Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on
bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
So Many Africans: Six Years in a Zambian Village
by Jill Kandel
Kandel's memoir is a powerful picture of a young American woman's struggle to reconcile her new marriage with the realities of living in East Africa. Jill Kandel's So Many Africas: Six Years in a Zambian Village is a captivating, unpredictable, and compellingly-honest tale of a young wife and mother's isolation and endurance in a remote corner of Zambia. Kandel writes clear, textured prose brimming with the sights, sounds, smells, and rich flavors of her secluded rural African home. Her story is an inspiration to anyone who imagines not just surviving, but thriving, in any harsh, distant corner of our remarkable planet.
The Last Elephants
by Colin Bell & Don Pinnock
African savanna elephants--among the most magnificent and beloved of our fellow mammals--are an extraordinary, social, and intelligent species. The Last Elephants, an homage to these animals and a clarion call for their preservation, is based upon a shocking finding: savanna elephant populations across Africa are being decimated, with two to three murdered every hour for their ivory. Without action, these elephants soon will vanish from our world. They are a species in imminent danger of extinction, and it is up to us to save them.
Elephant Dawn
by Sharon Pincott
In 2001, Sharon Pincott traded her privileged life as a high-flying corporate executive to start a new one with the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe. She was unpaid, untrained, self-funded and arrived with the starry-eyed idealism of most foreigners during early encounters with Africa. For thirteen years - the worst in Zimbabwe's volatile history - this intrepid Australian woman lived in the Hwange bush fighting for the lives of these elephants, forming an extraordinary and life-changing bond with them.
My Life with Leopards
by Fransje van Riel
In 1993 game ranger Graham Cooke was given the opportunity to parent two six-week-old leopard cubs. Establishing himself and his charges in a small tented camp in the middle of the South African bush, Graham set about his task of habituating the cubs to the dangers of the wild in preparation for their eventual release.
Long Walk to Freedom
by Nelson Mandela
An unpretentious tale of an extraordinary life. Mandela recounts the circumstances of his imprisonment and ultimately his successful drive to end Apartheid.
Rogue Lion Safaris
by Simon Barnes
After the death of his beloved, bankrupt gambler of a father, Dan Lynch follows his university degree in zoology to a run-down safari camp, where he can work as a trainee guide and, most important, be near George Sorensen, the owner. George is a wildlife genius, but no great businessman, and the camp is threatened by lack of visitors, competition from the much more luxurious set-up across the valley, and corrupt local politicians. In learning about the majestic landscape and fauna of Africa, Dan learns a lot about people – and about himself.
The Myth of Wild Africa
by Jonathan Adams, Thomas McShane
A no-holds-barred attack on old-style conservation in Africa, provocative and dead-on. The authors explore the fallacy of an untouched continent where animals roam freely in sanctuaries.
Bradt Guide to Zambia
by Chris McIntyre
A detailed overview of Zambia, its history, culture, attractions and natural history with color photos, maps and travel information.
Lonely Planet Botswana
by Lonely Planet
A comprehensive, practical guide in Lonely Planet’s hallmark style with 16 detailed maps and a separate chapter on Victoria Falls.
The African House
by Christina Lamb
The Africa House vividly details the life of an English officer and gentleman and his remarkable house and colony in deepest Africa. In the ides of the British Empire, Stewart Gore Browne built himself a feudal paradise in northern Rhodesia, a sprawling country estate modeled on the finest homes in England, complete with uniformed servants, daily muster parades, rose gardens and lavish dinners finished off with vintage port in the library.
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith
McCall Smith’s detective, Mma Ramotswe, makes her debut. A pleasure in every respect, this novel – not really a mystery – evokes the cultures, customs and diverse landscapes of Botswana.
Out of Darkness, Shining Light
by Petina Gappah
So begins Petina Gappah's powerful novel of exploration and adventure in nineteenth-century Africa—the captivating story of the loyal men and women who carried explorer and missionary Dr. Livingstone's body, his papers and maps, fifteen hundred miles across the continent of Africa, so his remains could be returned home to England and his work preserved there.
Southern Africa Wildlife, A Visitor's Guide
by Mike Unwin
A popular, photographic guide to the mammals, birds, reptiles and habitats south of the Zambezi. With 300 color photographs and illuminating text.
The Safari Companion
by Richard Estes
An encyclopedic guide to the behavior of Africa’s mammals by a noted scientist.
Okavango, Africa’s Last Eden
by Franz Lanting
In this handsome volume, master wildlife photographer Franz Lanting captures the wildlife and habitats of the Okavango
