Africa Books

It must be really strange for a child of immigrants to understand what their parents are feeling about their other country and culture. Some may or may not understand their parents first language. I am eager to share this book with my students and see what they think.

Faraway Home is the story of a young girl whose father must go away to his home land to see his mother. The girl (Desta) isn't very happy about this. The illustrations (by E. B. Lewis) are simply stunning. This is a truly spectacular book

In this beautifully illustrated story, a young girl comes to terms with her immigrant father's plans to visit his country of birth, Ethiopia. In the process, she learns about the differences and similarities between his childhood and hers and, more importantly, about the enduring strength of the love between parent and child. This wonderful book is perfect to share with the child facing similar fears about whether a parent will return from a journey to a distant place or the child perturbed by immigrant parents' longings for an unknown and strange land. For every parent and child, it is a great introduction to a family discussion of "when I was your age, we ..." Highly recommended.

I would like to add my enthusiastic endorsement of Dr. Peter Kennedy's book, "The Fatal Sleep." The goal of this extremely interesting and easy to read narration is "to tell the non-scientist about the history and profound importance of human African trypanosomiasis, aka sleeping sickness." Dr. Kennedy has attained his goal in a way that enlightens both the `Dark Continent' and basic science. The book begins with a description of Kenya at the turn of the millennium and flashes over 30 years back to Peter's life as a young medical student at University College London. What follows is a fantastic telling of the events that led him to Africa - 18 individual times - to establish a research program and conduct research in field stations and to become one of the world's leading clinical scientists not only treating those with the disease, but studying the trypanosome and mentoring medical students to follow in his footsteps. Reading "The Fatal Sleep" is like listening to a story told by a friend who has the time to answer your questions. Like how is life in Africa, what are copper mines, who really was David Livingstone, what is an immune system, why should we be interested in sleeping sickness, and what is the prospect for the future. Peter's command of the (real) English language paints vivid pictures; for example, driving on a rain soaked road that is no more than a memory in the drive's mind. However his description of the African night sky is especially enchanting. Dr. Kennedy's book is well worth the time and his imagery will stay with the reader forever. The Fatal Sleep is a book for all to read, enjoy and find solace that teams of dedicated doctors and scientists are diligently working for the betterment of people suffering from a disease whose cure is often fatal.

Dr. Kennedy's book, The Fatal Sleep, is a wonderful narrative on one of Africa's neglected diseases - African Sleeping Sickness. The disease caused by the free-swimming, single cell parasite called the African trypanosome is also arguably the most deadly of the parasitic diseases that plague humankind, including malaria. Even the treatment used to eradicate the trypanosome once it enters the brain can be fatal.

The book is highly informative and presented in a way that is understandable to the non-medical person. Highly entertaining stories of his experiences from the copper mines of Zambia to the Kenyan/Ugandan highlands and clearly written historical accounts and scientific explanations on the complexities of the parasite's life cycle between the tsetse fly vector and man or animal make this book a joy to read.

I recommend this book to anyone who has a fascination with all that is Africa, including the adventure of safari. Physicians, nurses and others in the medical field, not to mention the research scientists who study the disease will also benefit from what this book has to say.

The spectrum of disease in the tropics is quite different from that elsewhere. Some of the diseases are both exotic biologically and important medically. HIV disease is a pertinent example, in which an unusual type of virus, spreading worldwide from Africa, causes an especially cruel (and frequently fatal) disease. A less well known (in the West) example is the "sleeping sickness", or African trypanosomiasis. This disease renders large parts of Africa uninhabitable for both humans and domestic animals. It is a progressive neurological disease, leading always to death in the untreated patient. Treated patients often do not fare much better.

This book is the personal story of the author, a distinguished neurovirologist who became interested in Africa after spending some time there while in medical school. It is part autobiography, part travelogue, part medical and neurologic treatise, all blended together in a harmonious way. The author supplies interesting details about conducting research in an unfamiliar environment and emphasizes the need to support and collaborate with the very considerable scientific talent already present there.

I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it.

we just came back from our south africa tour using the footprint handbook to zig zag more than 10 000 kilometres through the country. this book is a five star travel companion: very much up to date in sections like accommodation addresses, price categories, timetables - and the footprint kept us entertained as well. With little personality stories and well researched history background. the best thing for us: footprint calls it a handbook and not a guide book and that is what you need if you are self sufficient travellers like us in our vw kombi. look up the little sleepy karoo towns you are passing through on your way to major tourist destinations and even there you will find interesting details about the country. also well researched are the route descriptions if you are tending to go off the beaten track and for instance go off exploring some of the winding roads, that thomas baines designed more than 100 years ago along the garden route. if you use this book as a reference book while having your own ideas what to see and where to go, you won't get lost. instead you will get an idea what living in the rainbow nation is all about. one regret: a pity that the cool story about johnnie, the cave man, who explored big parts of the oudshoorn cango caves, got shortened in the new edition.

It is rare to find such a well written, comprehensive and detailed guide. The maps are excellent and cover more than just the essential. Information is as up to date as you can get it - this guide gets reprinted yearly. I also understand that from the time editing is finished it appears on the shelves within 3 months. The print is smallish and the paper is thin. However, the information is absolutely incredible - about 8 times more comprehensive than its nearest rival! From hiking trails to detail on less frequented places. This is deservedly the no. 1 selling book for South Africa - probably as timetables of trains, busses and Baz Bus is published and it makes trip planning really easy. It is also not written only for budget travellers - it is a book for everyone. Highly recommended.

This is by far the best guide to South Africa. The information is very comprehensive, accurate and informative. The format is a sturdy hardback that's small enough to be easy to pop into your bag but won't get battered easily.

My grandfather "Cliff" and Gale "Dusty" spent years in the mountains seeking the old mine. I have a copy of the book signed by Gale and addressed to my grandfather. Thanks to this book and the luck of a good friend of mine who was lost in the area, some new things have come to light after years of being lost. It is exciting to see how all the history comes together.

After reading this book I love going into Eastern Utah. I always drive slowly along the road and look to the mountains trying to find the clues to the Lost Rhodes Mine. Have been searching for a copy and the new followup The Gold of Carre Shinob.

As a partner of Gale R. Rhoades, I found that by using the information that he had gleaned from years of research we was able to make several very profitable discoveries. Together we walked the Uinta Mountains in search of his Great Grandfathers gold. We had fun. I miss him greatly.

In our time of displeasure at government bureacracies, in a climate of cynicism and lost hopes, this story stands out and provides a light for us to follow. Although the suffering of the people of Burundi is brutal and truly sickening to the soul, the story of their plight and rise to move forward is heartening. Senator Krueger and his family displayed admiral courage in a theatre of true terror and life-threatening dramas. How many of us would have stood up to speak for the downtrodden when it meant our own lives were at risk...and those of our family?

This is more than an adventure story. It is a tale of the moral standards that can matter in the world, when the structure of civilized peoples is crumbling. We must learn from this and heed the wisdom of one of the last clear voices from the political estate left in the United States. Senator Krueger's appeal for peace and reconciliation is the call for action we must all heed or find ourselves caught in the disruption of our own alienated society.


Rick Tobin
Host of "The Road to Ready"
President/CEO
TAO Emergency Mangement Consulting

This book is well written and is very thorough. A must read for those interested in the realpolitik and history of Burundi and the internal conflict between Tutsi's and Hutus in the central African country. This book also provides great detail about the role and responsibilities of an Ambassador working on behalf of the United States and the ideological differences held within the State Department about the proper role the United States should play in Burundi.

This book is both harrowing and inspiring. Ambassador Krueger details how a dictator with an army used violence on his own countrymen to subvert a nascent democracy. Krueger's struggle to gain international attention for the genocide-in-progress reveals flaws in various national & international institutions -- flaws that still require scrutiny and improvement today. Mrs. Krueger's chapters vividly make the point that foreign service a family matter. Both authors provide moving portraits of individuals who worked in their own quiet or overt ways to stop the genocide; the ordinary-extraordinary courage of these people reminds one of Paul Rusesabagina's story. The Kruegers' conclusions about how a nation can move forward after genocide and autocracy offer hope for Burundi and much matter for thought for other areas of the world.

Having been to Africa, I can attest that this volume of photographs (the result of a collaboration between six photographers) accurately illustrates daily life. The introduction makes informative reading, and the historical time chart is useful. There are some great urban shots, as well as those of fishermen, a textile craftswoman and other artisans, market scenes, colorful signage, religious iconography and services, health clinics, wildlife, and even a coffeemaker. The color (of the more than 150 images) is excellent. This would be a great gift for someone with an interest in West Africa, and it will be cherished by those with connections to Ghana (or just by those who appreciate good photography).

This striking collection of photographs documenting contemporary Ghana reflects a strong sense of place. Starting with the brilliant emblematic cover portrait, the viewer is welcomed into the distinctive world of everyday Ghanaians whose lives are revealed in all their diversity from fishermen and artists to port workers and women in prayer. How often do you see pictures of a man making rope, a worker carving a pirogue with an adze, a woman transporting a tub of bread on her head while she talks on a cellphone, a casket in the shape of a fish, and the ethereal beauty of dried fishing nets? The bold colors of Ghana resonate in beads and batiks, and businesses engage you with snappy names like the "God is Good Cold Store" and "Hello Furniture Work."
Caveat: the compelling images in this book may transform you from an armchair traveler to an actual explorer of this picturesque west African country.

It is rare that such a sensitive portrait of a nation can be achieved in the short period of time that these six talented photographers had to shoot but the word "talented" is what made it all possible.

Each sees the country from a different point of view and the synergy produced is simply awesome. I enjoyed turning each page for the surprise that ensued and I realized that Ghana was not just another African hellhole but a place that I would ike to learn more about and visit someday.

The warm personalities of the people just jump from the pages and I immediately suggested to the principal of the predominately African-American school where I substitute teach that it be acquired for the school library.

Don't miss this one. It's got great layout, a marvelous preface by the director of the project as to how it evolved, and a great introductory essay by a woman born in Ghana who is now a U.S. scholar who discusses in folksy terms the fascinating history of the country and also refers to individual images in the book. There's also a timeline that brings you up to speed on this fascinating country's history.

When I finshed the book, it went on a special shelf in my library reserved for A-Plus photo books so I can have quick access to page through them over and over again.

You'll love this book!

I have relatives in South Africa so I have bought several "South African" children's books for my son over the years (he is now almost five), but this is definitely our favorite. The folk-art-style illustrations are beautiful -- every page is a gem. They are realistic, too, in the way that they depict the characters, their house, and possessions -- accurately capturing the simple poverty.
The wording of the story is poetic and engaging.
My son really likes this story and will read it with me night after night.
It is just a very appealing book overall and a nice way of introducing little ones to Africa. (Too bad it is no longer widely available.)

In South Africa, Thulani is tired of milking his cow every dayso he exchanges it at the store for a goat. That doesn't work - toomuch trouble so he makes some more exchanges ending up with a pocketful of seeds. As his wife Dora tends the fields of growing sunflowers, Thulani goes back to dozing beneath the hot sun. When the sunflowers drop their seeds & he feeds them to his chickens - ah! amazing things begin to happen & Dora is happy! Lively story & lovely pictures with some good ideas about work & play, labor & results. A treasure! Great gift material...

I read the Swedish translation of the book in the fall of 1997. This was one of the best childrens books I have read for my 7 year old daughter Kimia. We both liked it. I must admit though that I liked the book more than she did. I had no choice but to start translating it to Persian. I just visited www.amazon.com to purchase the English version of the book.

The message in the book in my opinion is that Thulani is not really lazy. It just appears so. The story shows how an apparently lazy person who aimlessly sits in the sun is a wonderful loving individual full of life, energy and ideas. I'd like to see the story as applicable to most of us humans. We are all full of life, energy and ideas. We just have to try. Hopefully, our love, for someone like Dora, will lead us to the right place and time.

An amazing story of Ms. Messingers attempts to make a difference to a group of apes in war torn africa. In doing so she demonstrates that with perserviance even in Africa you can make a differance, for people as well as apes. Her trials higlight the importance of long term commitment and the understanding that it takes years to learn enough about someplace to do more good than harm. A lesson many well intentioned folks would do well to learn.
I highly recommend this well told tail.

This is the stuff you won't hear in the news. That's because Messinger was far, far off the tourist path, working in the heart of (former) Zaire. There she was, a young midwestern woman, so bold and deeply involved in the local scene that it's amazing she got out alive, but not before she also assisted others in narrowly escaping a life of tortured captivity. Was she incredibly brave or so blinded by her commitment that she risked her life many times over?
I couldn't put it down.

With a great deal of humor and even more practicality, the author, Delfi Messinger, tells the story of what it is like to do the work one loves in a disfunctional society. Wanting to do animal research in a country she learned to love while being a Peace Corps volunteer, Delfi became involved with the French-supported animal and disease research institute in Kinshasa in the early 1990s. She stayed through the waning days of Mobutu's regime and on into the early days of the new Kabila government. She writes with great suspense, detail and lively descriptions of the lootings and upheavals that sent almost all the expatriates from the country. She stayed to continue the work and to protect the animals of the research institute, among which were rescued bonobos. Watching other animals become emaciated and dying from neglect she determined to attempt a rescue of all or some of the bonobos in her care. How she does that is an amazing story of perseverence, patience and ingenuity that will have all readers enthralled.

It was full of great stories that make you laugh one second and shiver the next at the thought that these "cute" stories really happened. The book is educational for kids but addictive fun for adults as well. The elephant sitting down on top of their car was scary but hilarious. It was just one of many great adventures. I highly recommend this book.

"Growing Up In Africa" is a book which is entertaining, as well as educational, and one that I couldn't put down. It's about amazing, true-life adventure stories, told through the eyes of the authors' oldest daughter. What a wonderful five-year educational experience this had been for this family! I was most impressed by the way the authors were able to bring every detail to life; I felt as though I was living a lot of their experiences, and believe me, some of them were quite chilling! I especially l-o-v-e-d the story about Chester the monkey who was always charming to everyone until...well...you'll just have to read it for yourself.
My 7 year old granddaughter was especially intrigued with the story about the "The Haunted Yacht", so much so that she has asked me to read all of the stories to her. She's even read a little of it on her own, but said that some of the words were still a little too hard for her. Also, at the end of each story there are questions prefaced by "Did You Know?", that I bet would make a wonderful "must read" book for educators and their students. Are there any teachers out there? This is a MUST read!!!

Sharon F.
Brentwood, CA

I really enjoyed reading this book and the wonderful stories. They really are true stories as my cousin Ginny and husband are the authors. I was facinated and couldn't put the book down until finished. How thrilling too have had such an adventure in this life. I highly recommend this book.

Barbara Bell
Ls Quinta, Ca.

This is a great book for the bird fanatic going on a trip to West Africa. I recently took a 3 weeks' trip birding on my own in Ghana, hitting all the most famous bird spots, and thanks to this book, managed to tick 94 Lifers. Unless you are fortunate enough to get a dedicated Birder Guide, most of the game guides, required accompaniment on walks in all of Ghana's parks and reserves, will not know all that much about bird species. I was able to ID most of my birds with the plates alone, but one or two were defined by the excellent behavioural hints in the text descriptions (e.g. they perfectly described the song flight of the Zitting Cisticola, which I observed every day while in Accra, while the bird itself was difficult to distinguish from the other cisticolas, the one time I got a good look at it perching on a reed). While I still had several "????" birds (who doesn't get those?) and I probably missed a lot more without a professional bird guide, this book enabled me to understand the avian world of West Africa while birding on my own. Yes, it is a heavy tome, but as a painter I was able to sketch birds in the field on a tiny notepad and then look them up in the tome after returning to my lodging. You can take the Princeton paperback "checklist" along as well if you must have a field reference, but don't leave this big book behind! Highly recommended.

This book has to be an enormous improvement over the "old" guide to the birds of west Africa. In October & November of 2001 I used just the plates of this guide while in west Africa. They are fantastic. There are many views of each species, they are all in color, the citations are quite comprehensive and all plates are grouped together. This is the only book you will need in Western Africa - and I havn't even seen the text! But while using just the plates I was able to identify nearly every bird that I saw in one nation in the region.

This new guide is a "must" for all those interested in African birds. For a field guide, however, it is just a considerable bit too heavy. But if previous guides (Kenya and Northern Tanzania, Indian Subcontinent) are any indication, we may expect a smaller version in due time. Meanwhile, let's just enjoy what has come out. The quality of the color plates varies considerably, but they all range from fairly good to excellent. They are all by the same artist which supposedly ought to guarantee for greater consistency. In this case, it certainly is not so. There are plates that are flat, others come to life vividly; there are plates with lots of blank space whereas others (especially the raptors) are crammed. However, all the plates are most useful, often giving flight pictures for different plumages as well. Overall, color renditions seem to be good, as well. But the Plain Swift on plate 63 should be lighter colored than the Common Swift, whereas it is depicted darker. This is, however just nitpicking when compared with all the faults and deplorable plates found in recent field guides for South America. Thus, once again, birders going to Africa can be envied for another excellent guide they now have available. The text has French names as well (including an index), a good feature in an region that is partly French speaking. The excellent range maps would be more helpful if they would be opposite the plates, but their inclusion in the text allowed for more details. In addition, the caption with the plates already gives a rough indication of the range.