African Art, An Introduction  •  Frank Willett ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES A concise, well illustrated overview of the art and culture of Africa, portraying the range of spectacular art produced throughout the ages. (AFR18, $18.95)
Birds of Seychelles  •  Malcom Penny FIELD GUIDE •  1986 •  PAPER  • 160 PAGES • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE • COMING IN A compact guide to birds of Seychelles featuring handsome color plates by Chloe Talbot-Kelly, a 50-page overview of the islands, and an extensive description of each species. (SEY16, $24.95)
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 Dodo And Mauritius Island, Imaginary Encounters  •  Harri Kallio NATURAL HISTORY •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 128 PAGES A beautifully illustrated pictorial salute to the extinct dodo and its island home, accompanied by Kallio's winning photographs. (MTS07, $45.00)
Gap in Nature, Discovering the World's Extinct Animals  •  Tim F. Flannery  •  Peter Schouten SCIENCE •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 184 PAGES An illustrated, informative tribute to 103 species that have perished in the last 500 years. Not surprisingly, islands are well represented, including (famously) the dodo which once roamed the forests of Mauritius and many birds and mammals from New Zealand. Flannery and Schouten, who visited museums around the world to see specimens and collect information, focus on animals that could be realistically re-created. The paintings, which are spectacular, were all drawn at life size in the original. Organized by date of extinction from the Upland Moa (1500), Dodo (1681) and Steller's Sea Cow (1768) to the Passenger Pigeon (1914), Darwin's Rice Rat (1929) and Guam Flying-fox (1974). (SCI55, $34.95)
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)
A Hundred Horizons, The Indian Ocean in the Age of Global Empire  •  Sugata Bose HISTORY •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 264 PAGES In this sophisticated and scholarly history, Bose examines the commerce between cultures fringing the Indian Ocean. He argues that the body of water served to unite these disparate peoples, even in the face of European imperialism. (IDA305, $27.95)
Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide  •  Gerald Allen  •  Roger Steene FIELD GUIDE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 378 PAGES • COMING IN This comprehensive identification guide to coral reef fishes and invertebrates from Hawaii to the Red Sea features 1,800 color photographs. It also includes chapter on marine mammals, turtles and birds. The authors, Gerald Allen and Roger Steene are the reigning authorities on the region (and fine photographers). Highly recommended. (DIV48, $40.00)
Last Chance to See  •  Douglas Adams  •  Mark Carwardine NATURAL HISTORY •  1992 •  PAPER  • 222 PAGES A whirlwind visit to remote habitats around the world by two wonderfully entertaining traveling companions. Sponsored by BBC radio, Douglas Adams and Mark Cowardine traveled to Zaire, New Zealand, China, Mauritius and other far-flung places in search of endangered animals. Often hilarious, this book is also a portrait of threatened animals. This is such a wonderfully entertaining and informed book, we can forgive its focus on charismatic species. Adams is the author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Cawardine, a biologist, has been a staff zoologist for World Wildlife Fund. (CON04, $14.95)
Living Fossil, The Story of the Coelacanth  •  Keith Stewart Thomson NATURAL HISTORY •  1992 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Thomson relates the remarkable discovery of the long-thought-extinct fossil fish in the deep waters of the Mozambique channel and Comoros Islands. It's a great story and engaging account of the biology and conservation of a living fossil. (BST09, $9.95)
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)
Seabirds of the World, The Complete Reference  •  Jim Enticott FIELD GUIDE •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 240 PAGES • COMING IN An excellent addition to the library of any ocean-going birder, this handsome oversize book features hundreds of photographs and good descriptive information on all the world's seabirds. (FG23, $49.95)
Seychelles Since 1770: History of a Slave and Post-Slavery Society  •  Deryck Scarr HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 246 PAGES • COMING IN A scholarly history of the Seychelles. Scarr, a British professor, analyzes French and British colonial rule, slavery, independence and modern political turmoil through the mid-1990s. (SEY20, $24.95)