4 comments about SAFARI: My Trip to Africa.

1. An absolutely charming book, "Safari" is the journal of Reginald Oliver Smythe, a vintage Teddy bear who was taken along on a trip to Africa by his owner (and travel companion), Susan. I've read lots of books on Africa, but none like this one--told entirely from the toy bear's perspective. It is filled with interesting facts and suffused with "Reggie's" endearing personality. Written in the form of a travel journal, the book is as lushly illustrated as an artist's sketchbook. Reginal Oliver Smythe's "Safari" is perfect for reading to my young nieces and nephew. A great gift!



2. I was apprehensive that a book ostensibly written by a teddy bear would get sneers from my teen aged son, however, despite a few pages of cuteness at the start, the book was so well done in art work and content, and mirrored our own safari experiences so well, that Nick loved it. He even, abeit a bit sheepishly, liked the teddy bear humor. If this book succeeds so well with a cynical teen, it should work for everyone. Read this book before you go to East Africa, then re-read it (and get a little misty-eyed) after you return.



3. I have been on a safari with each of my daughters and am going on another with my son, his wife and 3 young grands this summer. Mailed them Reggie's book which was so beguiling I had to get another copy for my daughters to share with me. Needless to say I love the East African experience and this book gives some useful information in a fun, easily accessible and creative way.



4. This delightful book tells the story of the bear Reggie, who travels to Africa for a safari with his owner. His handwritten account records everything he sees in a journal/scrapbook format that is accompanied by beautiful illustrations. A wonderful book for any age. Also check out the follow up, Journey Up the Nile.

No comments about Shadows on the Grass.

No comments about Insight Compact Guide Kenya (Insight Compact Guides).

3 comments about Malachite Lion: A Travel Adventure in Kenya.

1. I am not one to read the genre that I suppose could be called "travel logs" or "travel adventures". My only experience with them up until this point in time were those of the fictional type, mostly those of the science fictional or fantasy type. But, knowing little of Africa and intrigued by the " real life sudden trip" aspect, I decided that _Malachite Lion_ could be fun. And it is. It is quite fun to read. If I had to describe its writing style, I would say somewhere between the wide brush strokes of Melville (mixed in with a Moby Dick-esque pattern of dropping facts along with narrative) and the simple water color lines of Hemingway. It tends more towards repetitive description rather than bare walls, so you had better like having your scenery painted for you. The book's one fault is that it sometimes gets a little bogged down in the details (4.5-4.75 is where I would rate it on the 5.0 scale...almost perfect but not quite), and loses its rhythm here and there, but generally it is not too hard to pick it back up before the end of the page. I truly believe anyone with a few questions about if they could make will find a good deal of empathy in Dr. Modlin's portrayal of himself as the "shy biology prof". I will not say it will change your life, but it does suggest that we all arrange for an unexpected trip...we might just make it out alive. I recommend it, it is a overall great first novel.



2. I read this book while traveling alone for the first time in a foreign country. It was inspirational to me as a traveler, especially one who travels alone, to have a companion (even if it is just a book) understand want it means to discover a place on your own (and all the fears that go with it). The style is a bit scientific, but I think that is one of its best qualities because you get details about animals, insects, and plants that go beyond the aesthetics. After you finsih this book, you feel ready to take on an adventure of your own, or do something quite unexpected!



3. In Malachite Lion the author samples the culture of Kenya in a way that a tourist rarely achieves. The reader is immediately sympathetic of the traveler in a very strange land, alone and with no support system. This all happens for a very logical reason, and the author makes the best of the situation. He voices his fears of being mugged by taxi drivers and hustled by locals, yet enjoys every aspect of daily life. He lives "on the economy" for 6 weeks, and we get an opportunity to see what Kenya is really like. My desire to visit is strengthened by the book which is much more than a travelogue.

No comments about National Geographic Countries of the World: Kenya (Countries of the World).

1 comments about My Kenya Days.

1. I waited a long time to read this book, therefore I was very disappointed with the outcome. Pages of name dropping and casual references to animals and tribes. There was no meat or thread of interest to carry the reader through this literal journey. Compared to his other books this was a bomb.

2 comments about Tick Bite Fever.

1. No oxymoron that. Not in David Bennun's hands. A Brit whose family left England for Colonial Africa in his boyhood, Bennun's nature evidently never expatriated the stiff upper lip, the sharp eye for the contagiously absurd, or---and this may be Fever's greatest selling point, for it makes all the rest so possible---the palate for language as only the bellwether British wield it. Far from a pythonesque humor; you know: with simple silliness the Wont that you often wish Wouldn't? Bennun is drop-dead funny. And I don't laugh-out-loud easily. More than once, my chest having long since rounded the corner into some soundless seismic convulsing, I dropped the book on my faintly blue-feeling face from asphyxiating in bed. (The story of his Jack Russell terrier alone is worth humor's All Time list.) And I ask you: How often do any of us ever delve along a literary skill that wastes not a single sentence? You can count those masters of concise thoroughness on half the one hand you use to hold up a favorite book (or in my case, not). Bennun is as aerodynamic an author, in his own milieu, as the greatest I've ever seen: and if that makes him the Nabakov of Satire? then Vladimir--not David--it is. Damn near every utterance morphs into a garrulous gem, no sentence dispensable, most quip-laden and quotable, all culminating in chapters memorable to a one about the real Africa in David's openly unreal vantage, his own foibles always foremost, from a self-deprecating wit-in-progress. Myself?.....Never one to let the complete absense of company dampen a conversation, I'd often read things in the book over again immediately--aloud--just to share them with somebody---Anybody---me usually the handiest, splitting my own sides with disemboweling dependability. But, like the boy in the book, I too have a hard time learning my lessons. Why even now, from time to time, foolishly undeterred by my bedtime injuries I read on, headless, only to wind up again the very picture of casualty: a free arm broken over my eyes, elbow high, while alone beneath it my open mouth, wide as the search for affordable dentists, palsies off in porcine snorts, gaped like a gash so they tell me, the very wound of the proverbial Death From Laughing. So: don't say you haven't been warned........
   
   Needless to say, David Bennun's book ends way too soon, which is to say, it ended at all, and, Endorphin-addiction being what it is, sent me hunting the world wide web for the guy when all else failed. Now I DID locate a superb skill-set-exemplary article he penned about ITN's anchor-siren Daljit Dhaliwal meeting her prime american fan David Letterman, on air, that may still be available on-line, but other than that for now, alas---rein plus. Nevertheless, Bennun here is a fever worth catching, but only if you can stand the symptoms. Happy breathing.......



2. I laughed and laughed, David Bennun really brings Africa back. He just knows people and the world you live in when you are there. I love Zambia and Kenya, and he just made it alive again. Thanks for the great read, and I won't sell mine!

5 comments about Kenya Guide, 2nd Edition (Open Road Travel Guides Kenya Guide).

1. After reading the book, gave a copy to a friend who was planning a trip to Kenya. All the information proved accurate. It was the deciding factor in including a balloon safari in the itinerary, which made the trip a smashing success. The book made a hero of the BIG BOY!



2. As a seasoned traveler, I have learned to rely on books like this to help me plan my trips. Long a fan of Frommer and Fodor, I trust these authorities when choosing b&bs, hotels, tours, etc. I can now add Vachon to my list. She's "right-on" when it comes to the facts and I wasn't a bit disappointed in taking her advice. As a native of Kenya, she knows things about the country that the mere visitor wouldn't be privy to...all the more reason to trust what she has to say. I recommend this book 100% for your first (or next) trip to this wonderful part of the world!



3. Pretty comprehensive. Covers all the do's and dont's and lets you design the type of experience you want. Helpful that the author actually grew up there....



4. I had always dreamed of going to Africa, but my husband was terrified at the prospect. We bought this Kenya guide in hopes of getting some accurate information. We found it very organized and pleasant to read. Ms. Vachon's book relieved many of his fears and we used the book intensely in planing our trip. Every tip, review and suggestion she wrote turned out to be true. We really credit this book in helping us experience the trip of a lifetime.



5. I have not yet travelled to Kenya, but I have read this book. The aspect of the book that I enjoyed the most was Ms. Vachon's "no big deal" approach to dealing with a very different environment and culture. She really put me at ease, particularly in regard to family travel.

   The book was also very well organized into logical sections, making it easy to find needed information.

No comments about Journey to the Jade Sea.

2 comments about Kenya Travel Map (Globetrotter Travel Map).

1. The map was useful but out of date. Some of the dirt roads had been paved and the "paved" roads required an inflatable cushion to survive. Suggest anyone going on safari fly between points where possible.



2. I cancelled this map because it couldn't be delivered before we went to Kenya.