5 comments about Fodor's African Safari, 1st Edition: From Budget to Big Spending Where and How to Find the Best Big Game Adventure In Southern and Eastern Africa (Special-Interest Titles).

1. Slim ,is not the word for this small 190 page "pocket book".
   Totaly lacking in any comparative information about companies or there offerings.Did not help this ,first time traveler to Africa, at all, in deciding where or how to go on safari.Got more information in a hour "Googling" Safari.Took about an hour to read.Wish I had just "skimmed"it at a book store.Buyer beware. First grade level.EG "Drink lots of water when it is hot" or "best way to avoid malaria is do not get bitten".Written for a person who has never travled anywhere.Amazon has always imposed some "quality control" and this is the first time I have felt totaly "ripped off" after buying one of their books.



2. My sister and I are planning a trip to Southern Africa in the Spring...although we had both been to South Africa before we did not really know where to start with planning a 'safari' outside of SA...This book was a perfect overview of the different countries, the game you can plan to see, the tourist and weather seasons, and the differences between different types of safaris...we supplemented the information in this book with other sources...but this was a GREAT place to start off...get a good comfort level with the options in Africa...I would definitely reccommend!



3. The book is thin and the information included is even thinner. Hardly worth the purchase price.



4. Advice from the author: "take pets to the kennel...buy snacks and gum...check the weather". This "book" is full of the obvious with little help for those planning a safari. To be fair the information on photography (they suggest that you bring lots of film) and their information about self drive safaris (they tell you that this is a safari where you drive yourself) is humorous. A section on "Kahki Fever" where the author warns unsuspecting safari tourists about the dangers of AIDS when having an expected sexual encounter with your ranger on safari is simply over the top. Fodor's Hire and Editor...Amazon Hire a Reader!



5. I found this book almost useless. It's publication date was 2004 and so a lot of information is outdated, which is why most travel books are published annually. If a book isn't going to be updated, they should avoid putting information in there that can become quickly outdated. For instance, they say gorilla permits in Uganda are $275, but the cost has risen twice since then and they are now $500, so the traveler that read this book and decided to go see gorillas would be in for a nasty surprise.
   
   Some other incorrect information may be less important, but really embarrassing. For instance, it calls Dar Es Salaam the capital of Tanzania. It is the largest city and referred to as the "commercial capital", but Dodoma is the (political) capital. It can be a bit confusing, but you expect travel books to get this stuff right. Also, the book states that Churchill called Uganda the pearl of Africa, but it was actually Hemingway. Shoddy work, especially for something published by Fodor's.
   
   Finally, the information is generic. I found this information, and much more, for free on the internet. For instance, it talks about the Great Migration in East Africa happening in a clockwise fashion annually. Well, that doesn't help you know where you need to be if you want to see the Migration and are there in May, for instance. However, there are sites on the internet that show the migration circuit and you can choose where to be at what time of year. All the dos and don'ts and packing lists and entry requirements are also easily found on the internet. And the list of National Parks in many of the countries is lacking. For Tanzania and Uganda it misses a bunch of them. As far as I can tell, there is pretty much no reason to use this book at all. Just read the abundant info on the internet and visit Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree to ask questions of travellers who have been there and people who live there.

5 comments about Safari: A Chronicle of Adventure.

1. This well written book documents the evolution of Safaris from the early Boer settlers through the modern camera hunters.



2. A wonderful book covering the beginnings of the African Safari to the present. Many current authors use this book as reference for their own books such as Peter Beard, Bibi Jordan, Kuki Gallman, and Mirella Ricciardi. If all of these authors use this book as a reference and quote it throughout their own books it has just got be good. I recommend it highly for any African Safari book collection!



3. Safari: A Chronicle Of Adventure details the history of the African safari from its first expedition of 1836 to modern times. Bull is an environmentalist, so his survey Safari isn't your typical gun-hunter's celebration of good old days, but a survey of conflicts between hunting and conservation, weapons and transport, game control and more. From economics and financers of the safari to mishaps, adventures, and famous personalities involved in safaris, vintage black and white photos pair with wide-ranging personal and political stories for maximum effect.



4. This book, Safari, is one of the best books I have ever read. The
   chapters can be read individually yet read perfectly as a whole.
   I bought a number of the books as gifts. They were VERY well received.
   Thank you for this excellent product.



5. Excellent book steeped in history and written with great style. One can almost feel Africa and how Safaris changed people as well as a country.

4 comments about Hammond Atlas of the Middle East and North Africa.

1. Any collection from elementary through college (and including public libraries) seeking to provide readers with a clear and easy reference atlas to the Middle East will want to include the affordable and specific Hammond Atlas of the Middle East and Northern Africa in a collection. It offers up the latest maps for the region, includes overviews of over twenty countries within the region which include historical, political and geographical notes, and color codes everything into easy charts and profiles lending to quick reference. It promises to be an important reference for any collection strong in Middle East history or geography.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. This is an adequate reference, but it is difficult to distinguish between the markings for international and internal boundaries.



3. I purchased this book together with the Middle East Atlas and would not have otherwise bought it. It has some facts, but more could be found just on the internet. It was okay, but I would not have bought it except it was attached to another book.



4. The previous edition of this atlas was excellent, but this one looks like the graphic design department got a hold of it and the actual cartography took a back seat. For example, there are whole sections of countries hidden in the spine of the book. And the borders are two inches thick which takes up space that could have been used to expand the map. I feel those are two of the most important things when looking at an atlas, being able to see the country and not have an inch cut out the middle, and have the map be as big as the page allows without distorting it. If you are going to buy this atlas, buy the previous paperback edition, which is an excellent atlas for its size and price!

No comments about Michelin Map Africa North & West (Michelin Map).

5 comments about The Rough Guide to South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. Rough Guides has an odd point of view on South Africa. Crime is a relavent issue there. Don't trust this sugar coated point of view.



2. Accurate and well-researched book. The recommendations are generally spot on. Nicely written, it's like travelling around with a friend who really knows the place. As someone who lives in South Africa, it's reassuring to know that there are books that are able to talk frankly about the crime situation without getting into a froth of paranoia.



3. A well researched book giving all the tips and hints that one needs to know about South Africa. The book doesn't waste your time by making recommendations and then slating them (as other guide books tend to do).



4. I lived in SA for about 5 months. We had both the LP and the Rough Guide and although it was nice to have both, I would recommend the Rough Guide if you were just going to choose one book. I found the Rough Guide to be a little more accurate in the prices listed and the organization to be far superior to the LP. The LP was helpful with more general information, but the Rough Guide provided more information on the little, out of the way places. If you plan on using hostels, it is imperative to pick up a Coast to Coast after arriving. It is a compelation of hostels, organized by area, that is put out by the hostels of SA. It also includes hostels in Swaziland, Lesotho, and Mozambique. Most hostels involved with the book have free copies that you can take.



5. Detailed guidebook, good recommendations on local guides to use (we tried their recommendation of the township tour in Cape Town), places to stay and things to do. I am planning to use them again for my subsequent trips to other regions.

5 comments about Chameleon Days: An American Boyhood in Ethiopia.

1. I was transported through time as I read Tim Bascom's Chameleon Days, and I have been connected to one of my daughters in a new way as she read the book and had a glimpse into an aspect of my personal history that I have rarely shared. Tim Bascom's Bingham Academy experience occurred a few years after my own, but there was little difference. As he described each facet of life at Bingham, I relived my own experiences and shuddered again to think that there was any reason big enough to send small children away to boarding school. Thank you, Tim, for the opportunity to once again "see" the weaver birds' nests at Lake Bishoftu, and praise be to God for His loving care as we were away from our parents at such tender ages.



2. Contrary to what other reviewers read in this book, I found it to be less an account of missionary experience (adequately written or not) than an account of being a very small child who was placed in a constant state of insecurity and anxiety by his parents. This was their choice of life, but they subjected their very young children to the consequences of their adult choices. That they placed their children in such constant disruption and uncertainty seems to me to be irresponsible. It seemed to me that they were very neglectful, selfish and even emotionally abusive. Does having a "calling" or a cause give permission to treat one's children the way that these parents did? The focus of this book was on this little boy's impressions of family, of his own emotional state and a child's perspective of some experiences. As a narrow view of political events or of missionary life affected that child's life, they were included, but it is mainly a story of a neglected, lonely and frightened child kept in persistent anxiety about matters of safety, security and family relationships. I don't know how representative this kind of neglect of missionary children is of missionary life in Africa or anywhere else, or whether it was unique to these two parents, but I found myself annoyed with these parents through much of this reading. It was astonishing to remember that for much of the time written about, this little boy was 3-4-5 years old being sent away to boarding school far away from his parents.



3. 
   These are the memories of the middle child of a couple who served as missionaries in Ethopia in the 1960's. Tim was 3 years old when he first arrived. The book covers his parents' tours of 5 years, making him 8 years old at the book's end.
   
   It's hard to imagine such an observant 3 year old, but, this is a child living in a highly insecure environment. A perfect metaphor occurs at the start when Tim and his older brother arrive on Ethopian soil and run. Miraculously they stop at the edge of a cliff. They look down and shake from the vision of the drop off. Another missionary sees some baboons and thinks its great fun to scatter them, adding further terror to the boys still standing on the brink.
   
   Just like that missionary who scattered the baboons, other than Mom, who from time to time says "He's too young", the adults seem to be oblivious to the obvious endangerment of the children.
   
   Every time this family got in the Land Rover I choked. Similarly ominous were the times Tim left the campus of his boarding school... a school where the children are shown a secret basement "just in case".
   
   The book gives a good portrait of missionary life and the state of life in these remote outposts at that time. While the author's point is to descibe his life (not elicit sympathy for missiary children), I could not get past the terror these children were exposed to. I would hope that people who contemplate this sort of work, and people who assign them will consider this book. The policy of sending people with such young dependents needs to be reconsidered.



4. I have not read this yet, but have heard about it. We are glad to find any product that can help us understand our children's Ethiopian history and share with them as they get older.



5. An engaging, entertaining, and authentic reflection on growing up as a child of missionaries to Africa. These recollections accurately mirror the experiences of those of us who share both the wonders of such a life and the painful losses that come with the fact that you never really, fully "belong" in any one place. Although the details may differ, Tim Bascomb's story binds MK's the world over to him through his honest portrayal of the special growing-up circumstances and experiences that forever set us apart. This book is of particular value to those contemplating a life of service overseas whose families will accompany them. Daniel Coleman's "The Scent of Eucalyptus" is an able complement to this marvelous memoir by his former schoolmate.

2 comments about Botswana: The Bradt Travel Guide.

1. I've been waiting for this book for a long time!! None of the other guides on the area even comes close. It is the most detailed guide I've read on the Okavango, Chobe, Makgadikgadi, and the northern Kalahari. In my view the information seems to be very up-to-date (which is not true for Bradts second edition on Namibia!). This book is suitable for people going on an organized safari (I envy them their $'s and the luxury that awaits them :-) ), and those planning an independent self-drive. The maps are good, and a number of useful GPS coordinates are included. The descriptions of off some of the beaten track sites that I have visited are very accurate. If you are a self-drive tourist you might want to look at Mike Mains: "African Adventurer's Guide to Botswana". It has many trails that are more detailed in the same region, but lacks the overview given in this guide describing the many concession areas surrounding the Okavango. The book also includes a very useful section on Livingstone in Zambia, telling you how to get the most out of your visit to the famed Victoria Falls. What do I miss? Talking to Elein Drotsky, she mentioned that here sisters company could arrange boat trips from Shakawe to Maun, water levels permitting. There is no mention of this or any other such service in the book, guess I'll have to do some digging on that one myself. All in all, your $'s, £'s, €'s or Rand's will be well spent on this guide.



2. This guide provides as excellant overview to Botswana's history, cluture, and travel options. The descriptions of the private game concessions were very helpful in planning my trip.

2 comments about Journey Through Ethiopia.

1. This is a fantastic book...great pictures, informative cultural and historical information and very readable--a delight for the armchair traveler as well as the serious scholar who may be planning a trip to that region or has an interest in learning more about the region for whatever reason.



2. In this excellent book you find courfol and spectacular photographics from a varied country with a great amount of natural beauty.
   Combined with the insightful text reading this book really inspire you tonce visit the magic country of Ethiopia

1 comments about Geldof in Africa.

1. I am a Geldof fan, however, I didn't let this prejudice my review of this amazing book. From the beginning I felt like I could not put the book down! It has amazing pictures and the many stories of tribesmen was uniquely written.
   
   I think if you know anything about Africa and its people - or do not know a thing - you will find this book amusing, sad, and unique in its story of a continent that has abundant physical beauty and, sadly, also has tragedy as part of its history. Very interesting view of modern Africa and some of its people, told by a incredibly interesting individual who has does more for powerty in the past 20 years than some countries have done to date.
   
   Well worth reading!

5 comments about Looking for Lovedu: A Woman's Journey Through Africa.

1. I found this book an extraordinary read. It gives great insight into contemporary Africa, and is written with style, integrity, and humor. I wish Ann Jones had a library of books.



2. I absolutely loved this book! It was wonderfully written and I enjoyed seeing the journey through the eyes of a woman, especially how she compares what she wants to do and how he does it. The story is a great guide into the many African cultures and the male-dominated aspects that set Lovedu apart from the rest! I highly recommend it!



3. Ann Jones' book brought me to a new height in my vicarious travel adventures--by the time she and Muggleton had arrived in Zaire, I'd acquired all the relevant country maps, since my world atlas so longer sufficed! I simply needed to see the "roads" they were digging themselves out of, see where the little villages, that they described, were located. Some African geography is embedded in my brain in a new way now.

   Although I was skeptical at first about the Lovedu search, in the end the book is a huge expression of love and respect, I felt, for the continent as a whole but mostly for all the individuals she met on the way. Her relationship with Celia, for instance, was one destined to cause frustration until assumptions, habits, and just plain cultural differences were described and owned. Ms. Jones certainly models a way to travel that many of us would do well to emulate, even if we're not in our very own Land Rover on our way to the kingdom of Lovedu.




4. The book had an exciting segment through DRC, where Muggleton and Jones struggle through the Routes de Zaires. I felt that this was the one redeeming feature of what otherwise felt like a feminist rant through Africa. Each time a woman was working and a man sitting in the shade, it was written as if a grave injustice against women throughout the world.
   The purpose of the book seemed to stick with this theme, her feminism vs Muggleton who could do no right. Once Muggleton left, the book weakened into a dull drive down to find the rain queen. Jone's character withered into a shallow traveller trying to sensationalize women's rights by relying on her own pre-biased judgements.



5. I really, really enjoyed this book. Ms. Jones journey through Africa is a good story in itself, but what I found the most interesting and valuable is the way she gives perspective to each of the countries she visits; she describes what she sees out her window and in encounters she has with the people, as well as gives a brief summary of the history of each country in a way that is very educational, helpful, and not dry. I have given this book away so many times I keep rebuying it, and now I have my book club reading it. My husband also read it, and I should say a disclaimer that he found the travel narrative to be a bit boring, but he is used to reading high adventure travel stories. This is much more from a women's perspective, and isn't quite as much about the adventure as the journey and the continent. I read it while in Africa which made it all the more endearing to me!