African Wildlife & Environment Issue 81

GOOD READS

unsustainably high elephant numbers in Botswana, for example. There is no index, but at the end of the book is a list of suggested 'further reading' as well as a list of contacts for each of the countries. The authors provide a rationale for not including Angola and Mozambique in their guide. Angola's parks and protected areas are still in a shambles following years of civil war. Mozambique was likewise affected, but its protected areas are making a slow recovery, with Gorongosa leading the pack, and several other important areas being rehabilitated through the work of the Peace Parks Foundation. Hopefully the Stuarts will be able to compile a guide to Mozambique's protected areas in a few years' time.

Mana Pools, Hwange, Kafue and Nyika. The book is organised by country, covers some 50 conservation areas, and for each includes: • Detailed descriptions of the history, geology, climate, vegetation and wildlife; • Annotated park maps, indicating places of interest and the best sites to view key species; • Text panels featuring each park's highlights, facilities and activities, wildlife facts and important alerts; and • A concise photographic gallery of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and trees, for quick identification of commonly seen species. Browsing through this lovely little book, one is struck by the excellent quality of the maps, the photographs and the content. The authors do not avoid mentioning the threats to the protected areas posed by population growth, the encroachment of agriculture and poaching, and the

THE WONDERS OF DESERT L IFE : A COMPELL ING, IN-DEPTH READ THE LIVING DESERTS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA Barry Lovegrove

A DEFINITIVE NEW EDITION OF A CLASSIC AVAILABLE AT LEADING BOOKSTORES NATIONWIDE & ONLINE

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6 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 81 (2022)