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Best books for an African Safari
Best books to read on an African Safari. Books to learn about the history of Africa, the culture, and just be entertained!
Tags: africa, african, location, safari, and setting

1
Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe 21 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 2074
vote
2
The Poisonwood Bible
The Poisonwood Bible
by Barbara Kingsolver 19 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 1865
vote
3
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith 17 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 1662
vote
4
Out of Africa
Out of Africa
by Isak Dinesen 16 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 1525
vote
5
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African ...
by Alexandra Fuller 14 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 1336
vote
6
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror,...
by Adam Hochschild 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 1178
vote
7
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 1117
vote
8
Cry, the Beloved Country
Cry, the Beloved Country
by Alan Paton 11 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 1073
vote
9
The Power of One
The Power of One
by Bryce Courtenay 9 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 874
vote
10
Half of a Yellow Sun
Half of a Yellow Sun
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 774
vote
11
Disgrace
Disgrace
by J.M. Coetzee 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 674
vote
12
West with the Night
West with the Night
by Beryl Markham 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 590
vote
13
Nervous Conditions
Nervous Conditions
by Tsitsi Dangarembga 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 566
vote
14
The Constant Gardener
The Constant Gardener
by John le Carré 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 518
vote
15
Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide
Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Bot...
by Peter Allison 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 497
vote
16
The Shadow of the Sun
The Shadow of the Sun
by Ryszard Kapuściński 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 474
vote
17
The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
by Ayi Kwei Armah 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 454
vote
18
Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds
Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds
by Joy Adamson 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 444
vote
19
Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone
Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and...
by Martin Dugard 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 384
vote
19
Sweetness in the Belly
Sweetness in the Belly
by Camilla Gibb 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 384
vote
21
The Famished Road
The Famished Road
by Ben Okri 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 377
vote
22
The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories
The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories
by Ernest Hemingway 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 362
vote
23
Scoop
Scoop
by Evelyn Waugh 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 358
vote
24
The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood
The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an Africa...
by Elspeth Huxley 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 330
vote
25
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown
by Paul Theroux 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 297
vote
26
Unbowed
Unbowed
by Wangari Maathai 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 294
vote
27
Weep Not, Child
Weep Not, Child
by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 287
vote
28
The Joys of Motherhood
The Joys of Motherhood
by Buchi Emecheta 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 274
vote
29
Tears of the Giraffe
Tears of the Giraffe
by Alexander McCall Smith 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 272
vote
30
The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk; Palace of Desire; Sugar Street
The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk; Palace of Desir...
by Naguib Mahfouz 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 268
vote
31
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nels...
by Nelson Mandela 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 265
vote
32
The English Patient
The English Patient
by Michael Ondaatje 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 241
vote
33
The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior: An Autobiography
The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior: An Autobiography
by Tepilit Ole Saitoti 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 200
vote
33
I Dreamed of Africa
I Dreamed of Africa
by Kuki Gallman 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 200
vote
33
The Native Hurricane
The Native Hurricane
by Chigozie John Obioma 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 200
vote
36
The Slave Girl: A Novel
The Slave Girl: A Novel
by Buchi Emecheta 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 198
vote
37
Cry of the Kalahari
Cry of the Kalahari
by Mark J. Owens 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 196
vote
37
The Eye of the Elephant: An Epic Adventure in the African Wilderness
The Eye of the Elephant: An Epic Adventure in t...
by Mark J. Owens, Cordelia Dykes Owens 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 196
vote
39
A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa
A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hop...
by Howard W. French 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 194
vote
40
The Zanzibar Chest
The Zanzibar Chest
by Aidan Hartley 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 188
vote
41
Waiting for the Barbarians
Waiting for the Barbarians
by J.M. Coetzee, محسن مینو خرد / Mohsen Minoo Kherad (Translator) 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 185
vote
42
A Bend in the River
A Bend in the River
by V.S. Naipaul 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 184
vote
43
The Mission Song: A Novel
The Mission Song: A Novel
by John le Carré 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 182
vote
44
What Is the What
What Is the What
by Dave Eggers 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 180
vote
45
The Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa
by Thomas Pakenham 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 177
vote
46
God's Bits of Wood
God's Bits of Wood
by Ousmane Sembène 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 176
vote
47
Death and the King's Horseman
Death and the King's Horseman
by Wole Soyinka 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 168
vote
47
July's People
July's People
by Nadine Gordimer 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 168
vote
49
Henderson the Rain King
Henderson the Rain King
by Saul Bellow 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 157
vote
50
Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey
Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey
by Jane Goodall, Phillip Berman 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 153
vote
51
The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story
The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story
by Richard Preston 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 146
vote
52
Gorillas in the Mist
Gorillas in the Mist
by Dian Fossey 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 136
vote
53
Mrs. Pollifax on Safari
Mrs. Pollifax on Safari
by Dorothy Gilman 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 100
vote
53
Marabou Stork Nightmares
Marabou Stork Nightmares
by Irvine Welsh 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 100
vote
53
The Shadow of Kilimanjaro
The Shadow of Kilimanjaro
by Rick Ridgeway 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 100
vote
53
Ghosts of Tsavo: Tracking the Mythic Lions of East Africa
Ghosts of Tsavo: Tracking the Mythic Lions of E...
by Phillip Caputo 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 100
vote
53
Traversa: A Solo Walk Across Africa, from the Skeleton Coast to the Indian Ocean
Traversa: A Solo Walk Across Africa, from the S...
by Fran Sandham 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 100
vote
53
Livingstone's Tribe: A Journey from Zanzibar to the Cape
Livingstone's Tribe: A Journey from Zanzibar to...
by Stephen Taylor 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 100
vote
53
Footprints in the Sand
Footprints in the Sand
by Sarah Challis 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 100
vote
53
Amkoullel, l'enfant Peul
Amkoullel, l'enfant Peul
by Amadou Hampâté Bâ 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 100
vote
61
Camping With the Prince and Other Tales of Science in Africa
Camping With the Prince and Other Tales of Scie...
by Thomas A. Bass 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 99
vote
61
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa
by Peter Godwin 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 99
vote
61
Devil on the Cross
Devil on the Cross
by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 99
vote
61
Splendid Outcast: Beryl Markham's African Stories
Splendid Outcast: Beryl Markham's African Stories
by Beryl Markham 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 99
vote
61
A Story Like the Wind
A Story Like the Wind
by Laurens van der Post 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 99
vote
66
Cheetah Chase
Cheetah Chase
by Karin Mcquillan 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 98
vote
66
Twentieth-Century South Africa
Twentieth-Century South Africa
by William Beinart 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 98
vote
66
Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter
Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter
by J. Nozipo Maraire 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 98
vote
66
Jonathan Scott's Safari Guide to East African Birds
Jonathan Scott's Safari Guide to East African B...
by Jonathan Scott, Angela Scott 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 98
vote
70
Jonathan Scott's Safari Guide to East African Animals
Jonathan Scott's Safari Guide to East African A...
by Jonathan Scott, Angela Scott 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 97
vote
70
The Last Summer of Reason: A Novel
The Last Summer of Reason: A Novel
by Tahar Djaout 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 97
vote
70
The Blue Nile
The Blue Nile
by Alan Moorehead 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 97
vote
70
Mark of the Lion
Mark of the Lion
by Suzanne Arruda 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 97
vote
70
A Man of the People
A Man of the People
by Chinua Achebe 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 97
vote
70
A Sport of Nature
A Sport of Nature
by Nadine Gordimer 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 97
vote
76
Anthills of the Savannah
Anthills of the Savannah
by Chinua Achebe 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 96
vote
76
Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography--The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa
Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography--The True Story of...
by Mark Mathabane 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 96
vote
78
I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation
I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed ...
by Michela Wrong 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 95
vote
78
The Lake Regions of Central Africa: From Zanzibar to Lake Tanganyika
The Lake Regions of Central Africa: From Zanzib...
by Richard Francis Burton 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 95
vote
78
Girls at War
Girls at War
by Chinua Achebe 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 95
vote
81
A Grain of Wheat
A Grain of Wheat
by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 94
vote
81
Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa
Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa
by Peter Godwin 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 94
vote
81
The Pale Abyssinian
The Pale Abyssinian
by Miles Bredin 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 94
vote
84
Life and Times of Michael K
Life and Times of Michael K
by J.M. Coetzee 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 93
vote
84
A Dry White Season
A Dry White Season
by André P. Brink 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 93
vote
86
There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children
There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey...
by Melissa Fay Greene 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 92
vote
87
The Marabi Dance
The Marabi Dance
by Modikwe Dikobe 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 91
vote
87
Hotel Rwanda: Bringing the True Story of an African Hero to Film
Hotel Rwanda: Bringing the True Story of an Afr...
by Terry George 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 91
vote
87
Midaq Alley
Midaq Alley
by Naguib Mahfouz 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 91
vote
90
Lemonas Tale
Lemonas Tale
by Ken Saro-Wiwa 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 90
vote
90
Me Against My Brother: At War in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda
Me Against My Brother: At War in Somalia, Sudan...
by Scott Peterson 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 90
vote
90
Children of the Alley: A Novel
Children of the Alley: A Novel
by Naguib Mahfouz 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 90
vote
93
In the Land of Magic Soldiers: A Story of White and Black in West Africa
In the Land of Magic Soldiers: A Story of White...
by Daniel Bergner 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 89
vote
93
Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth A Novel
Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth A Novel
by Naguib Mahfouz 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 89
vote
95
The Collected Poetry
The Collected Poetry
by Leopold Sedar Senghor, Melvin Dixon 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 88
vote
95
Child of Happy Valley: A Memoir
Child of Happy Valley: A Memoir
by Juanita Carberry, Nicola Tyrer 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 88
vote
95
Three Novels of Ancient Egypt Khufu's Wisdom, Rhadopis of Nubia, Thebes at War
Three Novels of Ancient Egypt Khufu's Wisdom, R...
by Naguib Mahfouz 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 88
vote
98
Petals of Blood
Petals of Blood
by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 87
vote
99
The Colonizer and the Colonized
The Colonizer and the Colonized
by Albert Memmi 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 85
vote
99
Green Hills of Africa
Green Hills of Africa
by Ernest Hemingway 1 person voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
score: 85
vote
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people who voted on this list (86)

Ashley
Ashley
118 books
0 friends
Miriam
Miriam
5532 books
43 friends
Rob & Liz
Rob & Liz
131 books
8 friends
Connie
Connie
32 books
5 friends
Angry Baby Dinosaur
Angry Baby Dinosaur
186 books
0 friends
Themis-Athena
Themis-Athena
2052 books
57 friends
Canary
Canary
1091 books
23 friends
Juliane
Juliane
516 books
23 friends

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post a comment »
comments (showing 1-4 of 4) (4 new)

dateDown_arrow    newest »

message 1: by Otis (new)
Jun 09, 2008 11:51AM

1 I started this list because I'm going to Africa soon and want some good recommendations!


message 2: by MICHAEL (new)
Jun 11, 2008 02:54PM

73 well, we need to launch this feature in the next few weeks then


message 3: by Ali (new)
Jun 20, 2008 11:28PM

916665 booooo to heart of darkness.

how about some books actually written by african authors? or contemporary writers?


message 4: by Otis (new)
Jul 23, 2008 11:53AM

1 On my Africa Safari I found and read my new favorite for this list: The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior. Written by a local Maasai, and a great glimpse into their culture.


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