Have an account?
Password
Add a cover image for this book
  • ISBN: 9780195073775
  • ISBN10: 0195073770
Wild Africa: Three Centuries of Nature Writing from Africa

by Murray, John A.

 
Textbookx
Marketplace
used Add to $1.11
You save: 97%
New Add to $50.63
Description
"The Sea at Mombasa is as blue as cornflower," wrote Isak Dinesen, "and, outside the inlet to the harbour, the long breakers of the Indian Ocean draw a thin crooked white line, and give out a low thunder even in the calmest weather." Vast, untamed, mysterious, and profoundly beautiful, Africa has... Expand always exerted a powerful sway over its Western admirers. And the dual nature of the Dark Continent reflected in Dinesen's lines--a paradise with a dark, forbidding undercurrent--has for three centuries inspired what John A. Murray now reveals as a unique literary genre. In Wild Africa he combines a diverse sampling from this rich trove of African nature and travel writing with traditional myths and stories in fashioning a book that brings to life the spirit of the African wilderness. In these pages the reader will share the experiences of the most intrepid adventurers as they endure the weather (as hot as 137 Farenheit in the Sahara), the dangerous animals (lions, crocodiles, and cobras), parasites (tapeworms, leeches), and nature's most potent arsenal of biological weaponry (cerebral malaria, sleeping sickness, dengue fever). The writings gathered in this book reflect not only these extremes of the land, but the extremes of human experience as well--or what Joseph Conrad described as the "joy, fear, sorrow, devotion, valour, rage" that is amplified in the wilds of Africa. Here we follow John Barrow on his 1797 search for the unicorn he believed could be found in South Africa; watch as Dr. David Livingstone is mauled by a lion prior to his discovery of Victoria Falls ("besides crunching the bone into splinters, he left eleven teeth wounds in the upper part of my arm"); and accompany Teddy Roosevelt on a 1909 safari in which 512 animals were killed for the Smithsonian's permanent collection. The personalities we encounter are also unforgettable, from the formidable Scottish explorer Mungo Park, to the famed big-game hunter J.H. Patterson (whose fatal love triangle with Mr. and Mrs. Audley James Blyth was the basis for Hemingway's "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber"), to contemporary biologist Delia Owens (who protests the incursion into the Kalihari of would-be uranium miners). Murray seamlessly weaves these disparate voices into a passionate whole, a book which in the end becomes an eloquent plea for the further conservation of Africa's immense yet dwindling natural resources. Above all, it is the beauty of Africa that intrigues us most, the majesty of the Nile, the exotic wildlife of the Serengeti Plain, the gorillas in the mists of Rwanda. Wild Africa is a rare delight.Collapse
Marketplace Items
Seller Condition Comments Price  
Better World Books Bargain
  Seller Rating: 4
Location: Mishawaka, IN
 Good
Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to
[...]
$1.11
Better World Books Bargain
  Seller Rating: 4
Location: Mishawaka, IN
 Very Good
Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!
$1.11
thriftbooks.com
  Seller Rating: 5
Location: Auburn, WA
 Like New
Only slightly differentiated from a new book. Undamaged cover and spine. Pages may display light wear
[...]
$1.11
Once Upon A Time Books
  Seller Rating: 4
Location: Tontitown, AR
 Acceptable
This is a used book. It may contain highlighting/underlining or may show heavier signs of wear. It may also be ex-library or missing its dustjacket.
$1.11
Sierra Nevada Books
  Seller Rating: 5
Location: Reno, NV
 Good
$1.11
Free State Books
  Seller Rating: 5
Location: Halethorpe, MD
 Good
$1.11
zabooks
  Seller Rating: 4
Location: Victor, MT
 Very Good
9780195073775.
9.20 X 6.20 X 1.30 inches; 356 pages; Never been read, very little wear. Has a star stamp at the bottom.
$3.94
FastMediaX
  Seller Rating: 3.4
Location: Richmond, TX
Ask seller a question 		Very Good
Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
$3.94
Rogue Valley Media Exchange
  Seller Rating: 5
Location: Ashland, OR
 Very Good
0195073770 Hardcover. Minor wear and color fading on the spine of dust jacket. All else is excellent,
[...]
$4.43
P.H.Campbell
  Seller Rating: 4
Location: Jersey City, NJ
 Like New
Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 356 p. Audience: General/trade.
$4.50
dbworldwide
  Seller Rating: 5
Location: Hillsboro, OH
Ask seller a question 		Good
Ex-library usual stamps and markings. Good condition but not perfect, Cover has minor nicks and
[...]
$4.99
Powell's Books
  Seller Rating: 4
Location: Portland, OR
 Good
$5.15
D&B Worldwide LLC
  Seller Rating: 5
Location: Hillsboro, OH
 Good
0195073770 Ex-library usual stamps and markings. Good condition but not perfect, Cover has minor
[...]
$5.61
Driftless Books And Music
  Seller Rating: 4
Location: Viroqua, WI
 Very Good
First Edition. Very good DJ. Oxford 1993. Clean covers with clean and firm pages, with no marks,
[...]
$6.75
Avon Hill Books
  Seller Rating: 5
Location: Cambridge, MA
 Like New
0195073770.
B/w photos.; 8vo 8"-9" tall; 314 pp.
$9.00
HPB-094
  Seller Rating: 4
Location: Countryside, IL
 Acceptable
Some shelf wear, may contain highlighting/notes, may not include cdrom or access codes, customer service is our top priority!
$11.24
Old Scrolls Book Shop
  Seller Rating: 5
Location: Stanley, NY
 Like New
Very clean purple boards with turquoise cloth spine, blue metallic lettering and decoration on spine.
[...]
$16.88
David's Books
  Seller Rating: 4
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
 Like New
0195073770.
$16.88
textbookwizards
  Seller Rating: 4
Location: High Point, NC
 Good
Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 356 p.
$22.50
R.S. Geer, Inc.
  Seller Rating: 2
Location: Phoenix, MD
 Like New
Green and purple cover w/blue lettering on spine. Appears unread. ISBN 0-19-507377-0. Illustrated.; 8vo; 318 pages.
$22.50
DDbooks
  Seller Rating: 5
Location: SUMMIT, NJ
 Very Good
Very nice copy.
$33.93
DDbooks
  Seller Rating: 5
Location: SUMMIT, NJ
 Like New
Close to new condidtion.
$33.93
jwshop
  Seller Rating: 4
Location: acton, MA
 New
Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 356 p.
$50.63
Faculty Members: Interested in comparing course books? Visit our new Textbook Adoption Tool.
School Administrators: Interested in learning about our bookstore solutions? Visit Akademos.com.