#ReadingAfrica means opening up your reading to include a wide array of voices, thought, and genre. And it can also mean learning more about the plants and animals that make the continent so special. When we connect to the stories of the land, it helps us understand exactly what we’re protecting, and why it’s so vital we do.
We asked one of our favorite conservationists, David Muirhead, author of Cat Among the Pigeons, the first release from our science-themed Powers Squared imprint, to share some of his favorite science and nature books for #ReadingAfrica Week. As David explains, “These are books that have always stood out from the herd.”
Principally featuring the honey badger – world famous miniature tough guy and mammalian all-rounder. The stories are set in Richard and Bookey Peek’s wildlife sanctuary in Zimbabwe’s ancient Matobo Hills amid the distant tremors of a disintegrating country.
Personal narratives about intimate and unusual adventures and encounters with wildlife, often revealing as much about human behavior as they do about animals.
Hyena Nights & Kalahari Days, by Gus Mills and Margie Mills
Fascinating insights into the life and times of hyenas by a husband and wife team who lived cheek-by-jowl with them in the wild Kalahari for a couple of years.
A personal account of the almost mystical relationship between a lifelong conservationist and a herd of wild elephants he saved from slaughter.
Wild Ways: Field Companion to the Behaviour of Southern African Mammals, by Peter Apps
Very readable, comprehensive and insightful book about animals, what they do and the often surprising reasons why.
Indaba, My Children by Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa
Like nothing you’ve ever read before. Credo Mutwa was a sangoma and he relates the history of African peoples from their very beginnings, including tales of their intimate and magical relationships with the wild creatures that shared their lands and skies.
