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)
Africa Map, Central and South, Madagascar 746  •  Michelin Travel Publications 2003 •  MAP A fine folded map of the central and southern regions of the continent, covering the continent south of Gabon, Congo, Uganda and Kenya at a scale of 1:4,000,000. This map is very useful for road travel. (AFR36, $11.95)
Africa's Vanishing Wildlife  •  Chris Stuart NATURAL HISTORY •  1996 •  HARD COVER  • 208 PAGES Profiling wildlife found all over the continent, this sixth book by the prolific husband-and-wife team features outstanding color photography, great maps and a well considered analysis of prospects for the future of individual species. (AFR43, $45.00)
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)
African Wildlife  •  National Geographic NATURAL HISTORY •  NTSC VIDEO An overview of wildlife throughout the continent featuring National Geographic's usual meticulous attention to detail and stunning photography. (SAF52, $19.99)
African Wildlife  •  Raymond Leung  •  James Kavanaugh FIELD GUIDE •  1999 •  PLASTIC CARD A laminated foldout guide illustrating almost 150 species of African animals. This pocket guide is designed for quick reference in the field. (AFR109, $5.95)
The Behavior Guide to Africa's Mammals  •  Richard Estes NATURAL HISTORY •  1992 •  PAPER  • 611 PAGES A detailed overview of the ecology and behavior of African mammals with range maps, line drawings and extensive bibliography. It's a more technical, detailed version of The Safari Companion by the same author. (AFR54, $34.95)
The Black Man's Burden, Africa and the Curse of the Nation-State  •  Basil Davidson HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 355 PAGES An evocative work by one of Africa's foremost historians. Davidson compares the optimism of Africans when they finally emerged from foreign rule in the 1950s with today's continuing state of crisis, which he blames, in part, on the colonial legacy. (AFR92, $15.00)
Blue Shoes and Happiness  •  Alexander McCall Smith LITERATURE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES Mma Ramotswe shows her usual equipoise in this seventh installment in McCall-Smith's best-selling No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, confronting a cobra in her office, keeping her trusty assistant on track, and enjoying the domestic life with her new husband. Of course, she also deftly solves a number of intriguing problems brought to her by clients. This series is not only an addictive pleasure but also a window into life and culture and traditions in Botswana. (BOT25, $12.95)
Cats of Africa  •  Anthony Hall-Martin FIELD GUIDE •  1998 •  HARD COVER  • 152 PAGES A species-by-species guide to Africa's wild cats, gorgeously illustrated by Paul Bosman. With range maps, conservation status and descriptions. (BST24, $49.95)
Cultural Atlas of Africa  •  Jocelyn Murray CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1998 •  HARD COVER  • 240 PAGES This book is a handsomely illustrated atlas of African history and culture with 96 outstanding maps, 250 color photographs and excellent essays. (AFR47, $50.00)
The Dobe Ju/'Hoansi  •  Richard B. Lee CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2002 •  PAPER  • 220 PAGES A masterpiece of modern cultural anthropology. This classic study of the beliefs, society, history and challenges of the !Kung San people of the Dobe area of the Kalahari has been brought up to date to the 1990s for this revised fourth edition. Richard B. Lee delineates both the differences and similiarities between western society and the bushmen society of Southern Africa. It's a book that helps us understand ourselves -- and the biases that color the way we see the world. (BOT20, $36.95)
Elephantoms, Tracking the Elephant  •  Lyall Watson NATURAL HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 261 PAGES An evocative account of elephants, the natural history of South Africa, and growing up in the bush. Watson, a biologist with a well-developed sense of wonder who now lives in Ireland, looks back at his own childhood in South Africa, interweaving personal history, myth, symbol and lore of the elephant with good information on the ecology and conservation of these great beasts. (SAF129, $14.95)
The Eye of the Elephant, An Epic Adventure in the African Wilderness  •  Mark Owens  •  Delia Owens TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 305 PAGES Further adventures from Mark and Delia Owens, this time from the Luangwa River Valley in northern Zambia. They set up camp in the wilderness among the elephants, but are again drawn into an ugly struggle with the local people. Including 32 pages of black-and-white photos. (ZMB04, $16.00)
Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa  •  Ian Sinclair  •  Phil Hockey  •  Warwick Tarboton FIELD GUIDE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 447 PAGES With over 900 species and legions of bird watchers, Southern Africa supports as many popular bird guides as North America. Here's a comprehensive field guide by eminent ornithologist Ian Sinclair, a third edition of the popular SASOL guide. The text and 200 color plates by Peter Hayman and Norman Arlott are integrated, making this book a pleasure to use in the field. (SAF12, $35.00)
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)
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive  •  Alexander McCall Smith LITERATURE •  2008 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES The eight installment of the beloved series. If anything deeper than usual, this latest novel gives assistant sleuth Grace Makutski an opportunity to shine -- along with Mma Ramotswe's darling husband (who wonders if he is exciting enough for her). Oh, and they solve mysteries. (BOT27, $12.95)
The Heart of the Hunter  •  Laurens van der Post CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1980 •  PAPER  • 279 PAGES We also carry The Heart of the Hunter, a continuation of the story of Van der Post's encounters with the Bushmen in Southwestern Africa. (SAF32, $13.00)
Hunters and Herders of Southern Africa  •  Alan Barnard CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1992 •  PAPER  • 379 PAGES Subtitled "A Comparative Ethnography of Khoisan Peoples, " this scholarly book looks at the environment and its influence on the cultural and social organization among San ("Bushmen"), Khokhoi ("Hottentot") and Damara of the Kalahari and surrounding areas. It looks at the culture of some of the best-known and most mythologized African peoples. Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology 85. (SAF67, $43.00)
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies  •  Alexander McCall Smith LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 233 PAGES In this the sixth installment of McCall Smith's delightful series our hero Precious Ramotswe, newly married (!) to master mechanic J.L.B. Metekoni, encounters an assortment of troubles, which she handles with her usual aplomb. The book, like all the installments in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, is imbued with the traditions, folkways and landscapes of Botswana. It's also a lot of fun. (BOT22, $12.95)
Journeys With Flies  •  Edwin Wilmsen TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 168 PAGES An impressionist account of field work and travels among the Zhu, Mbanduru and Tswana people of the Kalahari culled from the author's journals. It's a short, personal book that complements Wilmsen's published field work. (SAF69, $22.00)
The Kalahari Typing School for Men  •  Alexander McCall Smith MYSTERY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 191 PAGES This, the fourth in the enormously pleasurable series starring Botswana's only Lady Detective, finds our hero, Precious Ramotswe, grappling with a dead hoopoe in the garden, a competing Satisfaction Guaranteed Detective Agency and the aspirations of her assistant (to open the aforementioned typing school). She's also moved her business into her fiance's garage. If it weren't for all these complications, she might have already been wed. (BOT17, $12.95)
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)
Land Filled With Flies, A Political Economy of the Kalahari  •  Edwin Wilmsen HISTORY •  1990 •  PAPER  • 402 PAGES A comprehensive, scholarly review of the Zhu people by an anthropologist who worked in the region from 1973 to 1994, this book overturns the romantic myths of the San-speaking hunters and gatherers of Southern Africa living in splendid isolation. Wilmsen has also written an impressionist account of his years in Southern Africa, "Journeys With Flies" (SAF69). It's a detailed, monumental study of the social relations, diet, work and land use by the San societies of Botswana and Namibia, an especially important work given the long-held western notions of the "Bushman." (SAF68, $32.50)
Lonely Planet Southern Africa  •  Alan Murphy GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 816 PAGES A hefty practical guide to the nine nations of southern Africa, including Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho. Ideal for independent travelers on a multicountry tour, this guide includes exhaustive information about where to sleep and eat, and what to see and do, as well as a useful overview of the region. (SAF121, $31.99)
Morality for Beautiful Girls  •  Alexander McCall Smith MYSTERY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 225 PAGES The continuing and delightful adventures of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, this time the enterprising Mma Ramotswe expands her business to take in the world of car repair and a beauty pageant. This is the third book in the series. Next on deck is The Kalahari Typing School for Men. We can hardly wait. (BOT12, $12.95)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to African Wildlife  •  Peter Alden FIELD GUIDE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 988 PAGES A compact introduction to the landforms, wild areas, mammals, birds, reptiles and insects of Africa, featuring contributions by experts and almost 600 color photographs. Most of the book is a field guide to commonly encountered birds, mammals and other creatures of the African continent. (AFR25, $23.95)
National Geographic's Lions of Darkness  •  Dereck & Beverly Joubert NATURAL HISTORY •  NTSC VIDEO A year in the life of a pride of lions in the Savuti. (AFR122, $19.95)
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency 3-Book Box Set  •  Alexander McCall Smith LITERATURE •  2003 •  BOXED Here are the first three books in McCall-Smith's delightful series starring Mme Ramotswe and the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, attractively packaged as a boxed set. (BOT30, $38.95)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency  •  Lisette Lecat  •  Alexander McCall Smith MYSTERY •  2003 •  AUDIO CD  • 7 PAGES An audio version of the first book in McCall Smith's bestelling series, starring Botswana's unflappable, endearing number one lady detective. Unabridged the audio set, which runs 8 hours, is on seven CDs. South African actess and narrator Lisette Lecat does a marvelous job of conveying the personalities of the characters and flavor of the place. The other books in the series are aalso available on CD. (BOT23, $29.99)
North of South, An African Journey  •  Shiva Naipaul TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1979 •  PAPER  • 349 PAGES • FAVORITE This is a great book -- engaging and unafraid of controversy. North of South is a sharp portrait of Africa, sensitive to issues black, white and brown -- and occasionally quite humorous. It's the best, most insightful thing we've read about Africa. A brilliant and provocative observer, Naipaul meditates on the travelers, government officials, shopkeepers and European exiles he encounters on a six-month-long journey through Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. Fittingly, the book opens at the outdoor cafe of the New Stanley Hotel in Nairobi. (EAF28, $16.00)
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)
Picturing Bushmen, The Denver African Expedition of 1925  •  Robert James Gordon CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1997 •  PAPER  • 325 PAGES Serious-minded, wonderfully illustrated and informative, this book documents the 1925 expedition to Etosha in search of the "Bushman." Apart from the extraordinary images of the Heikum people presented in this social anthropology, the book shows how westerners have traditionally romanticized the exotic. Fascinating. (NMB05, $24.95)
Reflections of Elephants  •  Dereck & Beverly Joubert NATURAL HISTORY •  1994 •  NTSC VIDEO A documentary by the team of Dereck and Beverly Joubert. (AFR121, $19.95)
Relentless Enemies  •  Beverly Joubert NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  DVD Beverly and Derick Joubert capture the drama, power and beauty of the Okavango in this award-winning National Geographic documentary. (BOT32, $19.98)
The Remarkable Baobab  •  Thomas Pakenham NATURAL HISTORY •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 144 PAGES It was inevitable that Pakenham, an historian of Africa with a penchant for the world's most striking and bizarre trees, would discover the baobab. In this followup to Remarkable Trees of the World and Meetings with Remarkable Trees, he focuses on the tremendous, twisted boabab trees of Africa, Madagascar and Australia. Of the world's eight species, six are found in Madagascar. With 60 large-format color photographs. (NAT71, $19.95)
Shaka Zulu  •  E. A. Ritter HISTORY •  1986 •  NTSC VIDEO  • 416 PAGES Made as a mini-series 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, $14.98)
Southern Africa Regional Map  •  ITMB 2004 •  MAP This double-sided map at a scale of 1:2,125,000 shows the continent south of the Zambezi, including all of Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, with the western portion on one side and the eastern on the other. With color photographs and notes on parks and major attractions. Designed for the traveler, this is by far the best scale map available that covers the southern part of the continent. (SAF63, $12.95)
Southern African Birds, A Photographic Guide  •  Ian Sinclair FIELD GUIDE •  1990 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES A pocket guide to the 265 most conspicuous birds south of the Zambezi River featuring color photographs, with brief descriptions and range maps. (SAF14, $15.95)
Tears of the Giraffe  •  Alexander McCall Smith MYSTERY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 202 PAGES The second of the Mma. Ramotswe detective novels, this time her case considerably complicated by romantic difficulties, her quite entertaining assistant and the arrival of unexpected family members. (BOT11, $12.95)
The Washing of Spears  •  Donald R. Morris HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 692 PAGES A sprawling chronicle of the Zulu nation and particularly of the war of 1879. (SAF49, $27.95)