The YZ Recommended Reading List

The Safari Companion by Richard D. Estes – a guide to observing and understanding the behaviour of African mammals.

Africa is Not a Country by Dipo Faloyin – starting with the 1884 Berlin Conference and moving through modern history, Faloyin offers this book as a corrective to the idea that Africa is ‘a singular monolith’. Audiobook options are also available. 

Beat About the Bush by Trevor Carnaby – addressing everything from how an elephant’s trunk works to why the blue whale is not a fish, this guide is a must-have for anyone wanting to learn about bush-region mammals. 

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa by Ian Sinclair and Phil Hockey – a comprehensive field guide for quickly and easily identifying birds.

Wild Ways by Peter Apps  – this field companion brings together behavioural studies concerning Southern Africa’s rich fauna.

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela – a seminal autobiography for a reason. This work focuses on Madiba’s early life, education, and the 27 years he spent in prison. Audiobook options are also available. 

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah – In his memoir, The Daily Show host discusses everything from apartheid South Africa to his rise to the top of American TV. Audiobook options are also available.

Evening Primrose by Kopang Matlwa – In this 2017 novel, a young woman battles issues of race, poverty and gender as a junior doctor in post-apartheid South Africa. 

The Return of the Pangolin by Simon Naylor – written by the Conservation Manager at andbeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve, this account documents the rescue of poached pangolins on the brink of death through to their successful reintroduction into reserves.

Whatever You Do, Don’t Run by Peter Allison – a collection of essays based on the author’s experiences working as a safari guide in Botswana.

Okavango: Jewel of the Kalahari by Karen Ross  – a detailed description of the Delta, from its ecology and wildlife to the politics involved in its conservation.

Glory by Noviolet Bulawayo – shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, Glory uses the structure of Orwell’s Animal Farm to chart the downfall of Robert Mugabe’s regime. It is political satire at its sardonic best. Audiobook options are also available.

The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell – set on the banks of the Zambezi River, this novel combines magical realism and historical fiction as it follows the symbiotic construction of three families and a nation. Audiobook options are also available.

The Last Flight of The Flamingo (originally O Último Voo do Flamingo) by Mia Couto – authored by the founding father of Mozambican literature, this magical realist novel, set at the end of the Civil War, pokes fun at heavy-handed foreign aid and neocolonial exploitation.

Helm Field Guide – Birds of East Africa by Terry Stevenson and John Fanshawe – covers over 1,300 resident and migrant species found in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda through illustrations and concise text.

Collins Photo Guide: Wild Flowers of East Africa by Michael Blundell – contains thousands of detailed species descriptions with colour photographs, maps, and an illustration key for leaf and flower forms.

African Elephants by Reinhard Kunkel – a coffee-table book documenting the author’s time in East Africa, chronicling everything to do with African elephants.

Ngorongoro by Reinhard Kunkel – a large coffee-table book with 300 full-size photographs and accompanying narratives behind each scene.

Serengeti’s Great Migration by Carlo Mari and Harvey Crowe – a photographic study of the Serengeti’s spectacular migration. 

Sand Rivers by Peter Matthiessen and Hugo van Lawick – an account of the authors’ 1979 walking safari in Nyerere (formerly Selous) with a retired game warden.

Serengeti: Natural Order on the African Plain by Mitsuaki Iwago – a best-selling photography collection showcasing 18 months on the Serengeti Plains.

Unbowed by Prof. Wangari Maathai – founder of the Green Belt Movement which combats deforestation in Kenya, Maathai was the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. This is her autobiography.

All Your Children, Scattered by Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse – a generational epic that interrogates the relationship between those who left in the aftermath of the civil war and those who stayed. Audiobook options are also available. 

Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey – the true story of a woman who spent 13 years living with mountain gorillas in the Virunga Mountains and her battle to protect them from poachers. Audiobook options are also available.