Wild Africa

A sumptuous visual record of one of Earth's last natural paradises.

Africa's wildlife heritage is under siege--and its worst enemy may be traditional conservation methods. The authors tell of new conservation programs that include more Africans in the planning, execution, and financial benefits of this multi-billion dollar business.

“This is a gorgeous, lyrical, hilarious, important book. . . . Read this and you may find yourself instinctively beginning to heal old wounds: in yourself, in others, and just maybe in the cathedral of the wild that is our true home.”—Martha Beck, author of Finding Your Own North Star Boyd Varty had an unconventional upbringing. He grew up on Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa, a place where man and nature strive for balance, where perils exist alongside wonders. Founded more than eighty years ago as a hunting ground, Londolozi was transformed into a nature reserve beginning in 1973 by Varty’s father and uncle, visionaries of the restoration movement. But it wasn’t just a sanctuary for the animals; it was also a place for ravaged land to flourish again and for the human spirit to be restored. When Nelson Mandela was released after twenty-seven years of imprisonment, he came to the reserve to recover. Cathedral of the Wild is Varty’s memoir of his life in this exquisite and vast refuge. At Londolozi, Varty gained the confidence that emerges from living in Africa. “We came out strong and largely unafraid of life,” he writes, “with the full knowledge of its dangers.” It was there that young Boyd and his equally adventurous sister learned to track animals, raised leopard and lion cubs, followed their larger-than-life uncle on his many adventures filming wildlife, and became one with the land. Varty survived a harrowing black mamba encounter, a debilitating bout with malaria, even a vicious crocodile attack, but his biggest challenge was a personal crisis of purpose. An intense spiritual quest takes him across the globe and back again—to reconnect with nature and “rediscover the track.” Cathedral of the Wild is a story of transformation that inspires a great appreciation for the beauty and order of the natural world. With conviction, hope, and humor, Varty makes a passionate claim for the power of the wild to restore the human spirit. Praise for Cathedral of the Wild “Extremely touching . . . a book about growth and hope.”—The New York Times “It made me cry with its hard-won truths about human and animal nature. . . . Both funny and deeply moving, this book belongs on the shelf of everyone who seeks healing in wilderness.”—BookPage

Tony Fitzjohn, part missionary, part madman, has been called “one of the world’s most endangered creatures.” An internationally renowned field expert on African wildlife, he is best known for the eighteen years he spent helping Born Free’s George Adamson return more than forty leopards and lions—including the celebrated Christian—to the wild in central Kenya. Born Wild is the memoir of Fitzjohn’s extraordinary life. It shows how a man driven by an impossibly restless spirit can do almost anything, from being a bouncer in a brothel, to surviving a vicious lion attack, to fighting with the Tanzanian government, to being appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen. A notorious hell-raiser given to scrapes with bandits, evil policemen, and wicked politicians, who has been shot at by poachers and chewed up by lions, Fitzjohn is also a wonderful raconteur. Shenanigans aside, he belongs to that rare species of humans who have sought refuge and meaning in a life truly dedicated to the restoration of the animal kingdom. Many times Tony Fitzjohn has put his life on the line for the cause in which he believes. Born Wild is the story of that passion.

There are roughly 6,600 wild dogs left in Africa yet they have cast such a spell on top wildlife photographer and naturalist Jocelin Kagan that she is determined to help save them. If left to their own devices, they are more than capable of thriving, as this sumptuous photographic natural history shows. Jocelin has called in world experts to add their latest findings about these resourceful, graceful and highly skilled family groups. Nomadic predators whose territories range thousands of kilometres, they hunt co-operatively, preying on small herbivores. Non-confrontational, they form complex bonds as this book reveals. Now restricted to small populations and threatened by some shoot-to-kill policies, habitat fragmentation, diseases from domestic dogs, climate change and snares, as well as natural predation from hyenas and lions, Africa's wild dogs will be supported by all the royalties from this book.

PBS’s successful animated show Wild Kratts joins the adventures of zoologists Chris and Martin Kratt as they travel to animal habitats around the globe. Along the way, they encounter incredible creatures while combining science education with fun. Boys and girls ages 2 to 5 will love this Little Golden Book in which the Kratts activate their Creature Power Suits and meet some of their favorite wild animals on the African Savanna!

A field guide to the wildlife of southern Africa, describing over 2,000 plants and animals, with accurate illustrations in full colour. This book has been a trusted fi eld companion for many years. Comprehensively updated, it now features range maps for most groups. The chapters are colour-coded for easy reference, and diagnostic features appear in bold type within the descriptions. Each chapter is written by a leading expert in the field. All the main plant and animal groups are covered: Lower invertebrates, Spiders and other arachnids, Insects, Freshwater fishes, Frogs, Reptiles, Birds, Mammals, Grasses, sedges, ferns and fungi, Wild flowers, Trees

Africa's wildlife heritage is under siege--and its worst enemy may be traditional conservation methods. The authors tell of new conservation programs that include more Africans in the planning, execution, and financial benefits of this multi-billion dollar business.

with photographs by Lex Hes South Africa is a land of hauntingly beautiful and diverse landscapes. Its wild places encompass rugged mountain ranges, sweeping sand beaches, indigenous coastal forest, and sun-blistered arid plains, with each environment supporting its own distinctive plant and animal life. The beauty and diversity of South Africa's unspoiled and untamed places are celebrated in this latest addition to the Wild Places of the World series. South Africa's topography is characterized by a great interior plateau fringed on three sides by an irregular chain of mountains and hills that descend to a narrow coastal strip. The chapters focus on each ecological region in turn, from the Maputaland, a wetland area of great natural diversity, to the mountains of the Cape and Natal, the desert lands of the Karoo and the Kalahari, the coastal zone, the highveld grasslands, and the bushveld. The main focus is on wilderness areas and national parks, each chosen for its wild, unspoiled character, and the book emphasizes the need to preserve the country's natural heritage in a time of increasing demands for human development. Wild South Africacontains 350 stunning full-color photographs that illustrate all aspects of Nature's cycles in each region. The book features the uniqueness of each region's fauna, flora, and geography, from tiny insects, birds, and larger mammals to fruits, flowers, and sweeping landscapes.