Who are your favorite "Africana" authors?

[PerH]

I second Frantz Rosenberg...but his african book was only printed in norwegian...pity really, the book is very good with abundant photography...in 1913-14..

Else...so many....loved Jose´ Pardals book on elephant hunting..

It can be read on nb.no, sadly only for Norwegian ips.
Wish someone would translate into English that one.

I also got Kronprintz Wilhellms hunt book, but i dont read Gothic print somgood as ordinary letters .

 

[Firebird]

This is heavily dependent on what you consider “Africana”-I can’t say I have a favorite, I enjoy most for one reason or another-but will add this book to the list as I just finished it while Waiting to pick up my son at school. Lots of good stuff in here.

 

[Opposite Pole]

William York and his “Out in the Midday Shade”

 

[Mort Hill]

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading literally dozens of Wilbur Smith’s novels. Wonderful African history based fiction that is entertaining as well as intriguing.

 

[meigsbucks]

Ruark: Have read Horn of the Hunter several times.
Bell
Capstick: His writing draws you in.
Boddington: Purely informational From a modern viewpoint

 

[Daveboone]

Ruark. I think I would have enjoyed sharing a fire with him. Hemingway....not so much, but a great writer. I just wish Ruark was with us another twenty years or so.

 

[Firebird]

I just bought my first Wilbur smith book from a bookstore in the jburg airport in August. Finished it last night. Lots of fun, I need to start over and read them in some sort of order!

 

[Dewald]

This is heavily dependent on what you consider “Africana”-I can’t say I have a favorite, I enjoy most for one reason or another-but will add this book to the list as I just finished it while Waiting to pick up my son at school. Lots of good stuff in here.View attachment 489974

Very good book. Easy light read.

2. Months of the sun - Nychens
3. Baron in Africa - Brian Marsh about Werner von Alvensleben
4. A pionering hunter - Brian Marsh
5. The Hunting Imperative- Harland
6. Kambada, the story of Paul Grobler - Harland
7. Last of the ivory hunters - Wally Johnson/ Capstick
8 White Bushmen - Peter Stark
9. Kambaku - Harry Manners
10. Selous - hunter’s wanderings, sunshine and storm etc
11. Bell - karamojo Safari, Bell of Africa, wanderings of a elephant hunter
12. How not to hunt pigs- Bruce truter
13. Kevin Thomas - shadows in sn African twilights and his short story bundles
14. Warrior, the legend of col Righard Meinherzhagen - Capstick
15. West with the night - Beryl Markham
16. Out of Africa - Karen Blixen
17. Velwagter - Hannes Kloppers (in Afrikaans but the fantastic tale of one of the first and toughest rangers in KNP)
18. Kobus de Kok - “breath of feathers”, “feathers on my mind and” “In feathered quest”
19. Nino Burchelli - under a hunters moon
20. Jan Oelose - capture to be free
21. Wayne Michael Grant - “Into the thorns” and “Drums of the morning”

So many others I cant think of…

 

[rigbymauser]

I am not so strong in african books, but I do have them here & there. I am more for India. Maybe I should start having more focus on "Africa"..

Two books I must have is "Tarzan" and "King solomons mines". these two stories created the "african adventure" in me. I have a few books by Henry M Stanley somewhere....I must clean up one day and start a catalog(file).

 

[Josh P]

You have some fantastic editions there. Some of those archery related titles are getting very difficult to source.

 

[baxterb]

@rigbymauser great to see the Swinehart books. He also led an interesting life, although very sad at the end.

 

[rigbymauser]

@rigbymauser great to see the Swinehart books. He also led an interesting life, although very sad at the end.

Yes...

It was said his wife was right down crazy. Bob shot himself with a .243Win in his office.

I knew the former owner of " With Swinehart in Africa". He passed away some years back. I have some letters from Bob he wrote to my friend.

 

[baxterb]

Yes...

It was said his wife was right down crazy. Bob shot himself with a .243Win in his office.

I knew the former owner of " With Swinehart in Africa". He passed away some years back. I have some letters from Bob he wrote to my friend.

as I understand she was also anti-hunting.

I knew a guy who married an anti-hunter once. He wondered why his life became an absolute disaster afterwards.

 

[Sthoko]

A picture of my little Africa collection.
From left to right: the perfect shot, Safari arms and ammunition by Frank Lau, the temple tiger and leopards by Corbett, Auf Safari ( a collection of german speaking hunters), buffalo under the southern cross by Wolfgang Robert, the men-eaters of Tsavo by Patterson, the green hills of Africa by Hemingway, out of Africa by Blixen. And then also Ruark,Bell,Anderson,Capstick,Taylor, Mattenklodt and Moldzio.
Every book is in german excluding the perfect shot. ( i learned english at school, so my writing is not that good)

 

[rinehart0050]

I second all the votes for Ruark's Horn of the Hunter. Best entree to Africana hands down.

If you're interested in diving into the deep end, I recommend picking up a copy of Kenneth P. Czech's Annotated Bibliography of African Big Game Hunting Books (1785-1950). This more or less covers the Golden era of African safari literature:

It also includes convenient summaries of each book's subject matter:

In addition to Ruark, I really like the books Chronicles of an African Trip and Chronicles of a Second African Trip by George Eastman (founder of Eastman Kodak) the first book was distributed as a gift to his employees. The second book was published recently after his notes and letters of the second trip were rediscovered by his museum.

Another good one is Denatured Africa by Streeter- a humorous telling of a safari in Kenya.

For a good story of some more recent hunting, 70s-early 2000s, I'd recommend the two books by Steve Christenson released by Safari Press. First tells of his pursuit of the Big 5. Second book tells of his efforts to bag all of the spiral horns, as well as an unguided exploratory hunt in Angola. Titles are "From the Okavango to the Plains of East Africa" and "From the Congo Basin to the Highlands of Ethiopia" respectively.

And two final suggestions, since I saw @Sthoko posting some German books: First, Wilhelm Kuhnert's book "Im Lande meinere Modelle," which in addition to featuring many of his wonderful paintings and sketches, tells of his time in Africa hunting and sketching the wildlife.

And a final German recommendation is for Kai-Uwe Denker, famed Namibian hunter of big tuskers, "Entlang des Jaeger's Pfad." Also occasionally available in English "Along the Hunter's Path."

 

[rinehart0050]

I am not so strong in african books, but I do have them here & there. I am more for India. Maybe I should start having more focus on "Africa"..

Two books I must have is "Tarzan" and "King solomons mines". these two stories created the "african adventure" in me. I have a few books by Henry M Stanley somewhere....I must clean up one day and start a catalog(file).

View attachment 490869View attachment 490870View attachment 490871View attachment 490872View attachment 490873View attachment 490874View attachment 490875View attachment 490876View attachment 490877View attachment 490878View attachment 490879View attachment 490880

That's a fine collection of mostly first editions by the looks of them that you have there! Very nice!

 

[steve white]

I am not so strong in african books, but I do have them here & there. I am more for India. Maybe I should start having more focus on "Africa"..

Two books I must have is "Tarzan" and "King solomons mines". these two stories created the "african adventure" in me. I have a few books by Henry M Stanley somewhere....I must clean up one day and start a catalog(file).

View attachment 490869View attachment 490870View attachment 490871View attachment 490872View attachment 490873View attachment 490874View attachment 490875View attachment 490876View attachment 490877View attachment 490878View attachment 490879View attachment 490880

Looks like a lot of great first editions. Well done, sir.