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.
Cry of the Kalahari
by Mark Owens, Delia Owens
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.
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.
Lonely Planet Southern Africa
by Anthony Ham
This hefty practical guide to the nine nations of southern Africa, including Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland (Eswatini), Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho, is ideal for independent travelers on a multi-country tour.
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.
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.
Watch My Tracer
by Keith Chisnall
A third-generation Rhodesian tells the story of his upbringing on a farm and his days learning to track and survive in the bush that would assist him during the Rhodesian Civil War as a part of the clandestine operation unit known as the Pachedu.
The Harmless People
by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
A classic study of the Bushmen of the Kalahari. It’s an account of the author’s fieldwork, strong on the character of the people.
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
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
by Alexandra Fuller
A worthy heir to Isak Dinesen and Beryl Markham, Alexandra Fuller remembers her African childhood with candor and sensitivity. Though it is a diary of an unruly life in an often inhospitable place, it is suffused with Fuller's endearing ability to find laughter, even when there is little to celebrate. Fuller's debut is unsentimental and unflinching but always captivating. In wry and sometimes hilarious prose, she stares down disaster and looks back with rage and love at the life of an extraordinary family in an extraordinary time.
The Scramble for Africa
by Thomas Pakenham
A well-written, meticulously researched history of the Victorian land grab in Africa. The book includes especially good portraits of the egomaniacal personalities who overran the continent.
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.
The Safari Companion
by Richard Estes
An encyclopedic guide to the behavior of Africa’s mammals by a noted scientist.
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.
Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales Of A Botswana Safari Guide
by Peter Allison
These safari stories are entertaining, humorous and educational. Enjoy true tales from top safari guide Peter Allison.
The Last Resort: A Memoir of Mischief and Mayhem on a Family Farm in Africa
by Douglas Rogers
Thrilling, heartbreaking, and, at times, absurdly funny, The Last Resort is the remarkable true story of one family in a country under siege and a testament to the love, perseverance and resilience of the human spirit. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Rogers is the son of white farmers living through the country's long and tense transition from postcolonial rule, including the upheaval that resulted from President Robert Mugabe's violent program to reclaim white-owned land. The Last Resort is an inspiring, coming-of-age tale about home, love, hope, responsibility, redemption, and how to survive a corrupt dictatorship with a little innovation, bribery and humor.
