Most Westerners, thanks to television documentaries and numerous books, have some inkling of the appalling destruction of Africa's many ecosystems and the animal species that live in them. Fewer are aware of the work being done in several African nations to preserve these ecosystems. The noted travel photographer Frans Lanting takes us into one protected area, the Okavango River, which begins in the mountains of Angola and ends a thousand miles later in the very heart of Botswana's Kalahari Desert, "the great thirstland." Lanting's photographs are stunning, capturing lionesses in mid hunt, ibises on the wing, and elephants preparing to charge. A trained ecologist, he also takes care to describe how the river interacts with the dry lands that surround it. Lanting's book belongs in the libraries of both Africa buffs and river aficionados. --Gregory McNamee


From Library Journal
The Okavango is an enormous seasonal wetland in the midst of the Kalahari Desert. As Lanting warns, it's another precious habitat teetering on the edge. Though it has long been left to the wildlife because of the tsetse fly problem, recent fly control success has governments pondering whether cattle grazing and other developments should be allowed. Yet damming, draining, and road building would severely alter the natural cycles of water and wildlife migrations. In documenting the cycles of the Okavango, Lanting's photographic skills are seemingly boundless. His viewpoints, lighting, backgrounds, and composition are unparalleled. From vast aerial shots to closeups of lionesses lapping water, each extraordinary photo conveys life and power and feeling. Both in the brief chapter narratives and in each photo caption, Lanting's superb prose is equally absorbing. Highly recommended for public libraries, Africa collections, and photography collections.- Nancy Moeckel, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OhioCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
This latest in the long, long stream of African wildlife photo albums is in some ways just another one. It has a first-person text by the photographer, the familiar cast of animal subjects, the usual harping on water and sun as the determinants of life in its harsh settings, the expected rant about the fragility of the depicted environment (in this case, a nature preserve in Botswana rather than Kenya or Tanzania) in the face of encroaching civilization, etc. But Lanting's entry, more than most, is so full of photos in which the colors seem so unearthly that they make you wonder what bearing they have on reality. Just how did Lanting obtain the hues of the cover image, for instance, in which a group of elephants stand out against a magenta sky as it is reflected in an equally lurid pond? Sure, these are gorgeous pictures, real eyepoppers, but on what planet were they taken, by what necromancy? Ray Olson


From Book News, Inc.
A splendid photographic celebration (with some unobtrusive explanatory text) of northwestern Botswana's Okavango Delta, a wetland oasis of more than 8,500 square miles in the middle of the Kalahari Desert which supports an extraordinary diversity of life. Lanting's stunning photos inspire awe and respect for the land and the life there, as well as for the amazing skill and artistry of the photographer. The photos speak through the senses, conveying the importance of preservation in the most eloquent way. 12x11" Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Okavango is the first major celebration in text and photographs of Africa's last Eden. More than 130 extraordinary photographs, taken during a year-long assignment in the region by award-winning photographer and naturalist Frans Lanting, capture with powerful immediacy the beauty and drama of Africa's breathtaking Okavango Delta. Spreading over 8,600 square miles, this vast wetland in the heart of the Kalahari supports an unparalleled diversity of wildlife. From its origins in the highlands of Angola, the Okavango River descends to the near-desert of northern Botswana, where it fans out as the world's largest inland delta; an ecosystem of a size and complexity rivaling any on earth, a rare place where desert and swamp dwellers meet. Hippos, crocodiles, zebra, impalas, buffalo, giraffe, lions, hyenas, and the continent's largest unharassed elephant population find refuge and replenishment in the seasonal ebb and flow of fresh water into the delta. Together, Lanting's words and images tell of the dynamic movement of water throughout the year and of the rhythms of flora and fauna in response to it; of the spectacular array of wild creatures; of the people who live in this frontier region; and, finally, in a thoughtful epilogue, of the difficult environmental challenges faced by this complex natural system and its hopeful future as a place where Africa's free-roaming wildlife stands a chance of surviving intact into the twenty-first century. No other photographer has captured the variety of Africa's wildlife and the richness of its landscape with such vividness, sympathy, and skill. Okavango is an unforgettable portrait of Africa's remarkable primeval oasis.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

The Okavango is an enormous seasonal wetland in the midst of the Kalahari Desert. As Lanting warns, it's another precious habitat teetering on the edge. Though it has long been left to the wildlife because of the tsetse fly problem, recent fly control success has governments pondering whether cattle grazing and other developments should be allowed. Yet damming, draining, and road building would severely alter the natural cycles of water and wildlife migrations. In documenting the cycles of the Okavango, Lanting's photographic skills are seemingly boundless. His viewpoints, lighting, backgrounds, and composition are unparalleled. From vast aerial shots to closeups of lionesses lapping water, each extraordinary photo conveys life and power and feeling. Both in the brief chapter narratives and in each photo caption, Lanting's superb prose is equally absorbing. Highly recommended for public libraries, Africa collections, and photography collections.-- Nancy Moeckel, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, Ohio

BookList - Ray Olson

This latest in the long, long stream of African wildlife photo albums is in some ways just another one. It has a first-person text by the photographer, the familiar cast of animal subjects, the usual harping on water and sun as the determinants of life in its harsh settings, the expected rant about the fragility of the depicted environment (in this case, a nature preserve in Botswana rather than Kenya or Tanzania) in the face of encroaching civilization, etc. But Lanting's entry, more than most, is so full of photos in which the colors seem so unearthly that they make you wonder what bearing they have on reality. Just how did Lanting obtain the hues of the cover image, for instance, in which a group of elephants stand out against a magenta sky as it is reflected in an equally lurid pond? Sure, these are gorgeous pictures, real eyepoppers, but on what planet were they taken, by what necromancy?

Booknews