Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0864424620, Paperback)

Lonely Planet is ready to ease your way through Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia with this thorough first-edition guide. "The tourist brochures bill Malawi as 'the warm heart of Africa' and, for once, the hype is true; Malawi's scenery is stunning and wonderfully varied, and (although we hate to generalize) Malawians really do seem to be among the friendliest people you could meet anywhere" is how author David Else, who has traveled extensively all over Africa, introduces the book. This country offers the magnificent beauty and interesting wildlife found in Lake Malawi, wildlife parks, national parks, and forest reserves. Its compact size makes Malawi an excellent jumping-off point to venture into the less tourist-ready marvels of Mozambique and Zambia.

In addition to helping you find your way around and the best places to stay, this book will help you tell your red bishops from your sunbirds, your rollers from your hoopoes ... and that's only the bird section. Cultural and historical information ranges from the Stone Age to African kings, from Dr. Livingstone to President Banda. Shaded sidebars provide additional information on topics such as tea growing, on-line services, driving, Islam, economic swings, ecology, food taxes, and the effects of colonialism. A useful index gives an overview of the maps provided (36 of them) along with page numbers for easy reference.