Botswanan Books

Authors: Mark & Delia Owens
What: Really interesting about the Central Kalahari Reserve (before it was a reserve) when two American PhD students study the brown hyenas and lions of the Kalahari, living in the middle of a desert and making friends with the animals
Where best to read: Deception Valley in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Published: 1984
Review Score: A must-read for those who visit the Kalahari
Description: A non-fiction book that reads quite like a novel as the authors have many amazing adventures that are hard to imaging happening in the current age of connectivity where totally wild, unexplored places are fast disappearing. There’s lots going on and I learnt a lot about the behaviour of brown hyenas and lions and how to cope living in the desert. It also made me slightly less scared of being randomly attacked by a lion during the night so that was an additional bonus.

Author: Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
What: An fascinating account of the author’s life among the San People of the Kalahari.
Where best to read: The Kalahari Desert
Published: 1959
Review Score: Super interesting about a lifestyle that I knew nothing about beforehand and a way of life that is rapidly disappearing.
Description: This non-fiction book was the first detailed account of how the hunter-gatherer San of the Kalahari lived and it increased interest in these people and their way of life. The prose is beautifully and simply written which is mirrored in the life the author experiences in the desert.

Author: Michael Stanley
What: Fast-paced murder mystery set partly in the Kalahari
Where best to read: Khutse Game Reserve or surroundings
Published: 2008
Review Score: A well-written page-turner that keeps you guessing until the end
Description: Detective Kubu tries to ascertain the circumstances of a suspicious death in the desert. The many twists and turns dive into the economics and politics of Botswana and highlights the power of the mining companies.

Author: Victoria Stevens
What: Follow us as we overland in our trusty Land Rover Defender, safari-ing around the National Parks and wide-open spaces of Botswana.
Where best to read: Planning or on a Botswana adventure!
Published: 2021
Review Score: I didn’t rate my own book, I don’t think I can be very impartial!
Description: South Africa was kicking us out so we had to make a plan.
‘What about Botswana?’
My boyfriend couldn’t think of any objections so a few days before we overstayed our visas we hit the road in our trusty Defender and sped north from Cape Town.
The Kalahari welcomed us with vast empty spaces and gorgeous wildlife. We spent weeks camping in a true wilderness barely touched by man. The character of the landscape changed in the waterlogged north but our encounters with wild animals didn’t stop.
We eventually returned to civilization after many weeks on the sandy road, having narrowly managed to escape being eaten by lions, killed by a puff adder and marooned on the Chobe River.
No Footprints in the Night chronicles this journey of exploration through Botswana in times of coronavirus.

Author: Alexander McCall Smith
What: The second novel in the Ladies Detective Agency series.
Where best to read: Gaborone or Botswana in general
Published: 2000
Review Score: If you enjoyed the first book you will probably enjoy this as it’s quite similar
Description: The Detective Agency continues to gain some new customers but still struggles to be profitable. The lives of all the characters from the first book continue as they progress forward in their various endeavours.

Author: Alexander McCall Smith
What: The third novel in the Ladies Detective Agency series.
Where best to read: Gaborone or Botswana in general
Published: 2001
Review Score: If you enjoyed the first and second books you will enjoy this, though they start to get a bit samey.
Description: More minor mysteries and a more major one, while the Detective also has to look after some new children that the Mechanic has acquired.