Book Description

Reviews (5)

The greatest pictorial work on Okavango!
Frans Lanting had created marvelous book. His pictures portray the unique beauty of the region, convey the wildness of a place, and force a viewer to visit the place immediately. The photographs and text also urge the people to save this unique ecosystem. We realize the impact of water on the unique environment of the delta that supports the greatest variety of the flora and fauna in the world. At the same time these photographs make us realize what will be lost if the water will be gone. This book has inspired me even more after I visited the Okavango delta. It made me to relive my own experiences once again. After more than 5 years of its publication, this book is still the best pictorial work on Okavango delta. Simply, the greatest!

Stunning photography and wonderful narrative
This is a terrific book to learn more about this region. I can't recommend the book enough. The photography is stunning and the narrative is just right. I only wish it didn't end.

Frans Lanting sees Botswana with a keen eye.
Mr. Lanting is a unique and wonderful photographer who is a great help to all of us. His photos capture the wildlife of the Okavango as they are -- not postcard photos. He has a respect and reverence of this fragile ecosystem (unlike none other in the world) and all that lives and dies there that is captured in this book. Botswana is a special country with a unique ecosystem in the Delta that you should travel to. I've had the good fortune to experience Africa eight times, Botswana twice. I will return many times to the Delta as there is so much there to experience and each time its fresh. Let Mr. Lantings photos pursuade you to go.

One more time, simply the best
As other Lanting books, attitude is all, from cover to cover

Stunning and original wildlife phtography
This book makes me suspect that Frans Lanting is not only the worlds greatest wildlife photographer but also the greatest bird photographers, crocodile photographer, elephant photographer etc. As usual, his photography is far from the species type of photography often seen. Lanting connects with the subject and transform the experience into art. In addition, he is not afraid to break the rules and make it work. The book is a must in any nature photographers library. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Memoirs of Africa
I have read June Clark's book from the point of view of an ex-pat in colonial Africa. It brought back a flood of memories of my own experience of living in Africa in the 1950's and 60's; then a land teeming with the big game animals and vast savanahs and forestations. The book is well written, and is a tribute to the dogged determination of the author and her husband to create a tribal game reserve in the Okavango swamps. The hardships endured and the bravery of the author is unimaginable for those content with a nine to five job in the western world. Were it not for people of similar persausion to the authors Africa's inheritance would be the poorer.
John Volrath ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Most incredible Photographic Account of Africa Wildlife
I recommend this work to anyone interested in Africa - quite possibly the best you can get without going to Botswana. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Bessie Head has done it again
This book changed the way I saw Africa. It's one of those rare books you come upon that makes you a better citizen of the world. If you haven't read it yet, read it and then read MARU also by B.Head. Serowe is a difficult book to hunt down but it's well worth it.

Serowe Village of Rain wind
Mrs Bessie Head's work reflects her quick adaptation with the Ngwato circles. Born in Petermaritzburg, South Africa in 1936 she came to Serowe as an exile in 1963 and lived among the Bangwato. In her books she interviews the eminent personalities of Serowe. The tittle Village or raqinwind may not only talk about the prevailing climatic condition as dictated by the geographic location but may represent the many upsurps Serowe has transformed.

Serowe was Established in 1902 by King Khama III. It is the third large Ngwato Capital after Shoshong which was deserted in 1889 for Palapye. Even before Khama moved his capital to Serowe he habited the area as one of his cattleposts. During the dispute with his father Sekgoma and Kgamane in the 1870s Khama moved with his followers to Serowe just temporarily.

When Palapye capital proved to be a drier land, Khama led his tribe on another nomadic expedition just 25 miles west towards the Manonnye Streams. There he enjoyed relative tranquility surrounded by Swaneng hills.

The "rain-wind" of Serowe continued after Khama's death in 1925. He was suceeded briefly by his once prodigal son Sekgoma II who died in 1925. Tshekedi, Sekgoma's half brother ascended the throne as a regent for Sekgoma's minor son Seretse in 1926. A legalistic strategist Tshekedi transformed the Bangwato nation into a modern nation. Among his major achievements was the construction of the first College in the country, Moeng. Throughout his reign Tshekedi was faced with three major battles, his royal relatives, the South African government and his British overlords. He fought tooth and nail against the incorporation of High Commission Territories into the Union of South Africa. He presented the Namibian question to the U.N.

Tshekedi's reign came to an end during a dispute with his nephew Seretse over his marriage to a white woman. He went on exile to Rametsana and later top Pilikwe taking with him a section of loyals. After his death in 1959, whaat he fought and worked for got destroyed.

Seretse Khama, Sekgoma's son and Tshekedi's nephew became the first president of the Republic of Botswana in 1966. His son and Heir was installed as paramount Chief of Bamangwato in 1979. He was then the the Deputy Commander of Armed Forces. He rose to being Commander and is now the the fourth Vice President.

Serowe has bred many Educationalists and Entrepreneurs. ... Read more

Book Description

National Geographic has been called a window on the world and a passport to adventure. Each month an estimated forty million people in 190 countries open its pages and are transported to exotic realms that delight the eye and mind. Such widespread renown gives the magazine's writers an almost magical access to people and happenings, as doors that are closed to the rest of the journalistic world open wide.

Thomas Y. Canby was fortunate to be a Geographic writer and science editor from 1961 to 1991, a time during which the Society's ventures and size grew by leaps and bounds and the resources available to staff were seemingly limitless. In From Botswana to the Bering Sea, he gives readers an on-the-ground look at the life of a National Geographic field staffer and an insider's view of the fascinating dynamics within the magazine's editorial chambers.

Canby's assignments dealt largely with issues of global concern, and his travels took him to the farthest reaches of the planet. This book gives the reader the visas and tickets to share in Canby's experiences-from a Filipino rice harvest capped by a feast of deep-fried rats, to impoverished villages of Asia and Africa gripped by the world's most widespread famine, to seal hunting and dog sledding with Eskimos in the Canadian high Arctic. Readers match wits with paranoid guardians of the secret Soviet space program; skirt land mines in the flaming oil fields of Kuwait; and dodge death while scuba diving to an archaeological site in a Florida sinkhole. The book also gives insight into the magazine's inner workings: how article subjects are chosen; how writers are assigned and interact; how prolonged trips to impossibly remote destinations are planned; how staffers operate in the field.

Working for National Geographic has been called "the best job in the world." From Botswana to the Bering Sea describes that unique job, and answers from first-hand knowledge the question Canby and his colleagues are so often asked: "So, what is it like to work for National Geographic?" ... Read more

Reviews (3)

An deftly written, engrossing, armchair tour of the world
Tom Canby had the great good fortune of working for the National Geographic during that wonderful time when all the big glossy magazines and high-circulation newspapers were willing to spend money to bring information to their readers. This willingness to to be serious about news coverage gave this deft and sensitive writer the chance to roam the world and take the time necessary to cover his beat (science) in depth and with a thoroughness almost unheard of today, when even great institutions like National Geographic are nickel-and-diming to cut costs. From Botswana to the Bering Sea is the personal memoir of a gentle man and a gentleman. Canby would probably be the first to admit (as he, in fact, alludes in his book) that he is not the stereotype of the hardbitten tabloid news reporter. Instead he is an essayist of uncommon grace. This is a wonderful book.

Wonderful Reading
This is not a review but an urgent request to find the most recent book published by Thomas Y. Canby, Sandy Spring Legacy. This is the legacy of a Quaker Village and tells the story of one of the oldest towns in the Maryland Piedmont, settled by the Quakers and others in the early 1700's. I am interested in finding this book as I once lived in this little Quaker Village forty years ago. Thank you for any leads you may have.

Canby hits the mark for National Geographic fans.
If you like reading National Geographic, then you'll like reading Thomas Canby's book about his 30 years with the yellow border magazine. He recounts some of his favorite assignments, including glimpses behind the scenes, and the occasional personal note. My favorite is the rat assignment. After a day of chasing rats, he settles down for a few beers. After getting a good buzz, the fried rats are served and he and his friends dig in with gusto. Later, in writing the actual article, Canby details the rat feast but somehow fails to mention the beer.

Canby is an unabashed lover of National Geographic, making a number of references to the positive aspects of working for the magazine and the envy with which other writers view a National Geographic assignment. So, don't expect any revelations about the inner workings of the Society beyond those already published. Criticisms of management and the editorial staff are mild, and generally take the form of disagreement. The book does provide interesting insight into how story content was sometimes influenced by "mossbacks" on the Board of Trustees. There is also a brief but blistering appraisal of former editor John Oliver LaGorce, but this only reiterates and reinforces previous reports.

All in all, National Geographic fans will find this book a good middle-of-the-road look at how things work within the magazine. Canby does a pinch of bashing, a bushel of praising, and a ton of good old story writing-all in the National Geographic style. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A "true" adventure.
Across African Sand is a an excellent example of what true adventure books should be. I emphasize the word "true" not simply to point out that events in the book are factual but to distinguish this work from books describing stunts. (To me a stunt is a once-in-a-lifetime event, filled with harum-scarum that a more skilled traveler would have avoided and usually detailing a significant departure from the main stream of the writer's life.) By contrast, Across African Sand comes across as the logical continuation of Phil Deutschle's career as a teacher and introspective traveler. Prior to embarking on his solo bicycle ride across the Kalahari and Namib deserts, Deutschle has spent three years living and teaching in an out-of-the way village in Botswana. An accomplished linguist, he has become fluent-to-conversant with several local languages, including that of the !Kung (Bushman) people, and thus we learn more of African life and thought than we would at the mercy of a more casual traveler. Deutschle clearly enjoys the company of the various people he falls in with along the way but also relishes the solitude which is such a significant part of his journey. Part of the success of the book is its skillful interweaving of events in the course of his cycling trek with flashbacks to his life as a teacher in a traditional Botswana village. Dimi Press has done a creditable job of putting the book together and its illustrations are great. I wholeheartedly recommend this as an interesting and insightful story of travel and adventure.

Highly recommended for bicycling enthuaists.
Across African Sand: Journey Of A Witch Doctor's Son-In-Law is the true life adventure story of Phil Deutschle's bicycle trip across 3,000 miles of African landscape. Along the way Phil was stalked by lions, charged by a herd of enraged elephants, fell in love with (and married) the daughter of a prominent witch doctor. Across African Sand is a compelling, engaging, fascinating biographical travelogue that relates an account of Phil's five years in Botswana (southern Africa) told in the form of flashbacks while he bicycles over the harsh Kalahari and Namib deserts, negotiating difficult African terrain, including soft sand and mud, during the course of his three month cycling adventure. Across African Sand is highly recommended for bicycling enthusiasts, armchair adventurers, and anyone who has ever yearned to travel the world, meet new people, and have adventures of their own!

Excellent, exciting reading!
This portrait will also fit neatly in travel sections: itportrays a bicyclist's journey across two deserts as he bikes throughsand, dodging lions and elephants and visiting remote parts of outback Africa. The adventure and observations of life in Botswana make for an excellent and exciting read.

Advernture for Armchair Reader
I bought this book for my husband. While he was reading it he kept interrupting my reading to tell me about what was happening in his book. In self defense, I picked it up as soon as he finished and immediately found myself transported to Africa. This book is much more than the story of the author's trip across the Kalahri on a bicycle. He writes about the people he meets and tells of their culture, the politics and economy of each group. He possesses interpersonal skills that allow him to relate to all sorts of people quickly and he writes about them with affection and respect. He describes plant and animal life along the way. Through flashbacks he tells of his earlier life and recent experience as a teacher in Africa. During the lonely stretches of his trip he wonders about his need to wander the globe. My husband said when he finished the book, "I've learned more about Africa from this book than all of the other books on the subject, put together" I agree, and I learned a great deal about life in general and men in particular from it.

an unread review
I think that Phil Deutschle is a wonderful author, having to put up with all of that stress of how to fit in time to writ after or at the time of his experiences. And just being able to adapt to a community so quick ; but at the same time working. ... Read more

Book Description

The Realm of the Word is the first study of mission Christianity in colonial southern Africa to treat religion and society as a coherent whole. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Geographical Journal, published by Royal Geographical Society on December 1, 2002. The length of the article is 10904 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: KEY WORDS: Middle East, South Asia, Southern Africa, transboundary waters, water conflict, water cooperation, event data

Citation Details
Title: The geography of water conflict and cooperation: internal pressures and international manifestations.(Abstract)
Author: Meredith Giordano
Publication: The Geographical Journal (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2002
Publisher: Royal Geographical Society
Volume: 168Issue: 4Page: 293(20)

Article Type: Abstract

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

Written by three scholars with close ties to the country, the dictionary offers concise descriptive entries for Botswana's significant personalities, places, events, and institutions as well as its economy, society, ethnic groups, government, and culture. Reviews of the Previous Edition: "...indispensable for almost all libraries." --ARBA "The term reference work does not do justice to a book so engaging as this...a teaching tool as well as a reference tool...indispensable." --AFRICAN ECONOMIC HISTORY "...serves as a quick reference for the researcher interested in the history of Botswana...For the university student it is a good source for thesis ideas." --MMEGI/THE REPORTER "...immediately enters the canon of the dozen or so essential works of reference on Botswana." --JOURNAL OF AFRICAN HISTORY "...the extensive bibliography of works about Botswana is well-developed and invaluable." --AFRICA TODAY ... Read more