local lion

From adventurer, explorer, photographer, writer, pied piper Peter Beard—eleven irresistible tales, told to his daughter in his tented encampment at Hog Ranch, Kenya, about life, about living, about Africa. He writes of the East African hills he came to know so well over four decades, where time slows to infinity in a great bottomless, bottle green underwater world . . . about Nairobi in the 1950s, still a quaint, eccentric pioneer town, full of characters of all stripes and tribes, where rhinoceros roamed the streets and local residents went to the movies in pajamas. He writes of the camp he built twelve miles outside of Nairobi so that he would never be off safari, a forty-acre patch of bush called Hog Ranch (abutting Karen Blixen's plantation), named for the families of warthogs who wandered into camp, a camp populated with waterbuck, suni, dik-diks, leopard, giraffe, and occasionally lion and buffalo. In "Big Pig at Hog Ranch;” Beard tells the story of Thaka (translation from the Kikuyu: "handsome stud”); Hog Ranch's number-one, fearsome, 300-pound warthog, who came into camp and dropped to the ground happy for a vigorous tummy rub, and who one night, "lying in his favorite position, munching on corn and barbeque chicken;” was encroached upon by a bristly haired, wild-looking boar hog. All three hundred pounds of Thaka exploded straight at the hairy intruder, the two brutish, bony heads crashing together thundering through the camp and Peter witnessed the unleashed power—the bullish strength—of the wild pig . . . In "Roping Rhino;” Beard tells of his first job in Africa, rounding up and relocating rhinos for the Kenya Game Department with his cohort and neighbor, a weather-beaten native of Old Kenya who thrived on danger and refused to bathe—and of the enormous silver-backed rhino bull that became their Moby Dick . . . He writes of his quest to photograph overpopulated and habitat-destroying elephants for Life magazine on the eve of Kenya's independence . . . of his close encounter with the legendary man-eating lions of "Starvo” (descendants of the famed beasts rumored to be immune to bullets, who in the late nineteenth century halted the construction of the Mombasa railroad, devouring railroad workers and snatching sleeping passengers from their Pullman berths in the dead of night to make a meal of them), who charged the author, "coming in slow motion, like a bullet train erupting out of a tunnel, soundless, like an ancient force.” He tells of his round-the-clock adventure tracking and studying crocodiles with a game warden-biologist at Lake Rudolf, a tale that begins with one crewmember being grabbed from behind by a ten-foot crocodile and another doing battle with an almost prehistoric monster fish—a 200-pound Great Nile perch! . . . and he writes of the final wildlife encounter that ended his safari days, an incident that proved Karen Blixen's motto: "Be bold, be bold . . . be not too bold.” Zara's Tales confirms to our constant surprise and delight that "nothing out of the ordinary happens. It's just Africa, after all.”

Bradt’s Uganda has for many years been considered the go-to source of information for travellers interested in this extraordinary country, which boasts Africa’s most biodiverse – and arguably most exciting – safari circuit. Written by Philip Briggs, the world’s foremost guidebook writer on Africa, this new tenth edition of the most detailed travel guidebook available to Uganda has been thoroughly updated by local resident and experienced travel writer Andrew Roberts. Uganda excels for wildlife-watching, and recent transport improvements now make for relatively easy year-round access to key sites. Visit the lush montane forests of Bwindi, which protect one of the world’s largest remaining populations of mountain gorillas, watch habituated chimpanzees in Kibale and tree-climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park, or enjoy outstanding birdwatching throughout – with more than a thousand bird species in a country similar in size to Great Britain. As well as treating readers to a full-colour wildlife section with over 100 colour photographs, Bradt’s Uganda guides visitors around key wildlife-watching experiences. It provides up-to-date coverage of gorilla-tracking options, describing gorilla groups and their locations – everything anyone who dreams of encountering these remarkable primates needs to know. Uganda is not just about wildlife. Hikers love some of Africa’s tallest mountains, notably the snow-capped Rwenzori (the ‘Mountains of the Moon’), the massive collapsed caldera that tops Mount Elgon, and the steep forest-swathed volcanic peaks of the Virungas. A highlight for adrenaline junkies is rafting the ‘Grade Five’ white-water rapids on the Nile shortly after it emerges from the inland sea that is Lake Victoria. In this tenth edition, carefully selected accommodation listings have been updated, providing critical appraisals of optimum options in each price bracket. While tourism has long focussed on western Uganda, this edition strengthens attention on the country’s remote northeast corner, which is emerging as a popular destination that includes the untrammelled savannah of Kidepo National Park and offers opportunities to interact with traditional Karamojong pastoralists. Boasting detailed maps of the country, updated or created from scratch using GPS, and all the travel advice a visitor might want, Bradt’s Uganda remains the essential companion guide to this compelling country.

“Jillian Cantor beautifully re-crafts an American classic in Beautiful Little Fools, placing the women of The Great Gatsby center stage: more than merely beautiful, not so little as the men in their lives assume, and certainly far from foolish. Both fresh and familiar, this page-turner is one to savor!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code “Jillian Cantor's shifting kaleidoscope of female perspectives makes F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic tale of Jazz Age longing and lust feel utterly modern. A breathtaking accomplishment.”—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue USA Today bestselling author Jillian Cantor reimagines and expands on the literary classic The Great Gatsby in this atmospheric historical novel with echoes of Big Little Lies, told in three women's alternating voices. On a sultry August day in 1922, Jay Gatsby is shot dead in his West Egg swimming pool. To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby. Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire. Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby—before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan. Jordan Baker, Daisy's best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well. Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women's freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who's trapped in a terrible marriage. Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unraveling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby's romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them. Jillian Cantor revisits the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, retelling this timeless American classic from the women's perspective. Beautiful Little Fools is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled.

Don't miss the thrilling new novel from Kate Quinn, The Briar Club "The reigning queen of historical fiction" - Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II historical fiction novel of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over. 1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything-beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses-but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park's few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart in this unforgettable story of women in WWII. 1947. In a riveting dual timeline, as the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter-the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger-and their true enemy-closer... WWII Historical Fiction: Based on the real-life codebreaking efforts at Bletchley Park, this novel plunges you into the high-stakes world of wartime intelligence, where three brilliant women work in secret to help turn the tide of the war. A Found Family Torn Apart: Follows the intense friendship of Osla, Mab, and Beth, forged in the crucible of war. But the impossible pressure of their work and a devastating betrayal will shatter their bond and turn them into enemies. Codebreaking and Espionage: At a mysterious country estate, German military codes are broken and enemy secrets are revealed. But a traitor lurks in the shadows, leading to a desperate spy hunt that stretches years beyond the war. A Post-War Mystery: Years after their friendship was destroyed, a mysterious encrypted letter reunites the three women. To crack one last code, they must confront their past-including the betrayal that left one of them in an asylum.

In this riveting portrait of George B. Schaller, the world’s leading field biologist, Miriam Horn captures the seventy years he spent living among wild animals in the world’s remotest regions, forever altering how we see—and save—the natural world In 1959, though just twenty-six years old and a graduate student, George B. Schaller shrugged off warnings of mortal danger and set off for the Belgian Congo to do what no other scientist had dared: study mountain gorillas, the real King Kong, by living alongside them. Boldly refusing arms and retinue, Schaller and his wife, Kay, established a home in the jungle and came to share the apes’ rhythms and rules. After more than two years of immersive research—a groundbreaking methodology he would spend his life honing—Schaller transformed how the world viewed gorillas; they were not murderous brutes but tender creatures, and more like humans than any twentieth-century scientist had recognized. His mission to revolutionize our perceptions of wild animals would propel him across four continents and inspire generations of scientists. In Homesick for a World Unknown, Miriam Horn draws on thousands of pages from Schaller’s journals and letters, globe-spanning interviews, and two journeys into the field with the legendary scientist himself to trace his emergence as the founding father of modern wildlife conservation. She probes what drives him to know Earth’s wildest places and most fearsome creatures, beginning with a childhood upended by displacement and atrocity. Born in Berlin in 1933 to an American socialite married to a German diplomat during the Nazi era, the young Schaller was moved from one occupied country to another before finally arriving with his mother in the U.S. in 1947, as an enemy alien. It was in the Missouri woods that teenage George found a place of respite and at the University of Alaska that he found both his calling and a lifelong partner in Kay. In the decades following his work in the Congo, Schaller went on to conduct the earliest studies of Indian tigers, Serengeti lions, Brazilian jaguars, Chinese pandas, and Tibetan brown bears, meticulously cataloging their private lives. He navigated acute danger, violent conflict, and treacherous politics in pursuit of empathy for and preservation of creatures big and small. It was Schaller who first guided Jane Goodall on her chimp study in Tanzania and led Peter Matthiessen into Nepal in search of the snow leopard. And while remaking wildlife science, his impact went further still: he spurred the creation of vast national parks and partnered with local communities to protect the homes they share with these animals. A vivid and captivating account of the adventurous life of George B. Schaller, here is the definitive portrait of the man who dared to challenge us to rethink our place in the natural world.

In this riveting portrait of George B. Schaller, the world’s leading field biologist, Miriam Horn captures the seventy years he spent living among wild animals in the world’s remotest regions, forever altering how we see—and save—the natural world In 1959, though just twenty-six years old and a graduate student, George B. Schaller shrugged off warnings of mortal danger and set off for the Belgian Congo to do what no other scientist had dared: study mountain gorillas, the real King Kong, by living alongside them. Boldly refusing arms and retinue, Schaller and his wife, Kay, established a home in the jungle and came to share the apes’ rhythms and rules. After more than two years of immersive research—a groundbreaking methodology he would spend his life honing—Schaller transformed how the world viewed gorillas; they were not murderous brutes but tender creatures, and more like humans than any twentieth-century scientist had recognized. His mission to revolutionize our perceptions of wild animals would propel him across four continents and inspire generations of scientists. In Homesick for a World Unknown, Miriam Horn draws on thousands of pages from Schaller’s journals and letters, globe-spanning interviews, and two journeys into the field with the legendary scientist himself to trace his emergence as the founding father of modern wildlife conservation. She probes what drives him to know Earth’s wildest places and most fearsome creatures, beginning with a childhood upended by displacement and atrocity. Born in Berlin in 1933 to an American socialite married to a German diplomat during the Nazi era, the young Schaller was moved from one occupied country to another before finally arriving with his mother in the U.S. in 1947, as an enemy alien. It was in the Missouri woods that teenage George found a place of respite and at the University of Alaska that he found both his calling and a lifelong partner in Kay. In the decades following his work in the Congo, Schaller went on to conduct the earliest studies of Indian tigers, Serengeti lions, Brazilian jaguars, Chinese pandas, and Tibetan brown bears, meticulously cataloging their private lives. He navigated acute danger, violent conflict, and treacherous politics in pursuit of empathy for and preservation of creatures big and small. It was Schaller who first guided Jane Goodall on her chimp study in Tanzania and led Peter Matthiessen into Nepal in search of the snow leopard. And while remaking wildlife science, his impact went further still: he spurred the creation of vast national parks and partnered with local communities to protect the homes they share with these animals. A vivid and captivating account of the adventurous life of George B. Schaller, here is the definitive portrait of the man who dared to challenge us to rethink our place in the natural world.

Don't miss the thrilling new novel from Kate Quinn, The Briar Club "The reigning queen of historical fiction" - Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II historical fiction novel of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over. 1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything-beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses-but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park's few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart in this unforgettable story of women in WWII. 1947. In a riveting dual timeline, as the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter-the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger-and their true enemy-closer... WWII Historical Fiction: Based on the real-life codebreaking efforts at Bletchley Park, this novel plunges you into the high-stakes world of wartime intelligence, where three brilliant women work in secret to help turn the tide of the war. A Found Family Torn Apart: Follows the intense friendship of Osla, Mab, and Beth, forged in the crucible of war. But the impossible pressure of their work and a devastating betrayal will shatter their bond and turn them into enemies. Codebreaking and Espionage: At a mysterious country estate, German military codes are broken and enemy secrets are revealed. But a traitor lurks in the shadows, leading to a desperate spy hunt that stretches years beyond the war. A Post-War Mystery: Years after their friendship was destroyed, a mysterious encrypted letter reunites the three women. To crack one last code, they must confront their past-including the betrayal that left one of them in an asylum.