AA Gill is Away  •  A. A. Gill TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 307 PAGES In Britain, AA Gill is a household word, as an exceedingly popular restaurant and media critic for the Times of London. He hates to travel, but his readers love it when he does, because he so frequently comes back with a hilarious, intricately observed report. This book is a collection of those essays. The range is staggering -- included are reports from famine-plagued Sudan, Tokyo, Scotland, Tanzania and the Kalahari, and Los Angeles where he investigates the adult-film (AKA porn) industry. Gill manages to be both very funny and very moving throughout this book: no mean feat. One caveat: despite the introduction written specifically for an American audience, these essays remain very British, with a fair amount of mystifying slang. (TVL76, $14.00)
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  •  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)
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 Odyssey, 365 Days  •  Anup Shah  •  Manoj Shah NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 744 PAGES (EAF178, $29.95)
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)
African Voices, African Lives: Personal Narratives from a Swahili Village  •  Patricia Caplan CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1997 •  PAPER  • 267 PAGES An enormously detailed ethnographic portrait of life on the Swahili coast based on the author's interviews, encounters and research over several decades. She incorporates dialogue, her own observations and excerpts of the diary that her primary informant Mohammed kept at her request. (EAF88, $43.95)
Arusha National Park Map  •  Ma Company (Tanzania) 1997 •  MAP A full color handsome topographic map and souvenir of Mt. Meru and Arusha National Park at a scale of 1:39,000. The hand-drawn map shows trekking routes, camps, geographic features and topography. (EAF106, $11.95)
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)
Black Mischief  •  Evelyn Waugh LITERATURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 312 PAGES Waugh's devilish third novel, a send up of British colonial Africa and home-grown potentates on the fictional island of Anzania. Although you might guess Waugh takes Zanzibar as his model, Waugh's Africa is fictional -- and hilarious. He lampoons just about everybody on the island, an equatorial backwater, east of Somaliland and west of the Gulf of Aden. A facsimile reprint of the original 1932 edition. (AFR20, $13.95)
Bones of Contention, Controversies in the Search for Human Origins  •  Roger Lewin NATURAL HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 3605 PAGES Tackling the giants. Lewin, a science writer who has worked with Richard Leakey, outlines the issues, debates and personalities in paleoanthropology this even-handed, fascinating account. (ATP05, $27.50)
Cadogan Guide Tanzania & Zanzibar  •  Annabel Skinner GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 432 PAGES This Cadogan guide strikes a good balance between up-to-date practical information and background on history, culture and nature. With region-by-region descriptions and good maps. Aimed at the upper end of the travel market. (EAF158, $21.95)
Ancestral Passions, The Leakey Family and the Quest for Humankind's Beginnings  •  Virginia Morell BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1996 •  PAPER  • 640 PAGES A biography of the Leakey family, documenting their discoveries and their vast contributions to the field of paleontology. Controversial, but dedicated to their science, the Leakeys have been instrumental in tracing human origins to East Africa. The book covers the lives and work of Richard, Louis and Mary as well as successive generations of the family. (EAF76, $38.95)
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)
Come to Africa and Save Your Marriage and other Stories  •  Maria Thomas LITERATURE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 232 PAGES Drawn from the author's time in Kenya and Tanzania, this collection of fourteen short stories, originally published in 1987, vividly portrays the experiences of American expatriates in Africa, as well as the lives of ordinary Africans. Twentieth anniversary edition. (EAF163, $12.00)
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)
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)
Dhow of the Monsoon, From Zanzibar to Oman in the Wake of Sindbad  •  William M. Holden TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 261 PAGES Holden weaves history, mythology and geography, introducing us to a cast of memorable characters and bringing to life the sights and sounds of the sea. (EAF157, $24.95)
Explore Mount Kilimanjaro  •  Jacquetta Megarry GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 96 PAGES An ingenious, full color, water resistant guide to trekking Africa's highest mountain with a focus on exploring the habitats, landscapes and camps en route to Uhuru. The author, a dedicated walker, includes detailed information on preparing for the trip, and a camp-to-camp overview of the Marungu, Machame and Rongai routes as well as an overview of climbing neighboring Mt. Meru. With a fold out topographic map of the routes. Go slow and drink plenty of water. (EAF102, $15.95)
The Fossil Trail, How We Know What We Think We Know About Human Evolution  •  Ian Tattersall SCIENCE •  1997 •  PAPER A balanced, thought-provoking survey of the physical evidence for human evolution by the American Museum of Natural History anthropologist. (ATP08, $19.95)
Ghosts of Tsavo, Stalking the Mystery Lions of East Africa  •  Philp Caputo TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 275 PAGES An account of Caputo's adventures in Tsavo National Park and Southern Uganda on the trail of some very big lions. He set out in the company of with legendary guide Iain Allan and two researchers from the Field Museum in Chicago. With a 16-page section of photographs. This book is the latest chapter in the Victorian tale of two lions that killed and ate 140 railway workers building a bridge over the Tsavo River. (EAF93, $16.00)
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)
Heinemann Book of Contemporary African Short Stories  •  Chinua Achebe  •  Lynn Innes ANTHOLOGY •  1992 •  PAPER  • 196 PAGES All written in the last 25 years, these 20 outstanding stories showcase both established African writers and new voices in the field. A single-volume introduction to the vast literature of all of Africa. (AFR10, $11.95)
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)
I Dreamed of Africa  •  Kuki Gallman BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER  • 315 PAGES Enormously popular, this bestseller is a highly personal account of tragedy and magic in Kenya, as much catharsis as literature. Italian-born Gallman tells of her move to Ol Ari Nyiro, a ranch set in the highland plain in the shadow of Mount Kenya. Although Gallman loses both her husband and eldest son to terrible accidents in Africa, she perseveres -- and her childhood love of Africa grows stronger. Wistful and romantic, this is nonetheless a powerful book, vivid in its detail of life in Africa. It is now a major motion picture (and re-released with a new cover). (EAF23, $15.95)
An Ice-Cream War, A Novel  •  William Boyd LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES This finely wrought, sensitive novel captures the drama and day-to-day reality of friends and family caught up in WWI in German East Africa. (EAF146, $15.95)
In the Dust of Kilimanjaro  •  David Western NATURAL HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 250 PAGES Published in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Kenya Wildlife Service and written by its former director, Western writes eloquently of his immersion in the natural history and cultures of Kenya. (EAF48, $24.00)
In the Shadow of Man  •  Jane Goodall  •  Stephen Jay Gould  •  David A. Hamburg NATURAL HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES Goodall's popular account of studying chimpanzees in Tanzania. First enlisted by the legendary scientist Louis Leakey, Goodall has gone on to do almost half a century of revolutionary primate research. This book, which is followed by "Through a Window," tells the story of her early years with the chimps and her monumental discoveries concerning primate behavior. Complemented by 80 photographs. (EAF74, $15.00)
Investigating Olduvai, Archaeology of Human Origins  •  Jeanne Septis CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1997 •  AUDIO CD Created for university students, this interactive CD-ROM is divided into three sections: data, analysis and investigation. The data section includes excellent information about East Africa, its geology, wildlife and history in addition to the fossil finds themselves and stratigraphy of the fossil site. The analysis section illustrates issues and controversies surrounding human evolution. For Macintosh or PC. (EAF90, $39.95)
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)
Kenya and Tanzania Map  •  Cartographia 1999 •  MAP A colorful, double-sided map of Kenya and Tanzania at a scale of 1:2,500,000. With index (EAF97, $12.00)
Kilimanjaro, To the Roof of Africa  •  David Breashears EXPLORATION •  2002 •  DVD A strikingly beautiful celebration of the mountain, shot on large format film and originally presented in IMAX theaters. Narrated by an experienced guide with accompanying African music and commentary by the six climbers on the expedition, including twelve-year-old Nicole Wineland-Thomson and author-historian Audrey Salkeld (who wrote an accompanying book about Africa's highest mountain). Breshears focuses on the history, nature and beauty of the mountain along with the varied experiences of the trekkers. The DVD includes a bonus 22-minute "making of" documentary, the theatrical trailer from the IMAX film, trivia and a slide show. (EAF112, $19.99)
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)
Lonely Planet East Africa  •  Hugh Finlay GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 688 PAGES This practical guide to East Africa by Lonely Planet features maps, a good overview of culture, history and nature, and much nuts-and-bolts information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. With color photographs and excellent travel information. Lonely Planet also publishes "Trekking in East Africa". (EAF81, $29.99)
Lonely Planet Swahili Phrasebook  •  Lonely Planet LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  1998 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES A compact reference for the traveler, covering useful idioms, vocabulary and basic grammar. (EAF96, $8.99)
Lonely Planet Tanzania  •  Mary Fitzpatrick GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 392 PAGES A comprehensive, practical guide to Tanzania featuring maps, a good overview of culture, history and nature and much nuts-and-bolts information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. It includes sketch maps of cities, towns, parks and reserves. (EAF95, $24.99)
Lucy's Legacy, Sex and Intelligence in Human Evolution  •  Alison Jolly SCIENCE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 528 PAGES Jolly brings the perspective of a sociobiologist -- and of her decades of field work on the female-dominated ring-tailed Lemur -- to this lively account of who we are as a species. She looks particularly at the evolution of gender and intelligence. (AFR104, $18.95)
Lucy, The Beginnings of Humankind  •  Maitland Armstrong Edey  •  Donald Johanson ARCHAEOLOGY •  1990 •  PAPER  • 409 PAGES The original, influential account of the development of human evolution and, especially, of the thrilling discovery of Lucy in 1974. It includes an account of the four field seasons in Hadar, Ethiopia from 1967-1977. (ATP06, $17.00)
Masai, The Rain Warriors  •  Pascal Plisson HISTORY •  2007 •  DVD Set in the beautiful highlands of Kenya and filmed in the Masai language, this feature film follows eight young Masai warriors in their quest to slay a mythical lion and thereby end a devastating drought. (EAF191, $24.95)
Mimi and Toutou's Big Adventure, The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika  •  Giles Foden HISTORY •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 272 PAGES Award-winning author Giles Foden recounts the true story that inspired the classic film, The African Queen. During World War I, a lowly British naval lieutenant is ordered to make an impossible raid against powerful German steamers on Lake Tanganyika. Foden also wrote Zanzibar and The Last King of Scotland. He grew up in Africa. (EAF131, $24.00)
New Map of Kilimanjaro National Park  •  Ma Company (Tanzania) 1998 •  MAP A full color handsome souvenir sketch map of Kilimanjaro at a scale of 1:59,000 showing trekking routes, camps, geographic features and topography. (EAF104, $14.95)
Ngorongoro Conservation Area  •  Ma Company (Tanzania) 2003 •  MAP An attractive, colorful and informative sketch map of the area with notes on wildlife and conservation at a scale of 2:210,000. (EAF153, $14.95)
No Way Home, The Decline of the World's Great Animal Migrations  •  David Wilcove NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 245 PAGES A conservation biologist at Princeton, Wilcove argues powerfully that we must protect the habitats and byways of the grand migratory assemblages on the ground, in the air and on the water, including not just Africa's wildebeest but also the American bison, songbirds, monarch butterflies, the grey whale, sea turtles, and salmon. (CON41, $24.95)
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)
Origins Reconsidered, In Search of What Makes Us Human  •  Richard Leakey  •  Roger Lewin SCIENCE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A personal account of hominid evolution by paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey with science writer Richard Lewin. They look back at the evidence and conclusions from the original 1977 book "Origins," augmented with a thoughtful consideration of what makes us human. (ATP07, $17.95)
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 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)
The Rough Guide to Tanzania  •  Jens Finke GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER A practical guide in the popular series. (EAF187, $23.99)
Rough Waters, Nature and Development in an East African Marine Park  •  Christine J. Walley NATURAL HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES A scholarly account of the establishment of Tanzania's Mafia Island Marine Park, taking in issues of conservation, local peoples and political tensions. (EAF129, $25.95)
The Serengeti Lion, A Study of Predator-Prey Relations  •  George Schaller NATURAL HISTORY •  1972 •  PAPER  • 480 PAGES A classic study in field biology and winner of the National Book Award, this book is the result of Schaller's long-term study of the ecology of the Serengeti lion. Well worth browsing for its excellent general information on the habitats and animals of the Serengeti, you may find yourself drawn to the many charts, tables and maps. It's an elegant study, marvelously written. This book is part of a series of monographs on African mammals published by the University of Chicago Press. (EAF13, $45.00)
The Shadow of Kilimanjaro  •  Rick Ridgeway TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES Lucky Ridgeway, he got to walk across Kenya, albeit in the company of armed park rangers, while the rest of us tool around in mini-vans and Toyotas. The veteran of high peaks, Antarctica, the Amazon and other formidable destinations recounts his walk from Mount Kilimanjaro across Tsavo National Park to the Indian Ocean in the company of Iain Allan (and an armed guard). It's a perceptive overview of Kenya, its wildlife and conservation by an appreciative observer. He weaves history, philosophy and thoughtful observation into this marvelous account. (EAF61, $17.00)
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)
Tales From Tanzania, A Mostly True Story  •  Scott Balows TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 220 PAGES A hilarious and frank chronicle of a Tanzanian safari, full of adventures and mishaps. Balows evokes the East African landscape with loving detail. Selected the Best Travel Book of 2004 by the North American Travel Journalists Association. (EAF185, $14.50)
Tanzania, The Land and Its People  •  John Ndembwike NATURAL HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 164 PAGES A clear overview of the history, geography, people and life of Tanzania, East Africa's largest and most diverse nation. (EAF184, $12.95)
Through a Window, My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe  •  Jane Goodall NATURAL HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES The now-classic account of Jane Goodall's research into the life of the chimpanzee on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, offering insight into field work, animal behavior and conservation issues. (EAF42, $16.00)
Traversa, A Solo Walk Across Africa from the Skeleton Coast to the Indian Ocean  •  Fran Sandham BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2008 •  HARD COVER  • 320 PAGES Young and foolish, Rough guide editor and inveterate traveler Sandham set out from Namibia across Zambia and Tanzania to Zanzibar on a 3,000-mile trek. He writes with down-to-earth glee of the personalities, hardships, pleasures and idiocy of a solo walk (sometimes in the company of a donkey or mule) through tough terrain, interweaving his adventures with commentary on history and people. (AFR212, $25.00)
The Wisdom of the Bones, In Search of Human Origins  •  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)