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)
African Visas, A Novella and Stories  •  Maria Thomas LITERATURE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 242 PAGES The last of three well-received books by the Peace Corps volunteer and writer Roberta Worrick (all written under the pen name Maria Thomas), this dark, modern novella and six sharp stories are set mainly in Ethiopia. Chosen as a New York Times Notable Book when it was first published posthumously in 1991. Worrick, her USAID husband and United States Representative Mickey Leland of Texas were among eight people who died in a plane crash in 1989 in remote northwestern Ethiopia. (ETP40, $12.00)
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)
The Africans  •  David Lamb CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1987 •  PAPER  • 371 PAGES In these 17 well written essays, news correspondent Lamb ranges throughout Africa, creating an insightful portrait of the land and especially its people. This now-classic book is a wide-ranging political and social survey of the continent, banned in a number of countries -- and as interesting today as when it was first published in 1984. (AFR22, $14.95)
Blue Nile, Ethiopia's River of Magic and Mystery  •  Virginia Morell EXPLORATION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 324 PAGES • COMING IN A spirited account of a National Geographic rafting expedition on the Blue Nile from its source in Ethiopia to the Sudan. Morell, who taught school in Ethiopia and has written two books on the Leakey family, interweaves the tale of her own adventures with her a history of exploration of the Nile. She's also an insightful guide to contemporary Ethiopian culture and politics. With a few color photographs and maps. (ETP27, $14.00)
Bradt Guide Eritrea  •  Bradt Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER This convenient guide is a personal, detailed overview of Eritrea, its history, culture and natural history. With photographs, maps and excellent travel information. (NAF03, $27.99)
A Cafe on the Nile  •  Bartle Bull LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 480 PAGES Set in Cairo and East Africa in 1935, this is a larger-than-life tale of espionage and derring-do by the author of "The White Rhino Hotel." Full of eccentric characters, descriptive prose and plenty of action, it's sure to please fans of historical and adventure novels alike. (EGY48, $14.95)
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)
Eritrea Map  •  ITMB MAP A map of Eritrea and coastal islands at a scale of 1:900,000 with a brief index, good topographic relief, and some historical information. It includes a small inset map of Asmara, where legend says that the Queen of Sheba gave birth to Solomon. (ETP22, $11.95)
Ethiopia, Breaking New Ground  •  Ben Parker  •  Abraham Woldegiorgis CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2003 •  PAPER  • 72 PAGES A portrait of modern Ethiopia, with a focus on its culture and the problems it has faced in recent years, especially AIDS and the challenges of urbanization. Part of the Oxfam Country Profiles series. (ETP36, $9.95)
An Ethiopian Romance  •  Heliodorus  •  Moses Hadas LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 277 PAGES One of the earliest Romance novels, written by Heliodorus in the third century. This is the first modern English translation of the novel, which tells the story of the daughter of the Ethiopian queen and her love affair with a Thessalian aristocrat. (ETP35, $22.50)
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)
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 Lost River  •  Richard Bangs EXPLORATION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A born storyteller, river rat, world-class adventurer (and founder of the rafting company Sobek), Richard Bangs recounts his encounters and experiences on wild rivers, including his first-run of Ethiopia's Tekeze. Bangs doesn't shy away from the personal, recounting an early tragedy in Ethiopia where he lost two members of his team, including a good friend. He returns after 23 years to complete the voyage. (ETP31, $14.00)
A Modern Translation of the Kebra Nagast (The Glory of Kings)  •  Miguel F. Brooks LITERATURE •  2001 •  PAPER A version of the Ethiopian epic, which connects the story of the Christians of Ethiopia to events in the Bible. Modified from Budge's classic translation, this book is also known as The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek. (ETP25, $19.95)
Mystery of the Nile  •  Pasquale Scaturro  •  Richard Bangs TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES Pasquale Scatturo and Gordon Brown made history as the first men to complete the descent of the Nile from source to sea, an epic journey of 3,250 miles from Ethiopia to Alexandria. This gripping account of the perils and pleasures of the 2004 expedition, written with veteran explorer and rafting fanatic Richard Bangs, captures the spirit of the quest. Published in conjunction with the release of the IMAX film. (EGY126, $16.00)
The Nile  •  Robert O. Collins HISTORY •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 384 PAGES Collins draws on a lifetime of study and travel in this revealing portrait of the 4,000-mile-long river, its political geography and environmental history. (AFR129, $52.00)
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)
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 Quest for the Ark of the Covenant, The True History of Moses  •  Stuart Munro-Hay HISTORY •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 304 PAGES In this scholarly historical analysis, Munro-Hay (Ethiopia, the Unknown Land) takes a stab at the longstanding enigma of the Ark of the Covenant and Ethiopian traditions that it is in Aksum, where it has been venerated for centuries. (ETP34, $35.00)
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)
Revolutionary Ethiopia, From Empire to People's Republic  •  Edmond Keller HISTORY •  1991 •  PAPER  • 307 PAGES This scholarly book considers the modern history of Ethiopia -- from an admired independent empire to unraveling bureaucratic state. Its final chapters examine the social policies and ambitions of the new state. This is an in-depth, marvelously written study of the causes and consequences of the revolution, placed in its historical context. While this book is free from political grandstanding, it is an academic book -- with plenty of theoretical arguments. (ETP07, $12.95)
Rough Guide Music Ethiopia  •  Various Artists MUSIC •  2004 •  AUDIO CD A carefully chosen sampling of the diverse sounds of Ethiopia. (ETP39, $14.95)
The Safari Companion, A Guide to Watching African Mammals  •  Richard Estes FIELD GUIDE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 459 PAGES An invaluable encyclopedic guide to Africa's mammals by a noted scientist. Estes describes 100 large African mammals: their diet, habitats and behavior. Written with the typical safari-goer in mind, and including black-and-white drawings. (AFR06, $30.00)
Safari Living  •  Tim Beddow ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 168 PAGES Beddow captures the beauty and setting of lodges and camps, highland estates and coast retreats in 100 color photos in this handsome overview of architecture and interior design in East Africa. (EAF147, $16.95)
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)
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)
A Vanished World  •  Wilfred Thesiger BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 200 PAGES This stunning record of an unusually eventful life takes in Thesiger's travels and adventures in revolutionary Ethiopia and the mountains of the Hindu Kush, his time among the Marsh Arabs of Iraq, his long stint living in Northern Kenya, and, memorably, his long love affair with the Empty Quarter of Oman (memorialized in "Arabian Sands"). Ninety-one-year-old Thesiger selected the black-and-white photographs for this album, which include many of his portraits of people and ways of life long gone. (ARB56, $35.00)
Waugh Abroad, Collected Travel Writing  •  Evelyn Waugh  •  Nicholas Shakespeare TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 1064 PAGES The collected travel writing of the peripatetic Waugh, including a memorable voyage to Zanzibar, a visit to the Guyanas and other excursions to out-of-the-way and often uncomfortable locales. Waugh's trademark satire and self-deprecating humor are on full display in this diverse collection spanning a 30-year career. This Everyman's Library edition includes the full texts of: Labels, A Mediterranean Journal (1930); Remote People (1931); Ninety-two Days, The Account of a Tropical Journey Through British Guiana and Part of Brazil (1934); Waugh in Abyssinia (1936); Robbery Under Law, The Mexican Object-Lesson (1939); The Holy Places (1952); and A Tourist in Africa (1960). Nicholas Shakespeare (biographer of Chatwin) provides an introduction to the man and books. (TVL22, $25.00)