General Books - Page 2

A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons

Robert M. Sapolsky

Amazon Price: $10.20 List Price: $15.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Scribner Amazon Marketplace: 63 new & used starting at $5.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Professionals & Academics -> Scientists
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 71 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"I had never planned to become a savanna baboon when I grew up; instead, I had always assumed I would become a mountain gorilla," writes Robert Sapolsky in this witty and riveting chronicle of a scientist's coming-of-age in remote Africa.

An exhilarating account of Sapolsky's twenty-one-year study of a troop of rambunctious baboons in Kenya, A Primate's Memoir interweaves serious scientific observations with wry commentary about the challenges and pleasures of living in the wilds of the Serengeti -- for man and beast alike. Over two decades, Sapolsky survives culinary atrocities, gunpoint encounters, and a surreal kidnapping, while witnessing the encroachment of the tourist mentality on the farthest vestiges of unspoiled Africa. As he conducts unprecedented physiological research on wild primates, he becomes evermore enamored of his subjects -- unique and compelling characters in their own right -- and he returns to them summer after summer, until tragedy finally prevents him.

By turns hilarious and poignant, A Primate's Memoir is a magnum opus from one of our foremost science writers.

In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale

Amitav Ghosh

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Vintage Amazon Marketplace: 84 new & used starting at $6.70

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Ethnic & National -> Jewish
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Enjoyed immensely-have lived in the area 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I enjoyed this book immensely as I have lived and researched in the Kanara Coast of India where a main character in the book spends a great deal of his life and where there have been from early times trade relations with the Middle East. Although I have not researched in the Egypt I can relate to many research experiences of the author. It was a real treat for me. Martha B. Ashton-Sikora

Man in the Middle-East 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

If National Geographic stories reconstructing a stone-age human from its fossilized remains dug out of the ashes of a volcano (such as in physical anthropology) fail to engage your fascination, chances are that this story will seem more academic to you than the home work assignment to watch History Channel. I am one such history-averse person and the book was too slow to start. However, I finished it with a renewed respect for social anthropology and its relevance to the world we live in. The way a story of a 12th century Egyptian trader can be relevant to the social, cultural, political and business of our times is hard to ignore and not take heed of. Besides, it is fascinating to learn how a small set of information sources with varying degrees of reliability can be connected like dots that reveal the story of a 800 year old human life in all its aspects.

Some of the revelations in the book that left me agape were: the rich history of trade between Indian and Egypt that made a lasting impact on the evolution of both countries and her peoples; the complex way in which the social temper and cultural identity of a country are entrenched in religion, thus making religion the primary tool for governing powers to achieve political and business goals in ways that are irreversibly divisive; the power of a united few with a disruptive agenda over the divided many with a peaceful one.

Apparently, this book is part of the course reading for anthropology students at UC, Santa Cruz (and possibly many other universities worldwide), as I found out from a student sitting next to me in the plane. However, Amitav Ghosh's extensive research goes beyond anthropology and throws light on relevant topics of today such as Iraq & the Middle East, the cultural divide between Jewish, Muslims, Christians and Hindus, the Indian identity, and the massive social changes that conservative rural Muslims are grappling with.

Editorial Review:

As he searches for information about the life of an Indian slave in twelfth-century Egypt, the author, a Hindu, comes face to face with the Muslim world and culture of modern Egypt, in a narrative that juxtaposes ancient history and modern travelogue.

Frommer's Egypt

Matthew Carrington

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Frommers Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $13.36

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Travel -> Africa -> Egypt -> Cairo
Subjects -> Travel -> Africa -> Egypt -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Africa -> Egypt -> General AAS

Editorial Review:

America’s #1 bestselling travel series

Written by more than 175 outspoken travelers around the globe, Frommer’s Complete Guides help travelers experience places the way locals do.

• More annually updated guides than any other series

• 16-page color section and foldout map in all annual guides

• Outspoken opinions, exact prices, and suggested itineraries

• Dozens of detailed maps in an easy-to-read, two-color design

* In 2006, the number of visitors reached an all-time high of 9.1 million, a 5.5% increase from 2005, and the Egyptian Tourism Authority aims to increase visitors to 16 million by 2014
* More than 228,000 Americans visited Egypt in 2006, a 16% increase over prior year
* The U.S. ranks fourth in visitors to Egypt, while the U.K. is #1 with more than 1 million visitors in 2006
* Travel + Leisure featured Alexandria in their January 2007 "Where to Go Next" section
* Guide features an English-Arabic language glossary, plus an "Active Vacation Planner" that details the best places to go for sailing, diving, climbing, biking, and more

Tanzania (Country Guide)

Mary Fitzpatrick

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Lonely Planet Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $15.24

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Travel -> Africa -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Africa -> General AAS
Subjects -> Travel -> Reference & Tips -> Guidebooks

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The book is full of errors 2 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This is one of the worst editions of Lonely Planet books I've ever read.

The book is full of factual errors which probably is a result of poor research. I doubt that the researcher actually have been at some of the places, and that he has copied information from the Internet instead.

I traveled this summer in Tanzania, and ran into errors in this guidebook time and again. The Rough Guide was far more accurate, even though that book is two years older.

I can accept that phone numbers are wrong, given the constantly expansion and changes in the Tanzanian mobile phone system, but addresses should be right most of the time.

Further more, I can accept that travel times can't be relied upon as accurate in Africa, but if the journalist had actually travelled the distanses himself, he would have noticed things like:

Travel times for bus companies are given to the region, not necessarily the city it self. That can mean a lot of difference given that the regions are huge.

The slow ferry to Zanzibar does not take 3 hours as stated in the guide - however if you ask at the ticket office they will tell you that. The slow ferrys are all old freight boats with an extra deck, and they take between 6 till 8 hours on the entire journey.

Several restaurants in this edition do not exist, or haven't opened yet. Given the lack of information on the food and service I doubt that the journalist actually bothered to sit down to eat at the places mentioned in the book.

Shopping districts mentioned in the Dar es Salaam chapter does not contain the type of shops mentioned. For instance, there are virtually no curio or souvenir shops along the Samora avenue, even though the book claims there's a whole lot of them.

The research behind this book is just so bad that it can't be relied upon. Get the Rough Guide instead - it's much better!

Torstein

Editorial Review:

Discover Tanzania

Spy on vultures in their nests as you float over the Serengeti in a hot-air balloon
Watch villagers slip by along the shoreline as you cruise down Lake Tanganyika
Rest your elbow on a sack of vegetables as you rattle south on the Tazara train
Jump off a dhow into Zanzibar's warm shallows, and snorkel among shoals of fish

In This Guide:

Give something back: packed with community tourism spotlights and sustainable travel recommendations
Special chapters on trekking and safaris to help you choose the best operators
New color wildlife section with all the facts about both predators and prey

Bill Bryson's African Diary

Bill Bryson

Amazon Price: $9.41 List Price: $12.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Broadway Amazon Marketplace: 88 new & used starting at $2.50

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Travel
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 54 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A Brilliant Entry and for a Great Cause 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Bill Bryson is the funniest travel writer working today, I believe, and even when he takes on what is an unpleasant task - visiting one of the most depressed areas of the world in order to raise funds for CARE, he does it in a hilarious way.

In this short little book, Bryson not only shares with us his (by turns) funny and heartbreaking journey, we also get to meet some amazing people. The lady who works twelve-hour days in order to get a profit of some $7 or $8 - the farmer who has made a fantastic farm and is very proud of it - the villagers who come out to welcome the visitors with open arms because of a well that was built, eliminating the need for the women of the village to make a seven-hour roundtrip journey to the nearest water source. This is what it's all about - this is the magical work that CARE does with the funds that are donated.

Bryson is his usual, witty self, freely confessing that the homework he did in preparing for his trip was watching Out of Africa numerous times, and he thought that he was going to be on an estate being served coffee for most of the trip. The reality was somewhat different, but still far afield from what he expected. That I not only laughed out loud but insisted on reading choice bits aloud to my husband is a testament to the talent and humor that Bryson brings to everything he does.

Editorial Review:

Bill Bryson travels to Kenya in support of CARE International. All royalties and profits go to CARE International.

Bryson visits Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to eradicating poverty. Kenya is a land of contrasts, with famous game reserves and a vibrant culture. It also provides plenty to worry a traveller like Bill Bryson, fixated as he is on the dangers posed by snakes, insects and large predators. It is also a country with many serious problems: refugees, AIDS, drought, and grinding poverty. The resultant diary, though short in length, contains the trademark Bryson stamp of wry observation and curious insight.

Egypt - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette

Jailan Zayan

Amazon Price: $9.95 List Price: $9.95 Usually ships in 2 to 3 weeks By: Kuperard Amazon Marketplace: 12 new & used starting at $7.49

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Middle East -> Egypt
Subjects -> Reference -> Etiquette -> General
Subjects -> Reference -> Etiquette -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.

Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include


* customs, values, and traditions
* historical, religious, and political background
* life at home
* leisure, social, and cultural life
* eating and drinking
* do's, don'ts, and taboos
* business practices
* communication, spoken and unspoken


"Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel

"... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel

"...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer

"...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine

"...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times

The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca

Tahir Shah

Amazon Price: $10.40 List Price: $13.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Bantam Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $4.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Africa -> General
Subjects -> History -> Africa -> General AAS
Subjects -> Travel -> Africa -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 48 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the tradition of A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, acclaimed English travel writer Tahir Shah shares a highly entertaining account of making an exotic dream come true. By turns hilarious and harrowing, here is the story of his family’s move from the gray skies of London to the sun-drenched city of Casablanca, where Islamic tradition and African folklore converge–and nothing is as easy as it seems….

Inspired by the Moroccan vacations of his childhood, Tahir Shah dreamed of making a home in that astonishing country. At age thirty-six he got his chance. Investing what money he and his wife, Rachana, had, Tahir packed up his growing family and bought Dar Khalifa, a crumbling ruin of a mansion by the sea in Casablanca that once belonged to the city’s caliph, or spiritual leader.

With its lush grounds, cool, secluded courtyards, and relaxed pace, life at Dar Khalifa seems sure to fulfill Tahir’s fantasy–until he discovers that in many ways he is farther from home than he imagined. For in Morocco an empty house is thought to attract jinns, invisible spirits unique to the Islamic world. The ardent belief in their presence greatly hampers sleep and renovation plans, but that is just the beginning. From elaborate exorcism rituals involving sacrificial goats to dealing with gangster neighbors intent on stealing their property, the Shahs must cope with a new culture and all that comes with it.

Endlessly enthralling, The Caliph’s House charts a year in the life of one family who takes a tremendous gamble. As we follow Tahir on his travels throughout the kingdom, from Tangier to Marrakech to the Sahara, we discover a world of fierce contrasts that any true adventurer would be thrilled to call home.


From the Hardcover edition.

Kilimanjaro: The Trekking Guide to Africa's Highest Mountain - 2nd Edition; Now includes Mount Meru

Henry Stedman

Amazon Price: $19.55 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Trailblazer Publications Amazon Marketplace: 30 new & used starting at $11.36

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Mountain Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> General
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Kilimanjaro Climbing Resources 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I purchased the Second Edition (September 2006) of "Kilimanjaro: The Trekking Guide to Africa's Highest Mountain" in July 2007. Within a week (as I was sitting on airplanes far too often and had time to read), I had read the 300+ page book cover to cover.

The book is excellent, informative, and often humorous. The trail descriptions are detailed and precise, and the other guidance (medical, financial, logistical) is essential. With a little effort, I matched the trail descriptions to a superb map that I purchased at the same time and quickly gained an understanding of the various routes, options, outfitters, and issues. (The map is "Kilimanjaro Map," scale 1:62,500, 3rd edition, ITMB Publishing.)

One comment: there are many trails (or potential trail combinations) offered by the various outfitters and trekking agencies on Kilimanjaro, so you will likely find yourself flipping back and forth through the book to follow YOUR route. Give yourself time to absorb the book thoroughly. And be prepared with your highlighter and notepad close at hand so that you can identify the portions of the book most relevant to your specific route and itinerary.

If you're considering a climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro, or have a friend or family member considering doing so, you will find this book to be very useful.

Editorial Review:

"Kilimanjaro is a snow covered mountain 19,710 feet high, and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called the Masai ‘Ngà’je Ngài’, the House of God. Close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude."--Ernest Hemingway in the preamble to The Snows of Kilimanjaro The best and easiest way to see and experience this exciting place is to do it with this guide! Kilimanjaro A Trekking Guide contains a comprehensive trail guide, including 35 maps, that will make the experience of mountain climbing possible for even the most novice climbers. The guide includes tips on trip planning, where to eat/sleep, city guides, and it also includes a section on background information (flora and fauna, geology, history, and the culture of the Chagga people who live there).

Morocco (Country Guide)

Paul Clammer

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Not yet published By: Lonely Planet

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Travel -> Africa -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Africa -> General AAS
Subjects -> Travel -> Reference & Tips -> Guidebooks

Editorial Review:

Discover Morocco

Take in the spectacle of Marrakesh's Djemaa el-Fna then dive into the drama of the city's labyrinthine souqs
Scrunch your toes into the Sahara while the sun sets over the Erg Chigaga dunes
Aspire to having the steady hands of a maalem as you weave your own Moroccan carpet
Witness flamingos take flight as a local guide navigates your boat around Merdja Zerga lake

In This Guide:

Four authors, 136 days of in-country research, 98 detailed maps, six camel rides
Color arts and crafts chapter with shopping tips and an index of traveler workshops
A former Moroccan tour guide heads up our team of expert authors in revealing the true Morocco
Content updated daily - visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-the-minute reviews, updates and traveler insights

Fodor's The Complete African Safari Planner, 1st Edition: With Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa & Tanzania (Full-Color Gold Guides)

Fodor's

Amazon Price: $18.45 List Price: $27.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Fodor's Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $16.97

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Science -> Biological Sciences -> Ecology -> Animal Ecology
Subjects -> Science -> Biological Sciences -> Ecology -> General
Subjects -> Science -> Biological Sciences -> Ecology -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

FODOR’S THE COMPLETE AFRICAN SAFARI PLANNER

Everything You Need to Plan the Adventure of a Lifetime

Fodor’s full-color travel guide can help make your trip to Africa unforgettable with 8 pages of detailed maps, magazine-style illustrated features, 125 stunning photos, and all the practical information you need.

Customize your trip with simple planning tools
Options that fit your travel preferences such as field-tested itineraries and ideas for making the most of your time and easy-to-read color regional maps

Explore South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, and beyond

Discerning Fodor’s Choice picks for hotels, restaurants, sights, and more

“Word of Mouth” tips from fellow Fodor’s travelers

Illustrated features on The Cradle of Mankind, Safari Tipping, and Kenya's Tribes

Recommendations for everything from helicopter rides over Victorias Falls to the Big 5 on Safari and Zulu essentials to bridge the language barrier

Expert opinions, gorgeous photos and graphics

Fodor’s African-based writers reveal their favorite local haunts

Quick and easy to browse with sidebars and key points in full color

Frequently updated to provide the most up-to-date information

“Fodor’s has emerged this year as our fave guidebook series for insider tips about things you actually want to know.” — Miami Herald

“Hipped up…with colorful maps and graphics, plus advice on a broader ranger of attractions, from classic to quirky.” — Outside Magazine

Fodors.com
Find great deals, book a trip, and share your travel tales

Fodor's. For choice travel experiences.