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Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands: Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Seychelles and the Comoros Olivier Langrand, Ian Sinclair Following in the format of Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, this guide presents all the birds of Madagascar and the other Indian Ocean islands (Seychelles, Reunion, Mauritius and Mascarenes), a great many species of which are endemic to these islands. In field guide form, this text presents concise descriptions of each species, highlighting diagnostic features for ease of identification. Differences between sexes and plumages are discussed as well as the status of the bird, its habitat and call. Distribution maps accompany each entry. The birds are illustrated in full color and where necessary are depicted in all plumages relevant to identification (male, female and immature). In-flight illustrations present the bird from above and below, providing comprehensive coverage of the birds in the field. |
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A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands: Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion and the Comoros Fanja Andriamialisoa, Ian Sinclair, Olivier Langrand This photographic guide depicts a selection of the most commonly encountered and striking bird species of Madagascar, the Seychelles, the Comoros, and the Mascarenes - a region boasting high levels of endemism. The species accounts cover the birds' appearance, basic behaviour, preferred habitats, and geographical distribution. Each species account enjoys a full page which features a color photograph, distribution map, and text in English and French. |
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Hunting Pirate Heaven Kevin Rushby This acclaimed book is travel writing at its entertaining and hair-raising best. Kevin Rushby set out to find the lost pirate settlements that once existed on the islands and atolls of the Indian Ocean. Hitching rides on a motley assortment of vessels, he sails up the African coast, then east, to locate the descendants of the legendary sixteenth-century pirates who carved out kingdoms in the jungles of Madagascar. Along the way, Rushby meets up with the crackpot dreamers, tough settlers, the fighters and the failures who live on the islands now. This is a romantic story in the old-fashioned sense, full of adventure and colour. |
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When the White House Calls: From Immigrant Entrepreneur to U.S. Ambassador John Price When the White House Calls tells the life story of John Price, one of Utah’s most prominent citizens, beginning with his birth in Germany through his years as a successful builder and real estate developer—with business interests in broadcasting, manufacturing, distribution, and banking—to his life as a diplomat. Born in Berlin on August 18, 1933, Hans Joachim Praiss was five years old when he and his family fled Nazi Germany in April 1939. The family found temporary refuge in Panama, finally arriving at Ellis Island in September 1940 and settling in New York City. Following the advice of a professor at CCNY, Price traveled west to fulfill a geology fieldwork course requirement, but upon seeing the snow-capped mountains surrounding Salt Lake City, knew he would stay. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering from the University of Utah in 1956. He practiced in that field before tiring of the often rigorous travel requirements and the desolate nature of the work. He soon turned to new opportunities. Years later, after operating successful business enterprises throughout the Intermountain region and nationally, and serving on numerous local, state, and national boards, Price had become the consummate entrepreneur, businessman, and community leader. He was ready to serve his country when the White House called. In February 2002 he was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mauritius, the Republic of Seychelles, and the Union of the Comoros, three Indian Ocean island nations off the east coast of Africa, where he served until 2005. In this telling autobiography, John Price focuses on his years as an ambassador and includes his thoughts on the future of sub-Saharan Africa. The account of his service as a diplomat offers readers a view of the daily life of an ambassador—the protocol for official meetings with heads of state, the routine of the office, the process of handling official communications, and the intricacies of diplomacy. More than that, in a world concerned with the global war on terror, he reflects on the three island nations where he served and on the region’s increasing strategic importance to the national security of the United States. In the years since the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the al-Qaeda movement has grown and its members have dispersed throughout the world, including the region known as the Horn of Africa and East Africa. Price calls attention to the vulnerability of sub-Saharan Africa as a haven for terrorists, and the critical need for our engagement of this desperate continent with economic development, health care, and education to counter this threat. His concern for this region of Africa is carefully articulated in the text, as well as in interviews (included as appendixes) with notable country leaders. When the White House Calls is a compelling story of the American Dream realized, and the importance of service to country. This is a book that will both educate and inspire young people, their mentors, and others, as they work to make a difference in the world.
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Lemurs of Madagascar and the Comoros: The Iucn Red Data Book (Publication / Iucn-WWF Plants Conservation Programme) Caroline S. Harcourt, Jane Thornback |
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Becoming the Other, Being Oneself: Constructing Identities in a Connected World Iain Walker The island of Ngazidja lies at the southern end of the monsoon wind system and its inhabitants, the Wangazidja, have participated in the trading networks of the Indian Ocean for two millennia. The enduring contacts between the Wangazidja and their trading partners have subjected them to a variety of social and cultural influences - from the Swahili coast, from the African hinterland, from the Arabian peninsula, from Indonesia and, more recently, from Europe. This book looks at the strategies called into play by Wangazidja in negotiating this encounter with the outside world; it discusses how they incorporate this variety of influences into their own social and cultural modes of practice while all the time remaining (in the words of one observer) 'authentic'. Drawing on the work of thinkers such as Theodor Adorno, Rene Girard and Michael Taussig, the author develops the theoretical concept of mimesis in an analysis of these transformations, increasingly relevant in the contemporary context of globalization, showing how firmly anchored social structures are able to incorporate what seem to be practices imitative of the Other. |
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Historical Dictionary of the Comoro Islands Martin Ottenheimer, Harriet Ottenheimer Islands of stark contrasts and complex syncretisms, the Comoros hold a major key to the history of the western Indian Ocean area. Recent archaeological studies have confirmed that the islands were a crossroads of the region. Extensive long-distance maritime trade was recorded in oral histories and is reflected today in the cultures of the Islands: a mix of Arabian, Asian, African, Malagasy, and European traits. The coelecanth (a fish once thought to have been extinct for seventy-five million years) can be caught. The Islands have attracted recent world-wide attention for the political activities of the notorious mercenary, Bob Denard.
This book is an authoritative introduction to the Comoro Islands; past and present. It is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the history, economics, cultures, languages, geography, geology, or politics of the Western Indian Ocean. |
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Indian Ocean: Five Island Countries (Area Handbook) |
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La Grande Comore, des sultans aux mercenaires (French Edition) Jean-Louis Guebourg |
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Let's Visit the Comores (Burke Books) D. E. Gould Describes the geography, history, people, and customs of the Comores. |