The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals: Second Edition

This guide to all the land mammals of Africa is the standard for the continent. While there are better and more complete guides for Southern African mammals available, this is the indispensable book to have for anywhere outside of that sub-region.First impressions are that it is a bit too large and heavy to carry about in the field. It functions better as a reference book, although given the lack of mammal field guides available you will really have to go with this one.The text is mostly informative and interesting, and contains interesting details on behaviour, although it tends to be lengthy and could’ve been shorn in a number of places without harm to the whole. For example the author devotes lots of space to tentative phylogenetic trees and lengthy discourses on supposed evolutionary histories. In reality of course this is entirely unproven conjecture, and given the size and weight of this tome, the publisher really should’ve cut out the evolutionist propaganda and focused on what we know, and what is useful, namely identification, biology, behaviour and habitat.Each species is granted one illustration. Some are reasonable, others are barely adequate for identification. Many of these images are slightly ill-proportioned or unattractive. Another way to slim down this volume, would have been to put the illustrations on plates side-by-side for identification.Ultimately the idea of this book is a bit over-ambitious: Africa is a vast and diverse continent. As a result, whole groups of mammals (bats, rodents etc) are represented only by genus. Hopefully future field guides will become more specialized.

Safari guides had this book and I referred to it often while on safari. Wanted a copy for home. It’s hefty to travel with but makes a great home resource. Packed with details. Great for any animal lover.

I needed up to date info on African mammals for our environmental center. This guide was perfect.

The common fault with ereading is not knowing where you are in a book and not knowing where you have been, found out how much a problem this can be whilst on safari in Kenya, trying to find and animal whilst bouncing over the terrain in a Land Rover was always going to be difficult, but flicking back and forth is impossible even in camp

This is the one complete guide to the mammals of Africa, beautifully illustrated with informative text and maps. It is written by an expert on African wildlife.

More of a textbook than a field guide. Encyclopedic! Not what I was expecting based on description and ratings.

I used this book during my semester abroad studying wildlife ecology in Kenya and Tanzania. It was wonderful, not only for identification purposes but also for learning about the behaviors and habitats of the different species. It is well organized and beautifully illustrated. I would highly recommend this book.

A superb reference book to the mammals of Africa. The Tanzania-born author is the authority on study of mammals in Africa.This heavy book was my constant companion when on Safari in Kenya. I would come back in the evenings from my game drive and read up on the animals I saw.If you are going to go on multiple safaris I recommend getting the hard bound version. The paperback is lighter, but as with any reference book, becomes dog-eared after frequent use.

The book was delivered very promptly and packaged well. Excellent book giving a very detailed analysis of all species and sub species. I found this book very useful as a reference guide, but a bit heavy to take into the field.

Lots of extra information. Maps a little confusing but the rest is amazing and a must have for zoologists.

I bought this to accompany me on a safari to South Africa and found it invaluable as a reference guide.

Una de las mejores guias que he encontrado. Siempre que voy de safari me acompaña.

Muy buena guia que agrupa a TODOS los mamíferos del continente africano incluido a losquiropetos de una manera sencilla pero no por ello poco correcta. En mi opinión un libro indispensable para cualquier naturalisa con intención de viajar a este continente, que cuenta con numerosas especies diferentes a las europeas.