Adventuring in Southern Africa: The Great Safaris and Wildlife Parks of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Malawi, Lesotho, and Swaziland

Rating:
Summary: Verbose and superficial: a waste of money
Review: ...I bought this book to make plans for a trip to Zambia but the chapter about this country is only 40 pages long, both verbose and superficial. Don't get fooled by the "Adventuring" in the title, unless your idea of adventure is to hop by plane from lodge to lodge at $200 or $300 a night. More importantly, except for the park entrance fees, this book doesn't list any price at all (I got them from two other, excellent, travel guides). Comments on cheaper accomodations are few and disenchanted. The maps are equally few and over-simplified (the roads don't even appear!...) Finally, I looked at the chapters about the other countries and it certainly didn't change my opinion about this book. Note also that the date of the last edition (October 97) makes it relatively outdated.

Rating:
Summary: Verbose and superficial: a waste of money
Review: ...I bought this book to make plans for a trip to Zambia but the chapter about this country is only 40 pages long, both verbose and superficial. Don't get fooled by the "Adventuring" in the title, unless your idea of adventure is to hop by plane from lodge to lodge at $200 or $300 a night. More importantly, except for the park entrance fees, this book doesn't list any price at all (I got them from two other, excellent, travel guides). Comments on cheaper accomodations are few and disenchanted. The maps are equally few and over-simplified (the roads don't even appear!...) Finally, I looked at the chapters about the other countries and it certainly didn't change my opinion about this book. Note also that the date of the last edition (October 97) makes it relatively outdated.

Rating:
Summary: Verbose and superficial: a waste of money
Review: ...I bought this book to make plans for a trip to Zambia but the chapter about this country is only 40 pages long, both verbose and superficial. Don't get fooled by the "Adventuring" in the title, unless your idea of adventure is to hop by plane from lodge to lodge at $200 or $300 a night. More importantly, except for the park entrance fees, this book doesn't list any price at all (I got them from two other, excellent, travel guides). Comments on cheaper accomodations are few and disenchanted. The maps are equally few and over-simplified (the roads don't even appear!...) Finally, I looked at the chapters about the other countries and it certainly didn't change my opinion about this book. Note also that the date of the last edition (October 97) makes it relatively outdated.

Rating:
Summary: A must if you plan to visit Southern Africa
Review: Prior to my trip, I purchased 4 travel books on Southern Africa then found this guidebook at the Miami airport. It was by far the most accurate and contained all the "need to know" information. Unlike the others, it contained excellent hotel and activity descriptions plus gave detailed information on each region. Sure you want to know some local history but I'm more interested in where to stay, where to eat and what things I can do. At the end of the trip, I left my first 4 guidebooks in Botswana and brought this one home!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding and thorough book about South Africa
Review: This book is an outstanding resource to be read prior to traveling to South Africa. It covers many different aspects of what the experience will entail. These include the history, etiquette, positives and negatives of each type of travel, various diseases and safety precautions one should take. In addition, he thoroughly delivers every aspect of each south african country...ie. countryside, animals, weather, and history. This book in interesting, exciting, and educational!

Rating:
Summary: Most comprehensive book on southern Africa
Review: This book is full of interesting and pertinent travel information; it is a MUST for anyone interested in game-viewing and travelling in southern Africa. The author gives best times to travel depending on what you want to see, and for each country, lists brief history/present politics, places to stay--easily accessible to remote--and how to get there and what you may see. He also gives a comprehensive packing list, medical info, and tips on game viewing. Out of the 4 books I bought on southern Africa, this is the one I referred to most often. This book, coupled with The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals, is an invaluable southern Africa traveller's necessity.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent sourcebook on animals and Southern Africa
Review: This is a very well researched book and in-depth book that reviews all the parks, animals, flora, and areas of Southern Africa. There is great information on lodges, hotels and campsites. What I really liked about the book is that it gives a lot more information about the above, and about the cultures and people of the regions than do most travel "guides." I also had the opportunity to see the author, Allen Bechky, speak. He is definitely knowledgeable on the subjects. His slides, enthusiam, and the information in the book all make me wish I were in Southern Africa right now!