Title:

The Africa Book - A Journey Through Every Country on the Continent
(Lonely Planet Publications, 2007) ISBN 978-1-74104-602-1

Theme:

The Africa Book inspires both explorers and armchair travellers. Part resource and part coffee table book, it encourages readers to experience and learn about the diversity of Africa's 54 countries.

Sample Items:

Everyone has heard of Libya, but did you know that deserts cover 95 per cent of the country and sand dunes cover 20 per cent? Or, that Colonel Gaddafi turned oil into water by using Libya's petroleum revenue to pipe water from the Saharan underground reservoirs to coastal cities?

Notable Elements:

The introduction discusses Africa, the image, the reality, the past and the future. A timeline outlines African history from 14,000 BC until 2010. Africa at a glance contains interesting facts such as: the population of Africa is 910.8 million, Africa's area is 30.1 million square kilometers and African people speak 1,800 languages, 27 of them official.

Under each country title, a single sidebar lists: capital city, population, area and official languages.

Facts are organized by landscape, history, people, marketplace, trademarks, natural beauty, random facts, urban scene, surprises, wild things, import, export, myths, legends, cuisine, top festival and essential experiences.

The essays at the end of the book feature sidebars on Top 10 Adventure Activities in Africa, Top 10 Musical Experiences and Top 10 Wildlife Experiences.

Tone / Style:

You can experience Africa by opening this book on any page and reading. Not many books can boast the ease with which you can appreciate the contents.

In 264 pages, The Africa Book provides an introduction to the continent, a selection of beautiful and unusual photographs, a listing of selected journeys around the continent, detailed facts and figures for each country and a collection of essays on African music and cultural traditions.

The book is divided into five regions with countries arranged by logical travel routes. Separate country profiles detail facts and suggested learning experiences for discovering Africa's people and attractions.

Visuals:

Many beautiful color photographs depict the wildlife, landscapes and cultures, while 56 maps illustrate towns, cities, national parks and routes.

Contents:

• Introducing Africa
• Timeline
• Africa Geographical Map
• Africa At A Glance
• Great Journeys
  • The Sahara
  • West Africa
  • North Africa
  • East Africa
  • Plymouth-Dakar Rally
  • Cape to Cairo
• North Africa
  • Egypt
  • Libya
  • Tunisia
  • Algeria
  • Morocco
• West Africa
  • Mauritania
  • Senegal
  • Cape Verde
  • The Gambia
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Guinea
  • Sierra Leone
  • Liberia
  • Cote D'Ivoire
  • Mali
  • Burkina Faso
  • Ghana
  • Togo
  • Benin
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Cameroon
• Central Africa
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Gabon
  • Republic of Congo
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Sudan
• East Africa
  • Ethiopia
  • Djibouti
  • Eritrea
  • Somalia and Somaliland
  • Kenya
  • Uganda
  • Rwanda
  • Burundi
  • Tanzania
  • Comoros and Mayotte
  • Seychelles
  • Madagascar
  • Reunion
  • Mauritius
• Southern Africa
  • Mozambique
  • Malawi
  • Zambia
  • Angola
  • Namibia
  • Botswana
  • Zimbabwe
  • South Africa
  • Swaziland
  • Lesotho
• Themes of Africa
• Index

Authors:

A cohort of writers assembled by Lonely Planet

Claims to fame:

The authors have lived in Africa and/or experienced and written extensively about it.

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