Discover Africa Through Books
Africa rewards travelers who arrive with curiosity. Across this vast and varied continent, ancient traditions, thriving cities, extraordinary wildlife, and dramatic landscapes exist side by side. Watch great herds move across Tanzania’s Serengeti, stand above Cape Town from the summit of Table Mountain, or drift through Botswana’s Okavango Delta as elephants gather along the water’s edge. Farther north, the Sahara stretches beyond the horizon, while the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela reveal centuries of faith and human ingenuity.
Yet Africa’s most memorable experiences are often found beyond its most famous sights. They emerge in the markets of Marrakech, in the music-filled streets of Dakar, over a shared meal in Ghana, or amid the restless energy of Lagos. Travelers might explore the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, feel the spray of Victoria Falls, or swim among coral reefs off Zanzibar. Every country offers its own histories, languages, flavors, and ways of seeing the world. Africa is not a single story or a single journey, but a continent of remarkable contrasts—one that invites deeper understanding and leaves travelers changed long after they return home.
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On Safari
Travel Writing & Culture
Out of Africa, by Karen Blixen
Out of Africa, a memoir by Danish author Karen Blixen, published under the pen name Isak Dinesen, vividly recounts the years she spent running a coffee plantation in Kenya in the early decades of the 20th century. Rather than following a conventional narrative, the book unfolds as a series of memories, portraits and reflections on the people, landscapes and experiences that shaped Blixen’s life in Africa. Her lyrical prose captures the vastness of the Kenyan countryside, the rhythms of life on the farm and her relationships with the local communities around her, while also reflecting the complicated realities of the colonial world in which she lived. Blixen writes with particular affection about the beauty of the land and the individuals she came to know, giving the memoir a deeply personal and often elegiac quality. The book became an enduring classic of travel and autobiographical literature and later inspired the acclaimed 1985 film directed by Sydney Pollack. Starring Meryl Streep as Blixen and Robert Redford as Denys Finch Hatton, the film brought her story to an even wider audience and won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Dark Star Safari, by Paul Theroux
Paul Theroux's Dark Star Safari is a sweeping account of his overland journey from Cairo to Cape Town, traveling through eastern Africa by train, bus, truck, boat and whatever other transportation he can find. The trip is also a return of sorts for Theroux, who had lived and worked in Africa decades earlier as a Peace Corps volunteer, giving the book an unusually personal perspective on the continent and the changes he encounters along the way. Moving through countries including Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi, Theroux combines sharp observation with history, politics, humor and candid conversations with the people he meets. He can be skeptical and provocative, particularly in his criticism of foreign aid and development organizations, but those strong opinions are part of what gives the book its energy. Widely regarded as one of Theroux’s finest travel books, Dark Star Safari is both an ambitious African journey and a thoughtful reflection on a place that has shaped much of his life. Click here to see our full review of Dark Star Safari.
Green Hills of Africa, by Ernest Hemingway
Green Hills of Africa is Ernest Hemingway’s account of a month-long safari in East Africa, blending travel writing, memoir and hunting narrative into a book that feels unmistakably Hemingway. Traveling through what was then Tanganyika with his wife Pauline and a group of guides, Hemingway writes about the pursuit of kudu and other big game, but the book is about far more than the hunt itself. He reflects on competition, masculinity, fear, ambition and the craft of writing, often moving from descriptions of the African landscape into candid observations about literature and his own place within it. His spare, muscular prose gives the book much of its power, capturing the heat, dust, long stretches of waiting and sudden bursts of excitement that define the safari. Modern readers may find its celebration of trophy hunting difficult, and that tension is impossible to separate from the book today, but Green Hills of Africa remains a fascinating portrait of both a particular era of travel and of Hemingway himself. Less famous than novels such as The Sun Also Rises and The Old Man and the Sea, it nevertheless offers some of his most revealing nonfiction, combining striking descriptions of the East African landscape with an unusually direct look at the obsessions, insecurities and competitive instincts of one of the 20th century’s most influential writers.
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Chasing the Devil, by Tim Butcher
In Chasing the Devil, Tim Butcher follows in the footsteps of Graham Greene across Liberia and Sierra Leone, retracing the difficult journey Greene made through West Africa in the 1930s. Butcher’s route takes him through dense forests, remote villages and regions still deeply scarred by years of civil war, and the result is far more than a straightforward travelogue. He blends history, politics and personal observation with the physical challenges of the journey, using Greene’s earlier travels as a way to measure just how much the region has changed—and how much of its troubled past still lingers. Butcher writes with curiosity and restraint, allowing the people he meets and the landscapes he crosses to carry much of the story. The book can be sobering at times, but it is also adventurous, thoughtful and deeply atmospheric, offering a vivid portrait of a part of West Africa rarely encountered in mainstream travel writing.
A Long Way Down, by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman
Long Way Down chronicles the epic motorcycle odyssey of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, two friends better known for their work in film and television. In 2007, the pair traversed Europe and Africa, starting from the rugged landscapes of Scotland. This travelogue serves as a sequel to their 2004 adventure detailed in Long Way Round, where the duo covered over 20,000 miles from London to New York. Written in an engaging, conversational style, the book offers readers an entertaining blend of humor and excitement, giving fans a glimpse into their off-screen camaraderie and shared passion for adventure. See our full book review by clicking here.
Guides for the Journey
Lonely Planet Africa
For travelers planning a trip to Africa, Lonely Planet remains one of the most useful guidebook resources available. Travel across the continent can involve challenges that are very different from those found in Europe or North America, from navigating shared taxis and long-distance buses to understanding border crossings, visa requirements, health precautions and local transportation systems. Lonely Planet’s strength has always been its practical, on-the-ground detail. Its writers spend time actually traveling through the destinations they cover, offering advice on everything from which neighborhoods are best for visitors and how much local transportation should cost to where to stay, what to eat and how to avoid common travel hassles. The guides also do an excellent job of balancing logistics with cultural context, helping travelers understand not just how to get from place to place, but what makes each destination distinctive. Because Lonely Planet publishes individual guides for many African countries and regions, travelers can find much more focused and useful information than they would in a broad continent-wide guide.
Bradt Travel Guides
Another way to discover Africa's hidden wonders is with the unrivaled Bradt Travel Guide series. This gem among travel companions excels in illuminating lesser-known treasures. For intrepid souls exploring off-beaten paths, Bradt often provides the only comprehensive guide to enigmatic locales. Each page brims with insights from passionate experts. While this boutique publisher updates less frequently than larger rivals, its quality shines through. Remember to check your guide's publication date – even timeless Africa evolves.
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