Africa  •  Phyllis Martin  •  Patrick O'Meara CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1995 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES African history and prehistory, popular culture, art and economics with dozens of maps, photographs and drawings. We especially liked the chapter on the contemporary map of Africa. It's all here. Pick and choose those areas that interest you. It's the most popular introductory text for undergraduate African studies courses in North America -- refreshingly free of cant and completely revised in 1995 to reflect changes in African politics. (AFR07, $20.95)
Africa  •  Michael Lewis  •  John Reader CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 320 PAGES An informative survey of the geography, culture and wildlife of Africa featuring 175 color photographs and accompanying text by John Reader (Africa: A Biography of the Continent). Organized geographically, it's the companion volume to an eight-hour television series by PBS and National Geographic. (AFR111, $50.00)
African Obsession, The Life and Legacy of Carl Akeley  •  Penelope Bodry-Sanders BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1998 •  PAPER  • 300 PAGES • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE An insightful biography of Carl Akeley, the biologist and conservationist at the American Museum of Natural History responsible for the Hall of African Mammals. Written with great verve and authority, this book is now available in a revised paperback edition. It follows Akeley on his expeditions throughout East and Central Africa, capturing his fascination with turn-of-the-century Africa. (AFR52, $14.95)
African Predators  •  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, covering evolution, behavior and conservation, and complemented by full-color photographs. (AFR114, $39.95)
The Africans  •  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. This now-classic book is a wide-ranging political and social survey of the continent, banned in a number of countries -- and as interesting today as when it was first published in 1984. (AFR22, $14.95)
Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania, Field Guide Edition  •  Dale Zimmerman  •  Donald Turner  •  David Pearson FIELD GUIDE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 576 PAGES This compact, comprehensive field guide features 124 stunning color plates, covering 1,114 bird species in Kenya and Northern Tanzania. A good choice for anyone interested in birds, species descriptions include detailed information on range and occurrence in popular national parks. (FG39, $35.00)
Captain Sir Richard Burton, A Biography  •  Edward Rice BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2001 •  PAPER  • 688 PAGES A splendid, absorbing account of the Victorian explorer, a man of oversize appetites, ambitions and intellect. (AFR99, $27.50)
Changing Uganda, The Dilemmas of Structural Adjustment and Revolutionary Change  •  Holger Bernt Hansen  •  Michael Twaddle CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1991 •  HARD COVER  • 403 PAGES A a diverse portrait of the country by a team of Ugandan and international scholars. (UGD09, $29.95)
Desertion  •  Abdulrazak Gurnah LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES Set in Zanzibar, this novel of a troubled love affair spans sixty years and paints a vivid portrait of turn-of-the-century colonial Africa. The time-skipping tale is opens in 1899, following the fate of a British adventurer lost in the East African desert. Rescued by a Muslim shopkeeper, he begins a love affair with the man's sister, Rehana. Skipping to the 1950s, the story follows the lives of two brother: a Zanzibari in England Rashid, and Amin, who is having an affair with Rehana's granddaughter. (EAF138, $13.95)
The Forest People  •  Colin Turnbull BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1987 •  PAPER  • 295 PAGES A sensation in its day, this sentimental, romantic portrait of the Mbuti Pygmies of Uganda made Turnbull famous. Read with the right balance of skepticism and tolerance, it can be a useful, moving record of one man's peculiar ethnographic fieldwork. First published in 1961. (CAF22, $15.00)
The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa  •  Alexander McCall Smith LITERATURE •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 192 PAGES McCall Smith brings together a collection of often hilarious, often bizarre folktales which he heard as a child growing up in Zimbabwe. In addition to the tales from his previous collection, Children of Wax, the best-selling author includes seven new tales from Botswana. In an interesting twist on a writer's creation, the title character of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency provides an introduction. (AFR141, $22.00)
Heart of Darkness, with Congo Diary  •  Joseph Conrad LITERATURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 166 PAGES A monumentally influential literary work, this short story tells of Marlow's harrowing journey into the Belgian Congo. Rich with irony, this story blurs the lines between savagery and civilization. This edition also includes selections from Conrad's journal while he was in the Congo, creating a blueprint for his later writings. (AFR46, $7.95)
Hemingway in Africa, The Last Safari  •  Christopher Ondaatje BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 240 PAGES Ernest Hemingway's love of East Africa can be glimpsed in "The Green Hills of Africa" and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro"-- Christopher Ondaatje traveled to Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to retrace the steps of Hemingway's inspiration for this amply illustrated biography. Ondaatje examines Hemingway's travels with a literary attention to detail, and documents his findings with 98 color photographs, including one of the actual leopard which inspired the short story "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." (AFR139, $37.50)
In the Arms of Africa, The Life of Colin M.Turnbull  •  Roy Richard Drinker BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2001 •  PAPER  • 366 PAGES A provocative, contentious, and romantic figure, Colin Turnbull charged into the limelight in 1961 with his best-selling "The Forest People, " a sympathetic account of the Mbuti pygmies. A younger colleague who had originally dismissed Turnbull, Roy Richard Drinker has written a mesmerizing biography of Turnbull, which captures the closed, homophobic scholarly culture of the day. Drinker dove into Turnbull's papers, discovering a difficult, endearing and original character who maintained a 30-year relationship with Joseph Towles, a younger black man, became a Buddhist, and fought for social justice. (AFR89, $17.00)
Journey to the Source of the Nile  •  Christopher Ondaatje EXPLORATION •  1999 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES A modern journey in the footsteps of the Victorian explorers by an appreciative British adventurer and historian. With maps, color photographs, bibliography, and helpful chronology. Ondaatje has also written a well received biography of Richard Burton. (AFR96, $25.00)
The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals  •  Jonathan Kingdon FIELD GUIDE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 476 PAGES An authoritative, beautifully illustrated guide. It features identification, classification and species information for all known African mammals, including many newly discovered species. Written by one of the foremost authorities on African mammals, this concise guide provides full information on identification, distribution, ecology and conservation status on more than 1,100 species. It includes 480 outstanding color illustrations by the author and 280 maps. (AFR32, $47.50)
The Lake Regions of Central Africa  •  Richard Francis Burton EXPLORATION •  1995 •  PAPER  • 572 PAGES A reprint of Burton's original (and insightful) account of exploration between Zanzibar and Lake Tanganyika. (AFR98, $16.95)
Mountain Gorilla  •  Adrian Warren NATURAL HISTORY •  2004 •  DVD This remarkable documentary, filmed in the Parc des Volcans in Rwanda and orginally produced for IMAX, follows a day in the life of a group of mountain gorillas. 39 minutes. (EAF142, $14.98)
My Family Album, Thirty Years of Primate Photography  •  F. B. M. De Waal NATURAL HISTORY •  2003 •  HARD COVER Primatologist 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, $34.95)
Nomads of the Serengeti  •  Robyn Stewart NATURAL HISTORY •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 176 PAGES A coffee-table survey of the wildlife of the Serengeti, with a focus on the birds, migrating herds, and predators, featuring 200 color photographs. (EAF149, $32.95)
The Peopling of Africa, A Geographic Interpretation  •  James L. Newman CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1997 •  PAPER  • 252 PAGES An anthropological study of Africa, which considers, among other factors, genetics, religion, language and technology. With 50 maps. (AFR140, $23.00)
The Primate Family Tree  •  Ian Redmond NATURAL HISTORY •  2008 •  HARD COVER  • 176 PAGES This generously illustrated reference covers the evolution, natural history and behavior of the primates, including shared characteristics with our species. (BST123, $35.00)
Surrender or Starve: Travels in Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea  •  Robert D. Kaplan TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES Robert Kaplan, the prolific journalist and author of Balkan Ghosts, travelled through Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea for this illuminating travelogue examining the culture, religion, and politics of the region. Kaplan also pays particular attention to the formidable impact of the 1980s famine. (AFR155, $13.95)
Swahili, Start Speaking Today  •  Educational Services Corporation LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  1995 •  CASETTE TAPE A 90-minute crash course in Swahili on two audio casettes tapes, which focuses on useful words and expressions for the traveler. (EAF110, $21.95)
To the Heart of the Nile, Lady Florence Baker and the Exploration of Central Africa  •  Pat Shipman BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2004 •  PAPER  • 448 PAGES A lively account of the adventurous, eventful life of Lady Florence Baker (1845-1916). (CAF30, $16.95)