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)
The Africa House, The True Story of an English Gentleman and His African Dream  •  Christina Lamb BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2005 •  PAPER  • 342 PAGES A vivid reconstruction of the early 20th century life of an eccentric British nobleman and his incongruent mansion in the Rhodesian bush. Richly evocative of the wildlife and people of Southern Africa. With black and white photos and maps. (ZMB9, $14.95)
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)
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)
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 Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives, An Illustrated Guide to Their Evolution and Natural History  •  Alan Turner  •  Mauricio Anton NATURAL HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES A thoroughly researched and accessible guide to modern felines and their prehistoric ancestors. From the sabertooth tiger to the average house cat, this far-reaching natural history finds links between present-day species and fossil evidence to form an account of the anatomy, behavior and evolution of cats. Includes almost 200 amazingly detailed drawings. (BST50, $26.95)
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)
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)
Cry of the Kalahari, Seven Years in Africa's Last Great Wilderness  •  Mark Owens  •  Delia Owens BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1985 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES A thoroughly readable version of Born Free, set in Botswana (and just as weepy about the animals). This is the book that got the Owens family thrown out of Botswana, in part because of their opposition to fencing the land (which is good for farmers but, in their opinion, bad for wildlife). While their approach to conservation is controversial, there's no doubt that the Owens are dedicated to the wildlife of southern Africa -- and are very good writers. It's a great tale, one that has inspired several television documentaries, not to mention a sequel. (SAF13, $16.00)
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)
The Eye of the Leopard  •  Henning Mankell LITERATURE •  2008 •  HARD COVER  • 416 PAGES Mankell masterfully contrasts a man's life in Zambia and his troubled youth in Sweden in this haunting novel, an uncanny portrait of cultural difference. (AFR224, $26.95)
Eye of the Leopard  •  Henning Mankell LITERATURE •  2009 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES • COMING IN APRIL A suspenseful tale of underground violence and disintegrating race relations just after Zambia's independence. Established mystery writer's Mankel jumps genres and hemispheres, as his Swedish hero confronts not only Subsaharan political upheaval, but his own complicated past. (AFR233, $14.95)
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)
Green Hills of Africa  •  Ernest Hemingway BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1935 •  PAPER  • 295 PAGES A classic, wonderfully readable tale of hunting in the Lake Manyara area. Reissued with its original pencil drawings, Hemingway paints a real life story of his ramblings in East Africa, including portraits of the eccentric white hunter and some of the best writing ever describing the land itself. (EAF25, $15.00)
The Harmless People  •  Elizabeth Marshall Thomas CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1989 •  PAPER  • 303 PAGES A classic study of the Bushmen of the Kalahari, first published in 1959 and updated by the author in the 1980s. It's an account of the author's fieldwork, direct and informative, strong on the character of the people and land. (SAF60, $15.95)
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)
Horn of Darkness, Rhinos on the Edge  •  Carol Cunningham  •  Joel Berger NATURAL HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES A lively account of field work, combining adventure, natural history and thoughtful commentary on the plight of the severely endangered black rhinoceros in Namibia. Berger and Cunningham, a husband-and-wife team, were invited to study the impact of Namibia's controversial program to de-horn the rhinos, a novel approach to controlling poachers. (NMB07, $45.00)
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, $45.00)
Illustrated Guide to the Game Parks and Nature Reserves of Southern Africa  •  Reader's Digest FIELD GUIDE •  1990 •  HARD COVER  • 440 PAGES A comprehensive guide to 700 parks and reserves with a good overview of each region along with profiles of individual reserves. This thoroughly illustrated resource also includes a key to common plants, insects, reptiles, fishes, birds, and mammals. With excellent maps. (SAF02, $30.00)
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)
Lonely Planet South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 680 PAGES A comprehensive practical guide to South Africa geared for independent travelers. (AFR44, $25.99)
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)
Mating  •  Norman Rush LITERATURE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 480 PAGES Winner of the National Book Award in 1991, this is the tale of a white woman on a quest in the Kalahari. Rush creates a bizarre world centered on a Utopian community in the Kalahari, where a charismatic man offers sanctuary to fallen women. A strong-minded American social scientist journeys through the desert to find this man, falls in love with him and engages in endless philosophical babble. This comic novel manages to evoke daily life in Botswana -- and skewers the notion of well-intentioned academics at large in the developing world. The description of the remarkable trek from Gabarone to the Kalahari is classic. (BOT03, $15.95)
My Traitor's Heart: A South African Exile Returns to Face His Country, His Tribe, and His Conscience  •  Rian Malan BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER  • 425 PAGES • FAVORITE The story of an Afrikaner and journalist who returned to his homeland just before the collapse of Apartheid. Malan grapples with the black and white heart of South Africa, drawing on the 300-year history of his family in Africa and legends of the Zulu nation. Candid, beautifully written and impossible to put down. (SAF19, $15.00)
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)
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)
Secrets of the Savanna, Twenty-three Years in the African Wilderness Unraveling the Mysteries of Elephants and People  •  Mark Owens  •  Delia Owens NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  PAPER  • 230 PAGES A heartfelt memoir of the North Luangwa Conservation Project in remote Zambia. Mark and Delia Owens, who alternate chapters in the book, came to Luangwa Valley to study lions and found themselves caught up in an often dangerous fight to save elephants from poachers. This is the third book by the husband and wife team who have been living and working in Africa for the last 30 years. Follows Cry of the Kalahari (SAF13) and Eye of the Elephant (ZMB04). (ZMB06, $14.95)
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)
The Tree Where Man Was Born  •  Peter Matthiessen TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1972 •  PAPER  • 430 PAGES A vivid portrait of East Africa, enthralling in its masterful detail on nature and daily life. Matthiessen ranges from prehistory to modern East Africa, circa 1961, deftly combining the finest of nature writing and sensitive commentary on social and political history. In this far-ranging book, we travel with him to Maasailand, Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, the Kenyan Highlands and out into the bush to witness the animals. It's an enduring classic, fully as interesting today as when it was first published by the "New Yorker" in 1972. (EAF27, $17.00)
Zimbabwe Map  •  Globetrotter 1995 •  MAP A clear map of Zimbabwe at a scale of 1:1,100,000. On the reverse are more detailed maps of national parks and tourist regions, as well as maps of major city centers. (SAF08, $10.95)