We are reaching a point where, somehow, the healthy exercise of traveling is losing its essential ingredient: adventure . Currently there are not many places on the map where things happen naturally. Almost everything is controlled, planned, anticipated, almost scripted. The truth is that there are fewer and fewer surprises in travel .
In that sense, the African continent still retains a certain capacity for adventure . It is an immense, spontaneous, exciting, wild territory. Great stories happen there . Its inimitable light, its overflowing nature, its complex culture and history, and the irreducible spirit of its people have been the setting for books on love, intrigue, drama, politics, nature, and even comedy. It is a land that encourages you to live and, consequently, to write.
If you are thinking of traveling to Africa , we suggest you read the following 12 books that will give you an inspiring point of view to get to know this wonderful piece of land in depth. They are stories of great writers who offer their personal , sincere and always admired view of Africa. They are books that will undoubtedly increase the quality of your trip.
Sossusvlei (Namibia)
1. ‘Africa’, by Martin Meredith
That said: if your next trip is to Africa, for starters, it’s well worth checking out this recent history book on how African nations began to gain independence from Europe in the mid-20th century. It will help you understand why things are the way they are there. It is a good drawing of how the situation has deteriorated in recent years. Faced with a land with potential and a splendid future, we see how all of this has ultimately turned into poverty , hunger, corruption and wars.
2. ‘Born free’, by Joy Adamson
This story -its original title is Born Free, or A lioness between two worlds, in the Latin American version- is based on real events : The ranger George Adamsom and his wife Joy -the author- are forced to kill a pair of lions , but they decide to adopt her three orphaned puppies . Before long, two of them are transferred to zoos, but they keep the third lioness , whom they name Elsa.
3. ‘Married to adventure’, by Osa Johnson
This is a totally adventurous book . As you read it, you jump from adventure to adventure. It is the memoir of a legendary married couple, Ona and Martin Johnson , who, in a way, were the inventors of nature documentaries .
Among other things, they were the first to record images from above of the great herbivore migrations of the Serengeti aboard a seaplane, they made a scientific expedition to the heart of Africa where they located Lake Paradise, they flew over Kilimanjaro or they put together the first documentary with sound in the Congo. 
Mount Kilimanjaro (Kenya)
4. ‘We want to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families’: stories from Rwanda
An essential book -I would say exceptional: We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families- for anyone who decides to travel to Africa, but especially to Rwanda . The real adventure of life in the genocide (more than 800,000 people were brutally killed in 15 days) that shook this country in 1993 and in which the rest of the world remained in an alarming state of passivity is narrated with all its crudeness . It is the dark side of humanity.
5. ‘Gorillas in the mist’, by Dian Fossey
There is no doubt that a trip to Africa is almost always closely linked to the world of animals . In fact, the safari is the main activity. But what do we really know about animals? This wildly popular play, made famous by its film version, shows how impressive it can be to interact with these animals – the gorillas – before you go and see them for yourself.
6. ‘The last train to the green zone’
Paul Theroux is one of the best travel writers and, in this case, about Africa. He is an author who investigates, deepens, searches for the root of what is seen, and what is not . Here the idea is to repeat a trip he made about ten years ago (with the book The Black Star Safari, also recommended), where he travels along the West Coast , from Cape Town, South Africa, Namibia and Angola to, in this second book I suggest, give it a new, fresh and modern look.
7. ‘West with the night’, by Beryl Markham
If we go back a little in time, it is interesting to see what Africa was like in the last century . It was time for adventures. Precisely in that sense, this book is a magnificent source of information and inspiration. Basically it is a classic about colonial Africa .
Beryl Markham
8. ‘The Man Who Whispered to the Elephants’, by Lawrence Anthony
Here we again underline the importance of understanding and learning about the behavior of wild animals to understand this complex continent. The elephant is one of its many wonders. A peaceful, wise, intelligent, sociable animal. Precisely this book tells the relationship between a South African conservationist , Lawrence Anthony, and his experiences in Thula Thula Game Reserve.
9. ‘In Search of Dr. Livingstone: Journey to the Middle of Africa’ (1871), by Henry Morton Stanley
Perhaps this is the most authentic African adventure writing of all time. It is the story of explorer David Livingstone , who disappeared on his way to Lake Tanganyika. For a long time nothing was heard of him, until the New York Herald newspaper organized a relief expedition that was entrusted to Henry Stanley, a controversial type to say the least (he is said to have been a compulsive liar, insensitive and enormously racist).
10. ‘Memories of Africa’ by Karen Blixen
‘Out of Africa’ was declared the best travel movie in history in 2016 . The novel that originated it was written by Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), where he recounts his 17 years in Kenya .
