and loss in this latest, marvelous collection of South African tales. (SAF221, $14.00)

The Behavior Guide to Africa's Mammals

The Behavior Guide to Africa's Mammals


by Richard Estes

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 611 PAGES

A detailed overview of the ecology and behavior of African mammals. (AFR54, $39.95)

The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives, An Illustrated Guide to Their Evolution and Natural History


by Alan Turner | Mauricio Anton

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A thoroughly researched guide to modern felines and their ancestors. (BST50, $26.95)

Big Five of Africa

Big Five of Africa


by Gerald Hinde

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 143 PAGES

Hinde's stunning photographs celebrate Africa's lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos and buffalo. (AFR241, $20.00)

Bitter Fruit

Bitter Fruit


by Achmat Dangor

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 281 PAGES

This powerful family tale, set in Johannesburg during the last months of Nelson Mandela's presidency, reflects the realities of South Africa. (SAF147, $13.00)

Black Liberation, A Comparative History of Black Ideologies in the United States and Africa


by George M. Fredrickson

  • HISTORY
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 404 PAGES

A history of black resistance to white supremacy in the United States and South Africa. (SAF154, $44.99)

Boyhood, Scenes from the Provincial Life

Boyhood, Scenes from the Provincial Life


by J.M. Coetzee

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 166 PAGES

Nobel Prize-winner J.M. Coetzee's affecting memoir of his adolescence in South Africa. (SAF149, $16.00)

Bradt City Guide Johannesburg

Bradt City Guide Johannesburg


by Lizzie Williams

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A guide to the South African city in the authoritative, personal Bradt series. With practical information, annotated suggestions of where to eat, sleep and shop, suggested walking tours and color maps. (SAF176, $13.95)

Bring Me My Machine Gun

Bring Me My Machine Gun


by Alec Russell

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 312 PAGES

The Financial Times' world news editor tells the epic story of post-apartheid South Africa, which he sees as a tragic tale of hope unfulfilled. (SAF308, $26.95)

Burger's Daughter


by Nadine Gordimer

  • LITERATURE
  • 1980
  • PAPER
  • 361 PAGES

The story of a young, white, South African woman, and her search for identity. (SAF84, $16.00)

Cape Floral Region

Cape Floral Region


by Fiona McIntosh

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 206 PAGES

A practical pocket guide to Table Mountain and the other extraordinary Western Cape parks and reserves of this UNESCO World Heritage site. (SAF223, $10.95)

The Cape Herders


by Emile Boonzaier

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 155 PAGES

A scholarly portrait of the Khokhoi of the western cape of South Africa. (SAF65, $19.95)

Cape Town Calling, From Mandela to Theroux on the Mother City

Cape Town Calling, From Mandela to Theroux on the Mother City


by Justin Fox

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 231 PAGES

A collection of literature on Cape Town by a group of contemporary local authors organized by location. The last chapter features views of the city by international travel writers. (SAF275, $21.95)

Cape Town Destination Map


by National Geographic

  • 2008
  • MAP

A map of Cape Town at a scale of 1:11,500. (AFR284, $9.95)

Cape Town Map

Cape Town Map


by Globetrotter

  • 2005
  • MAP

A home-grown map of theCape Town, with a detailed city center on one side, and a local regional map, including the Cape Peninsula, on the other. (SAF105, $8.95)

Cats of Africa

Cats of Africa


by Anthony Hall-Martin

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1998
  • HARD COVER
  • 152 PAGES

A gorgeously illustrated, species-by-species guide to Africa's wild cats. (BST24, $49.95)

The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs


by John C. Manning | Peter Goldblatt | Dee Snijman

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2002
  • HARD COVER
  • 496 PAGES

A definitive, richly illustrated account fo the remarkably diverse bulbous plants of the Cape Floral region by three leading botanists. (SAF160, $59.95)

A Complicated War, The Harrowing of Mozambique

A Complicated War, The Harrowing of Mozambique


by William Finnegan

  • HISTORY
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 325 PAGES

An eyewitness historical, political and social account of Mozambique and the civil war that has ravaged the country, organized as a travelogue of sorts -- and centered around the author's own travels and interviews. (SAF94, $28.95)

A Concise History of South Africa

A Concise History of South Africa


by Robert Ross

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 251 PAGES

A succinct synthesis of the country over 1500 years, stressing economic, social, cultural and environmental matters as well as political history. (SAF310, $25.99)

Country of My Skull: Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa

Country of My Skull: Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa


by Antjie Krog | Luke Mitchell

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES

Krog, an Afrikaner journalist who covered the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings for South African radio, writes of the crimes of apartheid with passion and sensitivity. (SAF100, $16.00)

The Covenant

The Covenant


by James Michener

  • LITERATURE
  • 1987
  • PAPER
  • 1238 PAGES

Michener's saga of war, adventure, politics and love follows several generations of characters as they give birth to the mighty Zulu nation. (SAF85, $8.99)

The Cycle Tour


by Mike Wills

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

From humble beginnings 30 years ago, The Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour has grown into a landmark event around the spectacular Cape Peninsula that attracts a sell-out field of 35,000 riders -- the biggest of its kind anywhere in the world. (SAF250, $28.95)

Dead Before Dying

Dead Before Dying


by Deon Meyer

  • MYSTERY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 465 PAGES

Cape Town detective Benny Griessel faces a terrifying series of murders in this brilliantly atmospheric suspense novel -- third in the series including Heart of the Hunter, Dead at Daybreak. (SAF257, $7.99)

Democratization in Africa

Democratization in Africa


by Larry Diamond | Marc F. Plattner

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 360 PAGES

A scholarly analysis of the successes and failures of democratic movements in Africa through the 1990s, including South Africa. (AFR162, $30.00)

Devil's Peak, A Novel


by Deon Meyer

  • MYSTERY
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 409 PAGES

Inspector Benny Griessel faces off against a dangerous vigilante who has everything on his side -- including public sympathy -- in this chilling tale set in Cape Town. (SAF256, $24.99)

Devil's Valley


by Andre Philippus Brink

  • LITERATURE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 401 PAGES

Fantasy and mystery comingle in this novel of a washed up reporter who discovers a strange society of primitive Boer farmers deep in a South African mountain valley. (SAF148, $28.95)

Diamonds, Gold, and War, The British, the Boers and the Making of South Africa

Diamonds, Gold, and War, The British, the Boers and the Making of South Africa


by Martin Meredith

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 592 PAGES

This history makes palpable the cost of greed to Africa's native peoples and explains the rise of virulent Afrikaner nationalism. (SAF208, $35.00)

Don't Look Behind You!

Don't Look Behind You!


by Peter Allison

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Subtitled A Safari Guide's Encounters With Ravenous Lions, Stampeding Elephants, and Lovesick Rhinos, this sequel to Allison's Whatever You Do Don't Run, includes more harrowing, hilarious adventures throughout Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique. (SAF252, $16.95)

A Dry White Season


by Andre Philippus Brink

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 316 PAGES

When a white teacher decides to investigate the suspicious death of a school janitor he is brought face to face with the ugly truths of Apartheid in this classic South African novel. (SAF179, $13.99)

Durban Street Plan


by MapLink

  • MAP

Detailed map of Durban, published in South Africa. (SAF104, $19.95)

The Elephant Whisperer, My Life With the Herd in the African Wild

The Elephant Whisperer, My Life With the Herd in the African Wild


by Lawrence Anthony

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 368 PAGES

Set against the background of life on an South African game reserve, this dramatic book tracks Lawrence's efforts to save a herd of troubled -- and predictable -- rogue elephants. (SAF297, $25.99)

Elephantoms, Tracking the Elephant

Elephantoms, Tracking the Elephant


by Lyall Watson

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 261 PAGES

An evocative account of the myth, lore and nature of elephants in South Africa. (SAF129, $14.95)

A Far Off Place


by Laurens van der Post

  • LITERATURE
  • 1978
  • PAPER
  • 310 PAGES

The continutation of the tale begun with A Story Like the Wind of Francois Joubert and Xhabbo. (SAF117, $18.95)

Fault Lines, Journeys Into the New South Africa

Fault Lines, Journeys Into the New South Africa


by David Goodman | Paul Weinberg

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 418 PAGES

An engrossing portrait of South Africa after apartheid and how the changing nation continues to confront its troubled past. (SAF111, $27.95)

Favorite African Folktales


by Nelson Mandela

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES
  • FAMILY

A collection of tales from all over the continent, including many traditional folktales from Southern Africa. A team of expert folklorists, poets and authors transcribe the tales, each selected by Mandela. (AFR142, $13.95)

Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa

Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa


by Ian Sinclair | Phil Hockey | Warwick Tarboton

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 447 PAGES

This compact, comprehensive field guide features 200 dazzling color plates covering 950 species of birds from South Africa to southern Mozambique. Fourth Edition. (SAF12, $35.00)

Field Guide to Wild Flowers of South Africa

Field Guide to Wild Flowers of South Africa


by John Manning

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

A comprehensive photographic guide. (SAF268, $31.00)

Flashman and the Tiger

Flashman and the Tiger


by George MacDonald Fraser

  • LITERATURE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

This 11th installment in The Flashman Papers (purportedly retrieved and not written by George Macdonald Fraser, a nice conceit), consists of three short adventures, which find our hero cavorting with Bismarck and Emperor Franz-Josef and the future Edward VI. (WAF58, $16.00)

Fodor's Exploring South Africa

Fodor's Exploring South Africa


by Fodor's Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 350 PAGES

With its many photographs, great introductory chapters and practical travel information, this book is an excellent overview of South Africa and its attractions for visitors. (SAF170, $24.95)

Fodor's See It South Africa

Fodor's See It South Africa


by

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A practical guide in the popular series, saturated with tons of color photos and valuable information on accommodation, shopping, sights, and dining. (SAF241, $24.99)

Fodor's South Africa


by Alexis C Kelly

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 640 PAGES

This practical guide, from the popular series, is saturated with valuable information on accommodation, shopping, sights, and restaurants. (SAF198, $24.99)

Footprint Cape Town, the Winelands & Garden Route

Footprint Cape Town, the Winelands & Garden Route


by Lizzie Williams

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

This handy guide by the prolific Lizzie Williams presents where to go and what to do, along with a concise over-view of history, nature and culture with such clarity. It's even got a movie and book list and pullout map. (SAF253, $21.95)

Footprint South Africa Handbook

Footprint South Africa Handbook


by Francisca Kellett | Lizzie Williams

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 1008 PAGES

A comprehensive guide to travel in South Africa. (SAF96, $27.95)

Frommer's Cape Town Day by Day

Frommer's Cape Town Day by Day


by Lizzie Williams

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 182 PAGES

A compact shirt pocket guide, ideal for a short visit, featuring remarkably good suggestions for everything from food to hotels, neighborhoods and shopping. With a separate foldout map of the city center. (SAF278, $12.99)

Frommer's South Africa


by Pippa De Bruyn

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

A practical guide to exploring South Africa with information on attractions, accommodation, shopping and dining. (SAF197, $23.99)

Game Parks of South Africa

Game Parks of South Africa


by Gerald Hinde

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 80 PAGES

This light-weight round-up captures the features of South Africa's parks and reserves in photographs and short text, making a nice keepsake. (SAF282, $12.00)

Getaway Guide Garden Route

Getaway Guide Garden Route


by Brent Naude-Moseley | Steve Moseley

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Organized by region and replete with colorful maps and photographs, this take-along guide to South Africa's Garden Route gives information on trails, food, accommodations, history and sights. (SAF286, $23.00)

Getaway Guide the Kruger National Park

Getaway Guide the Kruger National Park


by Cameron Ewart-Smith

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Organized by region and replete with colorful maps and photographs, this take-along guide to one of Africa's largest reserves gives information on routes, eating, accommodations, wildlife and even swimming pools. (SAF277, $18.00)

The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa

The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa


by Alexander McCall Smith

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • HARD COVER
  • 192 PAGES

McCall Smith brings together folktales, often hilarious or bizarre, which he heard as a child growing up in Zimbabwe. (AFR141, $22.00)

The Golden Notebook


by Doris Lessing

  • LITERATURE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 672 PAGES

Lessing's novel of Africa, women, literature and politics -- the book that opened the eyes of a generation of readers and scholars. (SAF199, $16.95)

The Harmless People

The Harmless People


by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 303 PAGES

A classic study of the Bushmen of the Kalahari, novelistic in its detail. Based on the author's fieldwork, the account is direct, informative, and strong on the character of the people and land. (SAF60, $15.95)

The Healing Land, The Bushmen and the Kalahari Desert

The Healing Land, The Bushmen and the Kalahari Desert


by Rupert Isaacson

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 278 PAGES

A powerful account of the ancient traditions of the Kalahari Bushmen -- and the very contemporary struggle of a people who have been displaced from their land. (SAF135, $13.00)

The Heart of Redness, A Novel


by Zakes Mda

  • LITERATURE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 277 PAGES

Mda brilliantly reinvents the history, lives, myths and people of Qolorha-by-Sea in the wild Eastern Cape in this haunting novel. (SAF155, $15.00)

A History of Sub-Saharan Africa

A History of Sub-Saharan Africa


by Robert O. Collins | James M. Burns

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

A clear, brief survey of the history and development of Africa, aimed at undergraduates and interested readers, organized thematically. With chapters on climate and geography, the rise of states and empires, the slave trade within Africa and beyond to the Americas, the European conquest, and Africa in the 20th century. (AFR174, $31.99)

The House Gun


by Nadine Gordimer

  • LITERATURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 294 PAGES

From a popular South African Nobel Prize-winner comes the story of a privileged white family and their struggles with their own beliefs. Always perceptive, Gordimer dissects psychological distortions underlying apartheid. (SAF78, $16.00)

A Human Being Died That Night, A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid

A Human Being Died That Night, A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid


by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, a South African clinical psychologist, recounts dialogue with Eugene de Kock, a commanding officer of an apartheid era state-sanctioned death squad who is currently serving a 212-year sentence for crimes against humanity. A poignant exploration of accountability and forgiveness. (SAF186, $13.95)

Hunters and Herders of Southern Africa

Hunters and Herders of Southern Africa


by Alan Barnard

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 379 PAGES

A scholarly comparative study of San ("Bushmen"), Khokhoi ("Hottentot") and Damara peoples of the Kalahari. (SAF67, $50.00)

I Write What I Like, Selected Writings


by Steve Biko

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

An anthology of essays by activist and martyr Steve Biko (1946-1977), (SAF157, $19.00)

Imaginings of Sand


by Andre Philippus Brink

  • LITERATURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

When her grandmother falls ill, a young woman returns home to South Africa during the first democratic elections in this evocative novel. South African author Andre Brink brilliantly conjures magical stories of the Africa of old along with modern political commentary. (SAF180, $23.00)

In Search of the African Wild Dog, The Right to Survive


by Roger De LA Harpe

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 160 PAGES

A portrait of a predator on the brink of extinction accompanied by large color photographs. The authors begin with an overview of the species and then observe them park by park, beginning with Madikwe Game Reserve and De Wildt and also including Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park and Greater Kruger National Park in South Africa and The Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana. (SAF280, $46.00)

Insight Guide Cape Town


by Rachel Lawrence

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

This lavishly illustrated Insight guide includes excellent color maps and thoughtful short essays on history, culture and attractions. (SAF307, $19.99)

July's People


by Nadine Gordimer

  • LITERATURE
  • 1982
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

A household servant rescues the white family he works for in this political novel set in South Africa. (SAF95, $14.00)

Kaffir Boy, The True Story a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa

Kaffir Boy, The True Story a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa


by Mark Mathabane

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

The affecting memoir of a young South African athlete under Apartheid. Mathabane escaped the fate of many poor, black youth of the time through a tennis scholarship to an American university. (SAF158, $15.95)

Key to Cape Town, Your Insider's Guide to Exploring the Mother City

Key to Cape Town, Your Insider's Guide to Exploring the Mother City


by Toast Coetzer

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 233 PAGES

Published in South Africa, this colorful 8illsurtaed guide focuses on 100 must-see attractions. With foldout maps and recommended itineraries. (SAF267, $19.95)

Knowledge in the Blood, Confronting Race and the Apartheid Past

Knowledge in the Blood, Confronting Race and the Apartheid Past


by Jonathan D. Jansen

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 337 PAGES

A firsthand account, from the first black Dean of a historically white university, of how white South African students learn and confront the Apartheid past, and how this knowledge transforms students and teacher alike. (SAF304, $21.95)

Lonely Planet Cape Town

Lonely Planet Cape Town


by Simon Richmond

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 236 PAGES

Geared for independent travelers, this savvy guide features color photographs and dozens of excellent maps. (SAF27, $19.99)

Lonely Planet South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland

Lonely Planet South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland


by Lonely Planet

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 684 PAGES

This comprehensive, practical guide is a helpful tool for independent travelers. (AFR44, $26.99)

Lonely Planet Southern Africa

Lonely Planet Southern Africa


by Alan Murphy

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 808 PAGES

This hefty practical guide to the nine nations of southern Africa, including Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho, is ideal for independent travelers on a multicountry tour. (SAF121, $32.99)

Mandela & de Klerk


by Inge Sargent

  • LITERATURE
  • 1997
  • DVD

A tevision docu-drama starring Sydney Poitier the jailed hero and Michael Caine as de Klerk, filmed on location in South Africa and at Robbin Island. (SAF51, $9.98)

Mandela, The Authorized Biography

Mandela, The Authorized Biography


by Anthony Sampson

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 736 PAGES

A comprehensive biography of Mandela by a prolific British journalist, who had complete access to the great man's unpublished letters and documents. (SAF118, $21.00)

Master Harold...and the Boys


by Athol Fugard

  • LITERATURE
  • 1984
  • PAPER
  • 60 PAGES

Athol Fugard's play of a young white man and the racial tensions that destroy his friendship to an older black waiter. (SAF151, $12.00)

Mother to Mother

Mother to Mother


by Sindiwe Magona

  • LITERATURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

A powerful novel of sorrow and compassion based on the real-life murder of Amy Biehl, a Fulbright scholar organizing democratic elections who was killed by a mob in a black South African township. (SAF301, $15.00)

My Son's Story


by Nadine Gordimer

  • LITERATURE
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 277 PAGES

A complex story of the effects of apartheid on one black family. (SAF77, $16.00)

The Myth of Wild Africa

The Myth of Wild Africa


by Jonathan Adams | Thomas McShane

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 290 PAGES

The authors, associated with the World Wildlife Fund, explode the romantic fallacy of an untouched continent where animals roam freely in sanctuaries. It's a no-holds-barred critique of old-style conservation in Africa. (AFR15, $29.95)

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)

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)

New South African Keywords


by Nick E. Shepherd

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 278 PAGES

This concise, insightful guide defines the key words and concepts that have come to shape public and political thought and debate in South Africa since 1994. (SAF238, $26.95)

No Future Without Forgiveness

No Future Without Forgiveness


by Desmond Tutu

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Winner of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, Desmond Tutu writes with insightful and compassion in this memoir of his work for reconciliation in post-Apartheid South Africa. (SAF97, $15.95)

None to Accompany Me

None to Accompany Me


by Nadine Gordimer

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 324 PAGES

With keen attention to character and racial politics, Nobel Prize-winner Gordimer traces the experiences of two families during turbulent, post-Apartheid South Africa. (SAF76, $16.00)

Not Either an Experimental Doll, The Separate Worlds of Three South Africa Women

Not Either an Experimental Doll, The Separate Worlds of Three South Africa Women


by Lily Patience Moya

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1988
  • PAPER
  • 234 PAGES

A collection of eye-opening letters by two black women and a liberal white women in apartheid South Africa. (SAF156, $15.95)

The Peopling of Africa, A Geographic Interpretation


by James L. Newman

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 252 PAGES

An anthropological study of Africa, which considers, among other factors, genetics, religion, language and technology. (AFR140, $26.00)

A Photographic Guide to Sea Fishes of Southern Africa

A Photographic Guide to Sea Fishes of Southern Africa


by Elst, Rudy | King,Dennis

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

A convenient, shirt pocket guide. (SAF192, $13.00)

Picture Cape Town, Landmarks of a New Generation


by Getty Trust Publications

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER

An inspired collection of photographs landmarks fo Cape Town, culled from hundreds taken by a group of South African youths (SAF126, $19.95)

Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates

Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates


by Paul Dallman

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 210 PAGES

Richly illustrated, clearly written and engaging, this book is an ecological overview of the landscapes, plants and vegetation types found in Mediterranean climates. (MED21, $35.95)

Playing in the Light


by Zoe Wicomb

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 218 PAGES

In a beautifully rendered 1990s Cape Town, a single Afrikaans woman who runs a travel agency employs and befriends a black woman. (SAF270, $14.95)

Power Lines, Two Years on South Africa's Borders

Power Lines, Two Years on South Africa's Borders


by Jason Carter | Jimmy Carter

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

A memoir by Jimmy Carter's grandson about his experiences working in South Africa as a member of the Peace Corps in the late 1990s. (SAF146, $14.00)

Random Violence

Random Violence


by Jassy Mackenzie

  • MYSTERY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

P.I. Jade de Jong teams up with Police Superintendent David Patel to investigate a murder and series of car-jackings in Johannesburg. (SAF293, $14.00)

Robben Island and Prisoner Resistance to Apartheid


by Fran Lisa Buntman

  • HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 358 PAGES

A fascinating and inspiring glimpse inside the prison in which Nelson Mandela, along with other anti-apartheid activists, was held for almost three decades. Buntman studies the ways the prisoners managed to stragegize and resist even while behind bars. (SAF185, $33.00)

Rough Guide South Africa

Rough Guide South Africa


by Rough Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 744 PAGES

A comprehensive guide to South Africa in the hip, literate and infomative Rough Guide style. (SAF217, $26.99)

The Rough Guide to Cape Town and the Garden Route

The Rough Guide to Cape Town and the Garden Route


by Rough Guide

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 344 PAGES

This guide features helpful information on Cape Town attractions and Garden Route adventure activities, as well as reviews on accommodations, food and drink. With a color section and maps on every area. (SAF165, $21.99)

Salamander Cotton


by Richard Kunzmann

  • MYSTERY
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 305 PAGES

Detective Inspector Jacob Tshabalala and his former colleague Harry Mason return with another beautifully spellbinding thriller combining murder, revenge, greed and the classic struggle between good and evil. (SAF207, $24.95)

Shaka Zulu

Shaka Zulu


by William Faure

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • DVD
  • 416 PAGES

Made as a 10-part television epic for British audiences by the South African director William Faure, this is the sweeping story of the Zulu nation's rise to power and especially of its warrior-king Shaka Zulu. (SAF54, $79.95)

Sizwe's Test, A Young Man's Journey Through Africa's AIDS Epidemic

Sizwe's Test, A Young Man's Journey Through Africa's AIDS Epidemic


by Jonny Steinberg

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 349 PAGES

Steinberg explores the perspectives of HIV-positive villagers in rural South Africa, revealing the cultural misunderstandings, superstitions, and stigmas that compel people to refuse free treatment and challenge efforts to stop the spread of AIDS. (SAF309, $22.99)

Skinner's Drift, A Novel

Skinner's Drift, A Novel


by Lisa Fugard

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

This family drama, by the daughter of playwright Athol Fugard, unspools in Johannesburg, where the main character returns to care for her dying father. (SAF168, $19.99)

The Snorkeller's Guide to the Coral Reef, From the Red Sea to the Pacific Ocean

The Snorkeller's Guide to the Coral Reef, From the Red Sea to the Pacific Ocean


by Paddy Ryan

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 184 PAGES

The best-selling, take-along guide to coral reefs, coral-reef fishes, invertebrates and plants of the Indo-Pacific. With 200 color photographs. (DIV18, $21.99)

South Africa Travel Map

South Africa Travel Map


by Globetrotter

  • 2008
  • MAP
  • BEST SELLER

A colorful map at a scale of 1:2,400,000. (SAF09, $8.95)

South Africa, A Visual Tour Through Its Regions

South Africa, A Visual Tour Through Its Regions


by Toast Coetzer

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

A photographic celebration of South Africa's people, places, landscapes and wildlife, organized by region. (SAF285, $30.00)

South from the Limpopo, Travels Through South Africa

South from the Limpopo, Travels Through South Africa


by Dervla Murphy

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

The intrepid Murphy captures the excitement, contradictions and challenges of South Africa on her 6,000-mile journey during the nation's first true elections in 1994. (SAF102, $16.95)

Southern African Birds, A Photographic Guide

Southern African Birds, A Photographic Guide


by Ian Sinclair

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

Lightweight and handy for the field, this pocket guide to the 265 most conspicuous birds south of the Zambezi River includes color photographs, brief descriptions and range maps. (SAF14, $15.95)

Southern African Wildlife, A Visitor's Guide

Southern African Wildlife, A Visitor's Guide


by Mike Unwin

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 234 PAGES

A popular photographic guide to the mammals, birds, reptiles and habitats south of the Zambezi. With 300 color photographs and illuminating text. (SAF131, $26.99)

Southern Night Sky

Southern Night Sky


by Pocket Naturalist

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2001
  • PLASTIC CARD

A glow in the dark laminated card showing the most conspicuous stars, constellations and celestial objects of the Southern Hemisphere. (SCI30, $5.95)

Soweto Inside Out, Stories About Africa's Famous Township

Soweto Inside Out, Stories About Africa's Famous Township


by Adam Roberts

  • HISTORY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 237 PAGES

A collection of stories compiled to mark the centennial of the first expulsion of black Africans from Johannesburg to Soweto. (SAF184, $18.00)

Stolen Lives

Stolen Lives


by Jassy Mackenzie

  • MYSTERY
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 256 PAGES

In this follow-up to Random Violence, a seemingly simple job as a bodyguard puts Jade de Jong on the trail of attempted murder, kidnapping and a human trafficking ring that stretches from Johannesburg to London. (SAF292, $25.00)

A Story Like the Wind


by Laurens van der Post

  • LITERATURE
  • 1978
  • PAPER
  • 370 PAGES

The epic tale set in the Kalahari of the frienship between young Francois Joubert and Xhabbo. (SAF116, $21.95)

The Story of an African Farm


by Olive Shreiner

  • LITERATURE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 328 PAGES

First published in 1883, this novel is considered a landmark in feminist literature for its controversial views on marriage, pregnancy, religion and gender. The orphaned heroine Lyndall is full of philosophical revelations in her search for self in colonial South Africa. (SAF86, $12.95)

The Story of the Cannibal Woman


by Maryse Conde

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Rendered frightened and penniless by her husband's mysterious violent death, Rosalie reluctantly taps her clairvoyant skills in order to support herself in post-apartheid South Africa in this thriller. (SAF202, $14.00)

The Story of the World Cup, The Essential Companion to South Africa, 2010

The Story of the World Cup, The Essential Companion to South Africa, 2010


by Brian Glanville

  • SCIENCE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

Sports journalist and commentator Glanville traces history of the World Cup from 1930 in Uruguay all the way to the 2010 tournament in South Africa in this new edition of his football classic. (SAF279, $22.95)

Summertime

Summertime


by J. M. Coetzee

  • LITERATURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 266 PAGES

Nobel Prize-winning J. M. Coetzee's novel about a biographer working on a book about the late South African writer, John Coetzee. Through the eyes of his fictional biographer, Coetzee paints a critical and unsparing self-portrait that is also surprisingly funny. (SAF302, $15.00)

Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC


by William M. Gumede

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

An even-handed examination of Mbeki's presidency, including his successes, his relationship with Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and the continuing challenges facing South Africa, by a South African journalist. (SAF196, $31.95)

To My Children's Children


by Sindiwe Magona

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1998
  • HARD COVER
  • 176 PAGES

Magona's widely acclaimed memoir of the changes she and her Xhosa village endured under apartheid. (SAF83, $11.95)

Top 10 Cape Town and the Winelands

Top 10 Cape Town and the Winelands


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

A compact, illustrated guide in the popular series, featuring favorite attractions. (SAF216, $14.00)

Traveller's History of South Africa

Traveller's History of South Africa


by David Mason

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

A compact guide in the popular series. (SAF142, $14.95)

Tree Shaker: The Story of Nelson Mandela


by Bill Keller

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 128 PAGES
  • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)

Written by New York Times executive editor Bill Keller, this inspiring biography follows Mandela from his tribal homeland and the struggle for racial equality to his leadership of an-apartheid-free South Africa. (SAF188, $17.95)

Twenty Chickens for a Saddle

Twenty Chickens for a Saddle


by Robyn Scott

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 464 PAGES

Haphazardly schooled by her free-spirited mother and left to roam the bush, Scott writes with warmth and candor of her unconventional upbringing in Botswana, including her Grandpa Ivor (personal pilot to the first president of Botswana), physician father's work, unfortunate pets, siblings and adventures. (SAF203, $15.00)

Under My Skin: Volume One of My Autobiography, to 1949

Under My Skin: Volume One of My Autobiography, to 1949


by Doris Lessing

  • MYSTERY
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

The prolific Pulitzer Prize winning, British novelist's memoir of coming-of-age in Persia, where she was born, and Southern Rhodesia, where her family moved in the 1920s. (SAF200, $15.95)

Vegetation of Southern Africa


by R. M. Cowling

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 649 PAGES

A comprehensive survey of the habits, climatic and geological setting, evolution and types of vegetation in Southern Africa by a team of scholars (SAF159, $110.00)

Voices of the San, Living in Southern Africa Today


by Alison White | Willemien Le Roux

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 226 PAGES

Le Roux and White have compiled a fascinating series of interviews conducted by young San people who went into the field to collect the thoughts of their peers and elders. (SAF254, $59.95)

Waiting for the Barbarians

Waiting for the Barbarians


by J.M. Coetzee

  • LITERATURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

A modern classic, this early novel by Nobel Laureate J. M. Coetzee centers on the crisis of conscience and morality of the Magistrate-a loyal servant of the Empire working in a tiny frontier town, doing his best to ignore an inevitable war with the "barbarians." (SAF150, $15.00)

The Washing of the Spears

The Washing of the Spears


by Donald R. Morris

  • HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 692 PAGES

Written at Hemingway's suggestion, this sprawling chronicle of the Zulu nation and particularly of the war of 1879, takes places in an "endless land of scattered riches and infinite variety." (SAF49, $27.95)

Watching Wildlife, Southern Africa

Watching Wildlife, Southern Africa


by Luke Hunter

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 347 PAGES

A book in the Watching Wildlife series by Lonely Planet, this slim guide features color photographs, maps and succint information on parks, and where to see which animals. (SAF139, $22.99)

Ways of Dying

Ways of Dying


by Zakes Mda

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 212 PAGES

A professional mourner finds love amid ruins in Mda's superb novel set during the last days of Apartheid. (SAF132, $15.00)

When the Lion Feeds


by Wilbur Smith

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 534 PAGES

First in the riveting saga of the Courtney brothers set in late 19th-century South Africa. (SAF315, $8.99)

Woza Albert


by Percy Mtwa | Mbongeni Ngema | Barney Simon

  • LITERATURE
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 122 PAGES

The second coming of Christ occurs in South Africa in this biting, satircal play. (SAF152, $15.95)

Zulu Wilderness, Shadow and Soul


by Ian Player

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

A celebration and tribute to Magquba Ntombela -- a Zulu chief, storyteller and warden at Mfolozi Game Reserve in South Africa. (SAF107, $21.95)

 

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.