It has been a while since I have done book reviews on my Blog.
All that is about to change, as these three books from Briza Publications
arrived on my desk recently.
This book was first published back in 2010.
Seeing that it has been reprinted EVERY year since,
Megan Emmett must have done something right!
Together with photographer Sean Patrick,
they have combined to produce this exquisite book
that should be an industry standard.
(It is certainly going to be in my backpack from now on)
It is extremely easy to use as the chapters are colour coded.
This makes referencing while on foot or in a vehicle
a quick and easy process.
Buffalo Thorn.
For a variety of reasons, this is possibly my favourite tree.
And it gets a whole page!
Vervet Monkeys
Every lodge has them.
And most try to get rid of them with little or no success.
Rather than chasing them away, take a moment to learn about them.
Spurfowl.
Who needs an alarm clock in the bush when you
awakened by one of these.
Another winner from Megan Emmet.
This time the collaborating photographer is Shem Compion,
and he has produced sterling images to complement the text.
Wildlife/nature books do not happen overnight
as the images often take more time to collate and compile than the text.
Cranes and not the construction kind.
The page layout offers readers quick and easy access to the reader.
Information is concise without being too academic.
Nile Crocodile.
The images are superb and are the perfect addition to each page.
Baboons…like the hyena, are a much-maligned species.
But fun to watch as they interact with each other.
This is not a book that features the BIG 5 exclusively,
but, it is exactly what it says on the cover…
“The traveller’s ultimate bush guide to Southern Africa”.
If I have one complaint about Megan’s books,
it would be the fact that they do not feature as Apps.
(Perhaps that is currently under construction?)
That being said, I do like the feel of a real book.
This book is an interesting mix
of both reference and a coffee table book.
It could be found on the shelf of a private home,
or in the library at a game lodge.
The authors of this work have put together a book
that is informative, entertaining and educational.
There are stories about trees that I now want to visit.
Who knew that we had a country so full of such interesting trees.
(Did you know that the oldest Date Palms can be found near Calvinia?
They date, pun intended, back to 1838)
A great read that will make you realize just how much we take the tree
species for granted.
The books are available at bookstores countrywide.