Tanzania

Reading List

FIELD GUIDES

Wildlife of East Africa

Martin B. Withers

This take-along guide to 475 common species of birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, trees and flowers of East Africa features full-color photographs with detailed descriptions on facing pages.

 

The Safari Companion

Richard Estes

An invaluable encyclopedic guide to Africa's mammals by a noted scientist, this perennial bestseller includes black-and-white drawings, an overview of each animal group and in-depth information. Written with the typical safari-goer in mind.

 

African Wildlife

James Kavanaugh

A laminated foldout guide illustrating almost 150 species of African animals, designed for quick reference in the field.

 

Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania

Dale Zimmerman, Donald Turner & David Pearson

Ideal for the Serengeti, this field guide features 124 stunning color plates.

 

Birds of the Masai Mara

Adam Scott Kennedy

Kennedy's compact guide, full of local knowledge on habitats and birding spots, features 300 color photographs.

 

Birds of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro

Adam Scott Kennedy

Featuring a habitat-based approach to more than 270 bird species, this handy guide to fowl in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Speke Gulf includes 480 color photos and accessible text.

 

East Africa Birds

James Kavanagh

A folding wildlife guide designed for quick reference in the field. With full-color images and text, it features more than 120 birds often seen in East Africa's forests, wetlands, marshes, deserts and coastlines.

 

East Africa Wildlife

James Kavanagh

A folding wildlife guide designed for quick reference in the field. With full-color images and text, it features the creatures often seen in the legendary Serengeti and Maasai Mara reserves and beyond.

 

Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals

Jonathan Kingdon

A conveniently compact edition of Kingdon's gloriously illustrated Field Guide to African Mammals. The guide includes abbreviated information on identification, distribution, ecology and conservation status and 480 outstanding color illustrations and maps.

 

The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals

Jonathan Kingdon

This stunningly-illustrated, comprehensive field guide by a leading authority includes over 500 of Kingdon's exquisite color paintings. Fully revised and updated with more than 1,100 species.

 

MAPS

Tanzania Map

Nelles

A double-sided map with neighboring Rwanda and Burundi.

 

Northern Tanzania Map

Ma Company (Tanzania)

A colorful, hand-drawn map at a scale of 1:1.4 million shows popular game parks and reserves, including Tsavo, Serengeti, Lake Manyara, Ngornogoro, Tarangire and Kilimanjaro.

 

Safari Planning Map, East & Southern Africa

The Africa Adventure Company

This large-scale colorful map covers the top safari countries and important wildlife reserves of East and Southern Africa. With enlargements of key regions like Northern Tanzania, Southern Kenya and Northern Botswana to Victoria Falls, the map includes information on planning your safari and climate graphs.

 

GUIDEBOOKS

Swahili, A Language Map

Kristine K. Kershul

This durable, foldout card gives easy phonetic pronunciation for several hundred of the most commonly-needed words and phrases.

 

Culture Smart! Tanzania

Quintin Winks

This pocket guide introduces local customs, etiquette, and culture.

 

Lonely Planet Tanzania

Lonely Planet

A comprehensive, practical guide to Tanzania featuring maps, a good overview of culture, history and nature and much nuts-and-bolts information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing.

 

Lonely Planet Swahili Phrasebook

Lonely Planet

A pocket phrasebook, dictionary and language guide for the traveler to East Africa.

 

Wildlife Photography, On Safari With Your DSLR

Uwe Skrzypczak

Skrzypczak includes chapters on equipment, technique, composition and wildlife in this practical, beautifully illustrated guide, loaded with striking images of the wildlife of Ngorongoro, the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara.

 

NATURAL HISTORY

Serengeti Spy

Anup Shah

A hoof-level view of the Masai Mara and Serengeti. Photographer Anup Shah lets the wildlife reveal itself by placing small remote cameras at watering holes, outcrops and other strategic spots. The ground-level perspective is as surprising as it is clever, putting you face-to-face with lion and cheetah and wildebeest and all the creatures in action across the plains.

 

Serengeti, The Eternal Beginning

Boyd Norton

Featuring 250 exquisite color photographs alongside Norton's firsthand accounts of travels in Serengeti National Park, Kenya's Masai Mara and Ngorongoro over a decades-long career.

 

The Serengeti Lion, A Study of Predator-Prey Relations

George Schaller

A classic study in field biology and winner of the National Book Award, this book is the result of Schaller's long-term study of the ecology of the Serengeti lion.

 

HISTORY & CULTURE

Africa, a Biography of the Continent

John Reader

With the ease of a practiced journalist, Reader weaves a masterful and lively tale of the continent, from ancient cultures to modern times. Both authoritative and informal, this is a splendid introduction to all of Africa.

 

African Heroes, Samburu-Maasai

Matteo Guzzini

Guzzini captures the rituals and travels of the mysterious Masaai communities of Tanzania and Kenya in beautiful, untouched photographs that honor the people and their land.

 

Born in Africa

Martin Meredith

Martin Meredith (The Fate of Africa) turns to human origins and the riveting tale of rival anthropologists, archaeologists and scientists who have struggled to unravel the story of the evolution of humankind on the plains of Africa.

 

The Fortunes of Africa, A 5000-Year History of Wealth, Greed and Endeavor

Martin Meredith

Covering the epic story of colonialism in Africa, Meredith's magisterial history depicts empire-hungry kings, missionaries, tribal warlords, mining barons -- even modern multinational corporations. An expansive but entertaining read.

 

The Scramble for Africa

Thomas Pakenham

Absorbing and meticulously researched, this in-depth history of the Victorian land grab in 19th century Africa includes excellent portraits of the egomaniacal personalities who overran the continent.

 

Missing Links, In Search of Human Origins

John Reader

Reader (Africa, Biography of a Continent) traces the history of palaeoanthropology in this masterful account of science, the fossil record and the changing understanding our place on Earth. With 75 color photographs of key fossils.