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 North and West Map 741  •  Michelin 2007 •  MAP A fine map of the north and parts of western Africa, covering Senegal, The Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania and their neighbors as well as all the Mediterranean-bordering countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya) at a scale of 1:4,000,000. (AFR34, $11.95)
Africa, A Biography of the Continent  •  John Reader HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 816 PAGES With the ease of a practiced journalist, Reader weaves a lively tale of the continent in this masterful history of Africa from ancient cultures to modern times. Both authoritative and informal, this is a splendid introduction to all of Africa. (AFR49, $18.95)
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 Silences  •  Peter Matthiessen TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 225 PAGES In this narrative of Equatorial Africa, Matthiessen recounts several trips to The Gambia, Senegal, Zaire and the Congo Basin in search of rhinos, elephants and other endangered wildlife. (WAF36, $13.00)
African Vodun: Art, Psychology and Power  •  Susanne Preston Blier ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 476 PAGES A detailed study of West African vodun traditions, particularly in Togo and Benin. Blier compares the psychological and visual elements of Vodun with related voodoo traditions of Haiti and New Orleans. (WAF74, $45.00)
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)
Angry Wind: Through Muslim Black Africa by Truck, Bus, Boat and Camel  •  Jeffrey Tayler TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 256 PAGES The eye-opening account of an American journalist's trek across the Sahel, the southern region of the Sahara Desert. On his travels through mostly Islamic Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Mali, Cameroon and Senegal, Tayler witnessed poverty, the influence of harsh regimes, and both hostility and a willingness to discuss the relationship of the United States to the Islamic world. An Arabic speaker, Tayler (Glory in a Camel's Eye) writes candidly about what he discovers in this complex part of the world. (WAF83, $25.00)
Birds of Western and Central Africa, Princeton Illustrated Checklist  •  Ber Van Perlo FIELD GUIDE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES An admirably compact, comprehensive guide to 1,500 species throughout Western and Central Africa featuring 109 color plates by Ber Van Perlo. The book covers a huge territory, along the coast and inland, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea- Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, southern Mali and Burkina. Brief descriptions, key information and illustrations for each species appear on facing pages with a separate section with color range maps. (WAF02, $29.95)
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)
Bradt Guide Mali  •  Ross Velton GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 292 PAGES A compact, detailed guide to traveling in Mali in the British series, strong on practical information. With detailed sketch maps. Second edition. (WAF16, $21.95)
Bradt Guide Nigeria  •  Lizzie Williams GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 342 PAGES A detailed overview of Nigeria, its history, wildlife, culture and major attractions in the series by Bradt. Geared for the independent traveler, it includes maps, town plans, and lots of practical travel information. (WAF84, $29.99)
Bradt Guide Nigeria  •  Lizzie Williams GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 342 PAGES A detailed overview of Nigeria, its history, wildlife, culture and major attractions in the series by Bradt. Geared for the independent traveler, it includes maps, town plans, and lots of practical travel information. (WAF84, $29.99)
Bradt Guide Sudan  •  Paul Clammer GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES A practical guide in the popular Bradt series, noted for publishing travel guides to remote and little-visited destinations. (AFR152, $21.95)
Congo Map  •  IGN MAP A map of the Democratic Republic of Congo with good topographic detail at a scale of 1:1,000,000. It also shows portions of the surrounding countries, including Gabon, Cameroon and ex-Zaire. (WAF04, $16.95)
The Cruelest Journey, Six Hundred Miles to Timbuktu  •  Kira Salak TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 320 PAGES Adventurer Kira Salak's account of her journeys on the Niger River and her record-breaking 600-mile solo kayaking trip to Timbuktu. (WAF75, $26.00)
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)
Dancing Skeletons, Life and Death in West Africa  •  Katherine Dettwyler CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1993 •  PAPER  • 172 PAGES A vibrant account of life in Mali, which won the Margaret Mead Award in 1995. Dettwyler, a cultural anthropologist who lived and worked among the rural poor in Mali, is an unsentimental guide to the culture -- and field of ethnography. Not a simple report, Dettwyler considers her role in the lives of the malnourished children and families she encounters. (WAF14, $16.95)
Exploration of Africa, From Cairo to the Cape  •  Ann Hugon EXPLORATION •  1993 •  PAPER  • 173 PAGES • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE This jewel of a book chronicles the 19th-century exploration of Africa with hundreds of contemporary paintings and prints, brief chapters on the expeditions, and a very useful chronology. Livingstone, Burton and others speak for themselves in a series of journal excerpts. (AFR03, $12.95)
A Field Guide to the Birds of The Gambia and Senegal  •  Clive Barlow  •  Tim Wacher  •  Tony Disley FIELD GUIDE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A guide to 660 species of birds of Senegal and the Gambia, featuring 48 color plates and short descriptions on the facing pages. With several paragraphs about each species with its description, song, habitat, status and distribution. (WAF03, $42.00)
From Slavery to Freedom, A History of African Americans  •  John Hope Franklin HISTORY •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 742 PAGES A classic history of the African American experience from ancient West African civilizations to the civil rights struggles of the 20th century. First published in 1947, and now in its eighth edition, this book has set the standard for comprehensive studies of the changing roles of Africans in the United States. (USA39, $75.00)
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)
God's Bits of Wood  •  Sembene Ousmane  •  Francis Price LITERATURE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 248 PAGES A story of conflict between colonial powers and West African rail workers, set in the late 1940s. Written by Senegal's foremost novelist and filmmaker, Sembene Ousmane, it concerns a strike along the Dakar-Niger railway and the tragic consequences that result. (WAF22, $13.95)
A Guide to the Birds of Western Africa  •  Nik Borrow  •  Ron Demey FIELD GUIDE •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 816 PAGES A comprehensive handbook -- and guide -- to the birds of Central and Western Africa from Senegal to Chad and the Congo, featuring 142 original color plates by Nik Borrow. With 1,100 detailed, full color distribution maps. (WAF59, $99.95)
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)
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)
Lonely Planet Gambia and Senegal  •  David Else GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES In its hallmark style, this practical guide to Gambia and Senegal 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. (WAF01, $23.99)
Lonely Planet West Africa  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 896 PAGES A comprehensive guide to all West Africa, this is the book to carry for travels from Mauritania to Niger, with both a good overview of culture and history and the usual Lonely Planet attention to practical travel information. The bulk of the book is devoted to individual countries. (WAF10, $31.99)
Mango Elephants in the Sun, How Life in an African Village Let Me Be in My Skin  •  Susan Herrera TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 270 PAGES The engaging account of a Peace Corps volunteer in northern Cameroon, incorporating poetry, letters home, and breezy detail on daily life. (WAF20, $22.95)
Middle Passage  •  Charles Johnson LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES Winner of the National Book Award, this historical novel, set in 1830, is the richly imagined tale of a recently freed slave in New Orleans who signs aboard a square-rigger bound for Africa. (ATL02, $15.00)
Myth and Reality in the Rain Forest, How Conservation Strategies are Failing in West Africa  •  John F. Oakes NATURAL HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 338 PAGES A survey of national parks and conservation throughout West Africa. Oakes, who has worked on conservation projects in Africa and India, uses West Africa as a case study to argue against the prevailing notion that wildlife is best protected through small-scale community development. Of primary interest to conservationists, it also offers an interesting theoretical perspective for travelers to the region. (WAF11, $25.95)
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)
Nigeria Map  •  Freytag & Berndt MAP A shaded relief map of Nigeria, on a 1:1.5 M scale. (AFR39, $11.95)
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)
Roots  •  Alex Haley LITERATURE •  1980 •  PAPER  • 729 PAGES The 30th anniversary edition of Alex Haley's epic story of Kunta Kinte and his descendents. The tale begins in the West African village of Jufureh in 1750 and traces seven generations of one family, to tell the story of Africans in America. An engaging, powerful story of perseverance in times of slavery, it was made into one of the most popular television mini-series of all time. (WAF21, $15.95)
Rough Guide West Africa  •  Jim Hudgens  •  Richard Trillo GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 1312 PAGES A comprehensive guide to all West Africa, including its history and culture. With its region-by-region descriptions, 172 maps and 12 pages of color photos, this guide covers everything from the volcanoes on the Cape Verde Islands to Mali's Dogon country to the national parks of Ghana and Nigeria. (WAF38, $34.99)
The Scramble for Africa  •  Thomas Pakenham HISTORY •  1992 •  PAPER  • 738 PAGES A well-written, meticulously researched history of the Victorian land grab in Africa. The book includes excellent portraits of the egomaniacal personalities that overran the continent, including Kitchener, Rhodes, Gordon and King Leopold. Subtitled "white man's conquest of the dark continent from 1876 to 1912, " it's an absorbing tale of adventure, tragedy and farce. (AFR26, $23.95)
Segu  •  Maryse Conde  •  Barbara Bray LITERATURE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 493 PAGES An epic novel set in the West African kingdom of Bambara (old Mali) in 1797, exhaustive in its detail and thoroughly addictive. Conde transforms actual historical events into a full-blooded, lively tale. Translated from French. (WAF17, $17.00)
The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi  •  Arthur Japin  •  Ina Rilke LITERATURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES An acclaimed debut novel by a young Dutch writer, concerning the tragic fortunes of two Dutch-educated West African princes circa 1830, whose schooling renders them neither Dutch nor Ashanti. (NTH45, $14.00)
Viceroy of Ouidah  •  Bruce Chatwin LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 160 PAGES The tale of Francesco Manoel de Silva and his adventures in the royal court in the West African kingdom of Dahomey (Benin). A stunning demonstration of Chatwin's masterful prose, command of historical detail and fully imagined characters. (WAF18, $13.00)
Wanderings in West Africa  •  Richard Francis Burton TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1991 •  PAPER  • 624 PAGES Intrepid explorer, Islamacist and translator of the Kama Sutra, Burton's interests took him throughout Africa and the Arab world. This account, originally published in 1861, results from his three-year stint in the British Foreign office in Fernando Po, an island off the coast of West Africa. It's a valuable first-hand account of short trips around the West African coast and inland, rich in ethnographic and cultural detail. Two volumes, bound as one, this book also includes a detailed, black-and-white line map of West Africa. (WAF12, $19.95)
West African Folktales  •  Jack Berry  •  Richard Spears ANTHOLOGY •  1991 •  PAPER  • 229 PAGES A collection of 123 unembellished tales, well chosen and simply translated. It's a good introduction to the spirit of traditional cultures throughout West Africa. (WAF13, $21.00)