More Books

by Nick Garbutt | Mike Unwin

NATURAL HISTORY
2007
HARD COVER
169 PAGES

Wildlife photographer Garbutt partnered with the London Zoological Society for this compelling compendium of critically endangered mammals worldwide. The superb selection of photographs is accompanied by maps, information on where to see each species, and details on natural history, threats and habitats. (BST108, $37.00)

The Adventures of Ibn Battuta, A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century

by Ross E. Dunn

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2004
PAPER
359 PAGES

A modern historian's account of Ibn Battuta's travels in the medieval Islamic world. When Battuta left his native Morocco in 1325, he intended a pilgrimage to Mecca; however his travels ultimately took him as far as Mali in the west and Malaysia in the east, stopping in China, the Middle East, and Africa en route. (AFR103, $25.95)

Africa

by Phyllis Martin | Patrick O'Meara

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1995
PAPER
400 PAGES

African history and prehistory, popular culture, art and economics -- it's all here in the most popular introductory text for undergraduate African studies courses in North America. With maps, photographs and drawings. (AFR07, $26.00)

Africa

by Michael Lewis | John Reader

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
2001
HARD COVER
320 PAGES
OUT OF PRINT

Published by National Geographic, this informative survey of the geography, culture and wildlife of Africa features 175 color photographs and accompanying text by John Reader. (AFR111, $50.00)

Africa North and West Map

by Michelin

2011
MAP

A fine regional map 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)

African Art, An Introduction

by 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, $21.95)

African Predators

by 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. (AFR114, $39.95)

African Vodun: Art, Psychology and Power

by Susanne Preston Blier

ART & ARCHITECTURE
1995
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, $52.50)

African Wildlife

by James Kavanaugh

FIELD GUIDE
1999
PLASTIC CARD

Slip this laminated foldout guide in your pocket for quick reference in the field. (AFR109, $5.95)

Ake, the Years of Childhood

by Wole Soyinka

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
1983
PAPER
230 PAGES

A Nobel Prize-winning playwright, recalls his Yoruba childhood in Nigeria during World War II. (WAF47, $14.95)

All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes

by Maya Angelou

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
1991
PAPER
208 PAGES

A candid memoir of Angelou's experiences in Ghana in the 1960s, just five years after the country's independence from Britain. (WAF24, $14.00)

Ancient Middle Niger, Urbanism and the Self-Organizing Landscape

by Roderick James McIntosh | Rita P. Wright

HISTORY
2005
PAPER
278 PAGES

A scholarly account of the ancient cities on the Middle Niger, which developed in the first millennium B.C. (WAF94, $51.00)

Angry Wind: Through Muslim Black Africa by Truck, Bus, Boat and Camel

by 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, which encompasses Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Cameroon, Chad and Senegal. (WAF83, $25.00)

Black Gold of the Sun, Searching for Home in Africa And Beyond

by Ekow Eshun

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2007
PAPER
240 PAGES

At the age of 33, Eshun -- born in London to African-born parents -- travelled to Ghana in search of his roots. The resulting narrative is both a portrait of a nation and the story of a search for home. (WAF109, $13.95)

Bogolan

by Victoria Rovine

ART & ARCHITECTURE
2008
PAPER
178 PAGES

A beautifully illustrated survey of the transformation of bogolanfini (mudcloth) textiles in Mali from its traditional rural roots to contemporary symbol. With 24 color and 33 black-and-white photographs and maps. (WAF62, $24.95)

Bradt Guide Burkina Faso

by Katrina Manson | James Knight

GUIDEBOOK
2012
PAPER
224 PAGES

A practical guide in the popular Bradt series, noted for publishing informative, insightful travel guides to remote and little-visited destinations. (WAF92, $25.99)

Bradt Guide Cape Verde Islands

by Aisling Irwin | Colum Wilson

GUIDEBOOK
2011
PAPER
336 PAGES

A practical travel guide to the Cape Verde islands, including its cultural and natural history. (ATL07, $24.99)

Bradt Guide Ghana

by Philip Briggs | Hilary Bradt | Annabel Milne

GUIDEBOOK
2010
PAPER
448 PAGES

Complete with maps and town plans, this guide to Ghana features practical information on the country's history, culture and attractions. (WAF27, $26.99)

Bradt Guide Mali

by Ross Velton

GUIDEBOOK
2009
PAPER
304 PAGES

This third edition of this excellent, travel-savvy guide covers the history, culture and attractions of Mali including its music and festivals. (WAF16, $27.99)

Burkina Faso Map

by ITMB

MAP

A colorful traveler's map of the country at a scale of 1:1,000,000. (WAF101, $10.95)

Butabu, Adobe Architecture of West Africa

by Suzanne Preston Blier | James Morris

ART & ARCHITECTURE
2003
HARD COVER
216 PAGES
OUT OF PRINT

A photographic survey of adobe buildings throughout West Africa, including the great mosque at Djenne (the largest mud building in the world), ordinary houses and huts, arches, domes, colonnades, grillwork and other architectural feats. (WAF70, $50.00)

The Camel and the Wheel

by Richard Bulliet

HISTORY
1990
PAPER
352 PAGES

Bulliet draws on archaeology, art,anthropology and camel husbandry to explore the implications -- from the Middle Ages to the present -- of the dependence on the camel for transport in the Middle East. (MDE96, $30.00)

Captain Sir Richard Burton, A Biography

by Edward Rice

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
2001
PAPER
688 PAGES

A splendid, absorbing account of the Victorian explorer. (AFR99, $27.50)

Captive Passage, The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Making of the Americas

by The Mariners' Museum | Smithsonian Inst.

HISTORY
2002
HARD COVER
208 PAGES

A companion volume to the exhibition drawn largely from the collections of The Mariners' Museum. (ATL14, $21.95)

Changes, A Love Story

by Ama Ata Aidoo

LITERATURE
1993
PAPER
196 PAGES

A novel from the multitalented author and playwright, in which the independent Esi Sekyi confronts traditional values in marriage, love, career and family in contemporary Ghana. (WAF35, $15.95)

The Commodore

by Patrick O'Brian

LITERATURE
1996
PAPER
282 PAGES

The 17th in the series, With Aubrey back home in England and in battle off West Africa. (WAF73, $13.95)

Congo Map

by IGN

MAP

A map of Brazzaville and the Congo (1:1,000,000.), which also shows portions of surrounding Gabon, Cameroon and ex-Zaire. (WAF04, $17.95)

Conversations with Ogotemmeli, An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas

by Marcel Griaule

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1977
PAPER
248 PAGES

An account of the complex metaphysical beliefs and cosmology of the Dogon people of the upper Volta region. (WAF44, $44.95)

The Cruelest Journey, Six Hundred Miles to Timbuktu

by 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

by Jocelyn Murray

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1998
HARD COVER
240 PAGES
OUT OF PRINT

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

by Katherine Dettwyler

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1993
PAPER
172 PAGES

This detailed account of life in Mali by a cultural anthropologist won the Margaret Mead Award in 1995. (WAF14, $19.95)

Dogon, Africa's People of the Cliffs

by Stephanie Hollyman

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
2001
HARD COVER
192 PAGES
OUT OF PRINT

Hollyman's 125 intimate photographs capture the essence of the tightly knit, cooperative society of the Dogon of Mali, their traditional ways of life and distinctive architecture. (WAF46, $49.50)

Eating Apes

by Dale Peterson | Karl Ammann | Janet K. Museveni

NATURAL HISTORY
2004
PAPER
320 PAGES

In this powerful book, primatologist Peterson calls for a stop to the consumption of bush meat, especially chimps, bonos, and gorillas, in the forests of Central and Western Africa. (AFR153, $21.95)

Einstein and the Total Eclipse

by Peter Coles

SCIENCE
1999
PAPER
80 PAGES

An account of the solar eclipse expedition that vindicated Einstein's theory of relativity. The success of the experiment immediately propelled Einstein onto the front pages of newspapers around the world. (SCI28, $7.95)

The Ends of the Earth, A Journey to the Frontiers of Anarchy

by Robert D. Kaplan

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1997
PAPER
476 PAGES

An insightful, opinionated odyssey to some of the world's poorer and more troubled nations. (WLD26, $16.00)

Exploration of Africa, From Cairo to the Cape

by Ann Hugon

EXPLORATION
1993
PAPER
173 PAGES
OUT OF PRINT

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 are featured in a series of journal excerpts. (AFR03, $15.95)

Faces of Africa, Thirty Years of Photography

by Carol Beckwith | Angela Fisher

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
2009
HARD COVER
360 PAGES

A portfolio of people and places in Africa by the remarkable team of Beckwith and Fisher. Organized thematically, it features 120 stunning color portraits. (AFR138, $16.95)

The Famished Road

by Ben Okri

LITERATURE
1993
PAPER
500 PAGES

The haunting, Booker Prize-winning novel set in a Yoruba village in modern Nigeria. (WAF39, $16.95)

A Field Guide to the Birds of The Gambia and Senegal

by 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. (WAF03, $45.00)

Flashman and the Tiger

by George MacDonald Fraser

LITERATURE
2001
PAPER
368 PAGES

This 11th installment in The Flashman Papers (purportedly retrieved and not written by George Macdonald Fraser, a nice conceit), consists of three short adventures, which find our hero cavorting with Bismarck and Emperor Franz-Josef and the future Edward VI. (WAF58, $16.00)

Forbidden Sands, A Search in the Sahara

by Richard C. Trench

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2001
PAPER
197 PAGES
OUT OF PRINT

Equal parts travelogue and investigative report of the salt mines at Taoudenni, this classic account is also an illuminating cultural history of salt -- and of Mali itself. (WAF51, $14.95)

Forests of Gold, Essays on the Akan and the Kingdom of Asante

by Ivor Wilks

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1996
PAPER
405 PAGES

A collection of essays that explores the Akan peoples of Ghana and examines the Asante kingdom. (WAF33, $25.00)

The Fortunes of Wangrin

by Amadou Hampate Ba

LITERATURE
2000
PAPER
376 PAGES

The classic 1976 story of Wangrin, a promising West African boy who leaves his tribal village only to confront the greed and corruption of the French and the colonial government. (WAF108, $19.00)

From Slavery to Freedom, A History of African Americans

by John Hope Franklin

HISTORY
2000
HARD COVER
742 PAGES

A classic history of the African American experience. (USA39, $75.00)

Genii of the River Niger

by Jean-Marie Gibbal

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1994
PAPER
204 PAGES

An ethnography of the people south of Timbuktu, in the Lake Debo region, where water spirits play a vital role in folk traditions and culture. (WAF86, $27.50)

Ghana Map

by ITMB

2011
MAP

A colorful, folded map of Ghana at a detailed scale of 1:500,000. (WAF37, $12.95)

The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa

by Alexander McCall Smith

LITERATURE
2004
HARD COVER
192 PAGES

McCall Smith brings together folktales, often hilarious or bizarre, which he heard as a child growing up in Zimbabwe. (AFR141, $22.00)

God's Bits of Wood

by Sembene Ousmane | Francis Price

LITERATURE
1996
PAPER
245 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. (WAF22, $15.95)

The Golden Trade of the Moors

by E.W. Bovill

HISTORY
1995
PAPER
269 PAGES

A lively scholarly history of Saharan trade routes, caravan organization and West African kingdoms. With chapters on Romans and Garamantes, the Tuareg, Rise and Fall of the Songhai Empire, Leo Africanus and many other peoples and personalities over 1,000 years. (NAF44, $24.95)

A Guide to the Birds of Western Africa

by 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. (WAF59, $115.00)

Guinea Map

by IGN

MAP

A colorful, French-produced map of the West African nation of Guinea at a scale of 1:1,000,000. (WAF87, $16.95)

Heinemann Book of Contemporary African Short Stories

by Chinua Achebe | Lynn Innes

ANTHOLOGY
1992
PAPER
196 PAGES
OUT OF PRINT

A single-volume introduction to the vast literature of Africa, containing stories from the past 37 years. (AFR10, $14.94)

Historical Dictionary of Mali

by Pascal James Imperato

REFERENCE
1996
HARD COVER
576 PAGES

A dictionary of people, places, and events in Malian history. (WAF49, $100.00)

A History of Sub-Saharan Africa

by Robert O. Collins | James M. Burns

HISTORY
2006
PAPER
368 PAGES

A clear, brief survey of the history and development of Africa, aimed at undergraduates and interested readers, organized thematically. With chapters on climate and geography, the rise of states and empires, the slave trade within Africa and beyond to the Americas, the European conquest, and Africa in the 20th century. (AFR174, $31.99)

In Sorcery's Shadow

by Paul Stoller | Cheryl Olkes

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1989
PAPER
235 PAGES

An anthropologist's account of his time in Niger and his experiences with local sorcerers and traditional healers. It's an excellent introduction to the role of magic and its moral complications in African culture. (WAF55, $22.50)

It's a Jungle Up There, More Tales from the Treetops

by Margaret Lowman | James Burgess | Edward Burgess

NATURAL HISTORY
2008
PAPER
291 PAGES

This engaging globe-skipping chronicle takes the tropical ecologist and her now-grown sons James and Edward to Samoa, West Africa, Peru, Panama, India and other great habitats. (NAT92, $30.00)

Journey Without Maps

by Graham Greene

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2006
PAPER
272 PAGES

No one captures local personalities and complicated morality than Graham Greene, who had a particular interest in West Africa. This account traces his trek to the Liberian coast. (WAF15, $16.00)

The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals

by Jonathan Kingdon

FIELD GUIDE
1997
PAPER
476 PAGES
OUT OF PRINT

This stunningly-illustrated, comprehensive field guide by a leading authority includes Kingdon's 480 exquisite color paintings. (AFR32, $49.50)

Kwame Nkrumah, The Father of African Nationalism

by David Birmingham

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
1998
PAPER
142 PAGES

The tale of the remarkable life of Kwame Nkrumah, the African statesman who championed for independence, won Africans the right to vote, and became the president of Ghana in 1960. (WAF34, $14.95)

Leo Africanus

by Amin Maalouf

LITERATURE
1992
PAPER
360 PAGES

A fictional memoir of the first 40 years in the life of Leo Africanus, a Muslim whose travels led him throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. (MED55, $16.95)

Lonely Planet Gambia and Senegal

by David Else

GUIDEBOOK
2009
PAPER
328 PAGES

An excellent practical guide to The Gambia and Senegal geared for independent travelers, with good overviews of culture, history and natural attractions. (WAF01, $24.99)

Lonely Planet West Africa

by Lonely Planet

GUIDEBOOK
2009
PAPER
904 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. (WAF10, $33.99)

Mali Map

by Gizi Map

2004
MAP

A fold-up map shown at a scale of 1:2,000,000. (WAF43, $15.95)

Mande Music, Traditional and Modern Music of the Maninka and Mandinka of Western Africa

by Eric Charry

MUSIC
2000
PAPER
500 PAGES

An in-depth examination of the rich musical traditions of Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and the Gambia, from the 13th century to the present day. (WAF102, $37.50)

Mande Potters and Leatherworkers, Art and Heritage in West Africa

by Barbara Frank

ART & ARCHITECTURE
2001
PAPER
192 PAGES
OUT OF PRINT

A nicely illustrated scholarly cultural history of Mande-speaking craftspeople in West Africa. Dispersed throughout Mali and West Africa, Mande potters and leatherworkers form a distinct social class, where women make ceramics and the men work in leather. (WAF61, $27.95)

Mango Elephants in the Sun

by Susana Herrera

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2000
PAPER
270 PAGES

Teens will especially respond to this lively tale of the transformation of a 23-year-old Californian from bumbling volunteer to a member of the community in this tale of Herrera's two years teaching English in northern Cameroon. (WAF20, $22.95)

Mauritania Map

by International Travel Maps

2007
MAP

A map of Mauritania, at a scale of 1:2,000,000. (WAF63, $11.95)

Medieval West Africa, Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants

by Jay Spaulding | Nehemia Levtzion

HISTORY
2002
PAPER
125 PAGES

A scholarly overview of Sub-Saharan Africa from the ninth to the fourteenth century, with a particular focus on Islamization. (WAF103, $26.95)

Memoirs of the Maelstrom, A Senegalese Oral History of the First World War

by Joe Lunn

HISTORY
1999
PAPER
280 PAGES

A history of colonial military recruitment, training, war time service and repatriation, as told through oral histories of Senagalese veterans. A remarkable examination of a colony's wartime relationship with the mother country. (WAF104, $36.25)

Middle Passage

by 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)

Muslim Societies in African History

by David Robinson

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
2004
220 PAGES

Robinson, a leading scholar, presents a good overview of Islam within the context of African, especially West African, history. (ISL54, $25.99)

Niger Map

by IGN

MAP

A good, full-color shaded relief map of Niger at a scale of 1:2,000,000. (AFR38, $16.95)

Nigeria Map

by ITMB

MAP

A shaded relief map of Nigeria at 1:600,000. (AFR39, $11.95)

Nine Hills to Nambonkaha

by Sarah Erdman

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
2004
PAPER
320 PAGES

Erdman's affectionate memoir of her time as a volunteer at a health clinic captures the rhythms, traditions and challenges of village life on the Ivory Coast in the days before civil war. (WAF72, $16.00)

No Longer at Ease

by Chinua Achebe

LITERATURE
1994
PAPER
208 PAGES

The story of an Ibo boy who leaves his village for a British education and then finds himself involved with the corrupt Nigerian ruling elite he despises. (WAF107, $13.00)

No Sweetness Here and Other Stories

by Ama Ata Aidoo

ANTHOLOGY
1995
PAPER
160 PAGES

A collection of eleven short stories about the lives of women and men in postcolonial Ghana and the tensions between traditional village and urban life; Aidoo's stories emphasize Ghana's prominent oral culture. (WAF23, $14.95)

Onions are My Husband, Survival and Accumulation by West African Market Women

by Gracia Clark

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1994
PAPER
488 PAGES

A vivid ethnographic portrait of the women of the enormous open-air Kumasi Central Market in Ghana based on interviews and fieldwork by University of Indiana anthropologist Gracia Clark. (WAF28, $42.50)

Palace Sculptures of Abomey, History Told on Walls

by Francesca Pique | Leslie Rainer

ART & ARCHITECTURE
2000
PAPER
120 PAGES

An illustrated survey and history of the sculptures and bas-reliefs at the Dahomey palace with 120 color photographs. (WAF77, $29.95)

The Peoples of the Middle Niger

by Roderick James McIntosh

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1998
HARD COVER
346 PAGES

A scholarly study of the ancient inhabitants of the Niger floodplain, incorporating archaeological discoveries and oral traditions. (WAF93, $82.95)

The Peopling of Africa, A Geographic Interpretation

by James L. Newman

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1997
PAPER
252 PAGES

An anthropological study of Africa, which considers, among other factors, genetics, religion, language and technology. (AFR140, $26.00)

Portuguese Style and Luso-African Identity, Precolonical Senegambia, Sixteenth-Nineteenth Centuries

by Mark, Peter

HISTORY
2002
PAPER
208 PAGES

A scholarly history of precolonial Portugese influence in Western Africa. (WAF105, $24.95)

The Race for Timbuktu

by Frank T. Kryza

HISTORY
2007
PAPER
322 PAGES

An engrossing account of imperial adventures in early 19th-century West Africa and the quest for fabled Timbuktu. (WAF88, $14.95)

Riding the Demon, On the Road in West Africa

by Peter Chilson

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1999
HARD COVER
216 PAGES
OUT OF PRINT

Peter Chilson took to the road in Niger for this portrait of a turbulent and fascinating nation, where rickety bush taxis, packed to the gills with passengers, provide an eye-opening perspective on the nation. (WAF54, $24.95)

The River Where Blood Is Born

by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

LITERATURE
1998
PAPER
432 PAGES
OUT OF PRINT

A complex, layered novel following the fate of several generations of women from 18th-century Africa to modern America and Barbados. (WAF41, $23.00)

Roots

by Alex Haley

LITERATURE
2007
PAPER
912 PAGES

Haley's epic story of Kunta Kinte and his descendents opens in Jufureh The Gambia, in 1750, going on to traces seven generations of one family and tell the story of Africans in America. Thirtieth anniversary edition. (WAF21, $17.95)

Rough Guide Music Nigeria & Ghana

by Various Artists

MUSIC
2002
AUDIO CD

A carefully chosen sampling of the diverse sounds of Nigeria and Ghana. Includes the styles Highlife, Fuji, and Afrobeat. (WAF97, $14.95)

Rough Guide Music West African Gold

by Rough Guide World Music

MUSIC
2006
AUDIO CD

Subtitled "The Big Beat of West Africa, Joyous Sounds from a Golden Era, this authoritative compilation showcases the music produced in sub-Saharan West Africa from the late 1950s to the early 1980s, including bands such as Bembeya Jazz, the music of Salif Keita and Dexter Johnson & the International Band and Orchestra Baobab. (WAF100, $14.95)

Rough Guide Music Youssou N'dour & Etoile de Dakar

by Youssou N'Dour

MUSIC
2002
AUDIO CD

A guide to the music of the internationally acclaimed Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour and his band Etoile de Dakar. Youssou champions mbalax, the dance music of his Wolof people. (WAF98, $14.95)

Rough Guide West Africa

by 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 from Mauritania south to Cameroon. (WAF38, $34.99)

Rough Guide West African Music

by Various Artists

MUSIC
2006
AUDIO CD
OUT OF PRINT

A carefully chosen sampling of the diverse sounds of West Africa. Artists include Ali Farka Toure, Super Rail Band, Mansour Seck, Orchestra Baobab and more. (WAF95, $14.98)

The Scramble for Africa

by Thomas Pakenham

HISTORY
1992
PAPER
738 PAGES

Absorbing and meticulously researched, this in-depth history of the Victorian land grab in Africa includes excellent portraits of the egomaniacal personalities who overran the continent. (AFR26, $23.99)

The Seasons of Beento Blackbird

by Akosua Busia

LITERATURE
1998
PAPER
367 PAGES

A provocative novel dissecting the issues of marriage and African identity by the daughter of a former Ghanaian prime minister. (WAF42, $24.95)

Segu

by 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. (WAF17, $17.00)

Senegal and The Gambia Map

by ITMB

2011
MAP

A colorful map of Senegal and The Gambia, at a scale of 1:800,000. (WAF69, $12.95)

Still Waters in Niger

by Kathleen Hill

LITERATURE
2002
PAPER
216 PAGES

An atmospheric novel set in America and Niger. After living for in the United States for 17 years, an Irish-American woman returns to a small village in Niger where she had once lived with her husband and three daughters. (WAF53, $15.95)

Sundiata, An Epic of Old Mali

by D.T. Niane

LITERATURE
2006
PAPER
96 PAGES

A splendid introduction to Mali's venerable oral traditions. Since the 13th century, Malian griots have told the story of Sundiata, the lion king, who first wrested his throne from a sorcerer, then united West Africa. (WAF48, $16.60)

Themes In West Africa's History

by Emmanuel Akyeampong

HISTORY
2006
PAPER
323 PAGES

Geared for university students, these review articles by leading scholars cover archaeology, ecology and culture, oral traditions, society, politics and religion in West Africa. (WAF114, $24.95)

Things Fall Apart

by Chinua Achebe

LITERATURE
2008
PAPER
209 PAGES

The 50th anniversary edition of Achebe's celebrated novel of the young village leader Okonkwo, set during in 19th-century Nigeria during the drama and disruption of colonialism. (WAF56, $11.95)

Togo Map

by IGN

MAP

A shaded relief map of Togo, on a 1:500,000 scale. (AFR37, $16.95)

Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa

by Mungo Park

EXPLORATION
2010
PAPER
272 PAGES

Park chronicles of the culture, society and nature of West Africa before the colonial period in this classic account of a 24-year-old Scotsman exploring, often alone, in uncharted Africa. First published in 1799. (WAF40, $12.95)

The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi

by 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, $16.00)

Viceroy of Ouidah

by Bruce Chatwin

LITERATURE
1999
PAPER
160 PAGES

Chatwin evokes in rich detail the rise to power of a wretched slave trader and the 19th-century court of Dahomey (Benin) in this slim novel. (WAF18, $13.00)

Wanderings in West Africa

by Richard Francis Burton

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1991
PAPER
624 PAGES

This account, originally published in 1861, results from a 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. (WAF12, $19.95)

Wars of Imperial Conquest in Africa, 1830-1914

by Bruce Vandervort

HISTORY
1998
PAPER
274 PAGES

A scholarly history of European military activity in Africa and the impact of imperial wars on both European and African military practices. (WAF106, $19.95)

Wind, Sand and Stars

by Antoine de Saint Exupery

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1967
PAPER
229 PAGES
FAVORITE

St. Exupery's luminous account of flying early postal routes over South America, Europe and the deserts of North Africa in the 1930s includes the classic tale of his crash in the Libyan desert. (DES11, $13.95)

The Year of the Gorilla

by George Schaller

NATURAL HISTORY
2010
PAPER
290 PAGES

Schaller's vivid tale of adventures among the gorillas of the Virunga volcanoes of Zaire, Rwanda and Uganda -- a wonderful account of field work under difficult and sometimes dangerous circumstances by one of the great wildlife biologists. (UGD03, $25.00)

A Zoo in My Luggage

by Gerald Durrell

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
2005
PAPER
208 PAGES

Charming stories of a six-month sojourn in British Cameroon in search of animals for his new zoo. (WAF78, $14.00)

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