Kenya

In the years when Africa remained for Europeans a romantic and formidable continent accessible only through accounts from colonists, Isak Dinesen (the Danish countess Karen Blixen) had the great good fortune to run a coffee plantation in Kenya. Also an Oscar-winning motion picture, this audiobook presents the portrait of a strong, determined, sensitive woman on whom a rich, dramatic landscape and way of life made deep impressions. Dinesen's love for Africa and the Africans who worked on her land is brought to life in an outstanding reading by Julie Harris. 2 cassettes.

Beryl Markham moved to Kenya with her father at the age of four and stayed until her death. Her incredible autobiography describes the Africa she learnt to love; her childhood surrounded by the tribal people and her tangles with the wild animals. Markham achieved notoriety and success as a horse trainer, and became the first woman in Kenya to receive a commercial pilot's licence. Her adventures and courageous career as a bush pilot are recounted in vivid detail here.

“Here is a man who suffers so his readers can laugh.” — Daily Telegraph

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.

A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year
An O, The Oprah Magazine #1 Terrific Read

In an age of bolters—women who broke the rules and fled their marriages—Idina Sackville was the most celebrated of them all. Her relentless affairs, wild sex parties, and brazen flaunting of convention shocked high society and inspired countless writers and artists, from Nancy Mitford to Greta Garbo. But Idina’s compelling charm masked the pain of betrayal and heartbreak.
 
Now Frances Osborne explores the life of Idina, her enigmatic great-grandmother, using letters, diaries, and family legend, following her from Edwardian London to the hills of Kenya, where she reigned over the scandalous antics of the “Happy Valley Set.” Dazzlingly chic yet warmly intimate, The Bolter is a fascinating look at a woman whose energy still burns bright almost a century later.

In January 2003, Kenya was hailed as a model of democracy after the peaceful election of its new president, Mwai Kibaki. By appointing respected longtime reformer John Githongo as anticorruption czar, the new Kikuyu government signaled its determination to end the corrupt practices that had tainted the previous regime. Yet only two years later, Githongo himself was on the run, having secretly compiled evidence of official malfeasance throughout the new administration. Unable to remain silent, Githongo, at great personal risk, made the painful choice to go public. The result was a Kenyan Watergate.

Michela Wrong's account of how a pillar of the establishment turned whistle-blower—becoming simultaneously one of the most hated and admired men in Kenya—grips like a political thriller while probing the very roots of the continent's predicament.

Here is the definitive guide to the birds of Kenya and, indeed, to all of Eastern Africa. For the first time, each of the 1,114 species of the region is described and illustrated. This long-awaited book includes detailed information for every species, including appearance, plumage, vocalization, habits, status, and distribution, as well as detailed treatments of habitats and ranges. The product of more than ten years of development and field testing, Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania renders obsolete all other guides to the area.

The Republic of Kenya is home to more bird species than any other African nation, with the exception of Zaire, which has a land area four times greater than that of Kenya. This book serves as both a handbook and a field guide to this fascinating region--one that will meet the needs of professional ornithologists and amateur birders alike. It is the only guide to this region that is truly comprehensive. In 112 color plates and numerous line drawings, every one of Kenya's 1,080 bird species is illustrated. In addition, 34 species from northern Tanzania are illustrated and described. In all, approximately 90 percent of Tanzania's birds are included, as are more than 85 percent of the birds of Uganda and a majority of all species endemic to the entire area.

"In East Africa, where Kenya alone boasts nearly 1,100 species, scarcely more than half are figured in the most widely used field guide. Because there has been so much guesswork by traveling birders about the hundreds of unfigured species, a superb team has finally done something about it and filled the gap. There will be no more guesswork.... The present volume should be hailed not only by birders but by conservationists aware of the urgent need for African governments to establish strong strategies to preserve their rich natural heritage."--From the foreword by Roger Tory Peterson