Discover GEEO’s recommended books to read before you travel through Southern Africa. Our book club is a way for travelers to learn through literature about the places they’ll be visiting.
These are some of our favorites about Southern Africa, so if you’re heading there, take a look (the GEEO book club is not a required element of our programs, just a bit of added fun)! We hope you will enjoy the books we have selected and they will enhance your experience.
You should be able to find most of our selections through the links below and in your local library system as well. Do you have any feedback on our selections or suggestions for additions? Contact us and let us know!
Recommended books to read before traveling to Southern Africa:
Fiction:
- We Need New Names (Zimbabwe) by NoViolet Bulawayo (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (Bostwana) by Alexander McCall Smith (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo (Namibia) by Peter Orner (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Coconut (South Africa) by Kopano Matlwa (Amazon)
Nonfiction:
- The Struggle Continues: 50 Years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe) by David Coltart ( Amazon)
- Fieldwork: A Geologist’s Memoir of the Kalahari (Bostwana) by Christopher Scholz (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- An Arid Eden (Namibia) by Garth Owen-Smith (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (South Africa) by Nelson Mandela (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- The Fate of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence by Martin Meredith (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
For those looking for more suggestions, here are some other books you may want to consider:
ZIMBABWE
- House of Hunger by Dambudzo Marechera (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Elephant Dawn: The Inspirational Story of Thirteen Years Living with Elephants in the African Wilderness by Sharon Pincott (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Waiting for the Rain by Charles Mungoshi (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
NAMIBIA
- Soul of a Lion: One Woman’s Quest to Rescue Africa’s Wildlife by Barbara Bennett (Amazon)
- The Purple Violet of Oshaantu by Neshani Andreas (Amazon)
BOTSWANA
- Twenty Chickens for a Saddle by Robyn Scott (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Saturday is for Funerals by Unity Dow (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Tale of a Baboon from Botswana by Richard O. Marsh (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
SOUTH AFRICA
- Tsotsi by Athol Fugard (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Selected Stories by Nadine Gordimer (Amazon)
- Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- An Act of Terror by Andre Brink (Amazon)
- Boyhood by J. M. Coetzee (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Soccer Grannies: The South African Women Who Inspire the World by Jean Duffy (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
Bonus recommended films and videos to watch before traveling to Southern Africa:
GEEO travelers can register with SIMA Academy for free using a unique access code that we provide after our programs end. Feel free to contact us if you would like to receive the access code early. For this program, we recommend watching From The Same Soil, Waves, and Our Story, Your Story. SIMA Academy utilizes the storytelling power of award-winning global short documentaries to nurture globally competent and socially active learners worldwide.
Other films and videos:
GEEO utilizes both Bookshop.org and Amazon Associates links for the above-suggested books. If you purchase a book through one of the links above, you’re supporting us as a nonprofit and helping more teachers travel through GEEO!