by Amanda on Feb 23rd, 2012
Namibiana Buchdepot brings you an extract from Two Oceans: A Guide to the Marine Life of Southern Africa by George and Margo Branch, Lynnath Beckley and Charles Griffiths. In the following passage, which constitutes the introduction, the authors provide us with a sense of how rich and diverse Southern Africa’s marine life is:
This new edition of Two Oceans is a complete revision that incorporates 522 additional species, updates biological information, distribution records and scientific names, and has benefited from the digital era, with more than half the photographs being replaced and improved. About 900 species of birds are found in southern Africa and more than 15 guidebooks are available to identify them. By contrast, there are over 12 000 described species of marine plants and animals in the region, but this is the only field guide currently available that can be used to identify species for the entire region across all major groups of this diverse biota. JH Day’s A guide to marine life of South African shores broke new ground when it was published in 1974, but it is no longer available. The living shores of southern Africa, first published in 1981 to communicate the exciting research done on marine life in the region, was not designed as a field guide. Two Oceans serves precisely this purpose: to allow the ready identification of the most common forms of marine life that inhabit our coasts – including invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals, algae and flowering plants.
Book details
Cats: Book Excerpts,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
South Africa
Tags: A Guide to the Marine Life of Southern Africa,
Book Excerpt,
Book Excerpts,
Charles Griffiths,
English,
Extract,
George Branch,
Lynnath Beckley,
Margo Branch,
Namibiana Buchdepot,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
Random House Struik,
South Africa,
Struik Nature,
Two Oceans
Quick URL
by Amanda on Feb 14th, 2012
Coming March 2012, Guide to Night Skies of Southern Africa by Peter Mack:
Night Skies of Southern Africa was first published in 1987 and reprinted 11 times. It became the standard reference for enthusiasts in the region, but has been out of print for more than 10 years. This enlarged, new-format edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to incorporate the latest findings and advances in the science of astronomy.
Freshly designed, with many new full-colour images, it still offers the same standards of reliability and usability and so much more.
Features of the book are:
- Clear text written for the non-specialist sky-watcher
- Many new photographs and explanatory diagrams
- A new set of star maps designed for use from southern Africa, allowing for the easy identification of more than 5 000 stars
- Latest information about the planets, Milky Way, nebulae, galaxies, star clusters, etc.
This new edition is set to enjoy the acclaim and popularity of the earlier book, and will be welcomed by astronomy enthusiasts.
Guide to Night Skies of Southern Africa is also available in Afrikaans as Gids tot die naghemel van Suider-Afrika
About the author
Peter Mack graduated from Newcastle University. He was a Research Fellow at the SA Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town for six years before moving to the United States to conduct astronomical research, and later to set up a business making research-grade telescopes and instrumentation in Tucson, Arizona. He co-authored the popular Halley’s Comet – A Daily Guide for Southern Africa.
Book details
Cats: Nature,
Non-fiction,
Reference,
South Africa
Tags: Astronomy,
English,
Gids tot die naghemel van Suider-Afrika,
Guide to Night Skies of Southern Africa,
Nature,
Night Skies of Southern Africa,
Non-fiction,
Peter Mack,
Reference,
SA Astronomical Observatory,
SAAO,
South Africa,
Struik Nature
Quick URL
by Amanda on Feb 10th, 2012
When it comes to sustainability and healthy living, Margaret Roberts “walks the walk”. Roberts, by now a household name, is regarded as South Africa’s foremost expert on herbs. Her ethos of loving everything natural is one she relishes in spreading to others, through her books, her products and her lectures.
Diane de Beer visited her in her home in Pretoria:
Many people think Margaret Roberts is a brand. That she is, but she’s also an individual who does exactly what she tells everyone else to do in the way of sustainability, living from the earth and keeping yourself healthy.
When I visit her at her suburban home in Pretoria, where she lives when she’s not on her farm in the De Wildt-Hartbeespoort area, she enquires what kind of tea I would like.
She has to make the choice – after all, she will know which one to pick. Scented geranium or lemon verbena? Scented geranium, because it’s less familiar. We went into the garden to pick it, I was given a few cuttings to grow my own, and the most refreshing tea was made on the spot.
Book details
Cats: Health,
Lifestyle,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
South Africa
Tags: Animal Prayers,
Diane de Beer,
Edible and Medicinal Flowers,
English,
Health,
Herbal Teas for Healthy Living,
Interview,
Lifestyle,
Margaret Roberts,
Margaret Roberts' A-Z of Herbs,
My 100 Favourite Herbs,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
Pregnancy and Child Care for Healthy Living,
South Africa,
Struik Nature,
The Essential Margaret Roberts,
Tissue Salts for Healthy Living,
Tonight
Quick URL
by Amanda on Feb 9th, 2012
Getaway magazine has revealed Sasol eBirds of Southern Africa as one of their top 5 smartphone apps for off-road travellers. The zhooshed-up digital counterpart of Struik Nature’s seminal field guide, Sasol Birds of Southern Africa IV, Sasol eBirds of Southern Africa is available for Apple, Android and Blackberry devices.
Sasol eBirds of Southern Africa
Featuring images, distribution maps and descriptions of more than 950 birds, this great app is essentially a digital version of the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa field guidebook, but much better. There’s a Smart Search option, which allows you to identify that LBJ by beak shape, colour, size or habitat. Compare birds, store a list of sightings and verify an identity by matching it to one of 630 recorded birdcalls.
Book details
Cats: Nature,
Non-fiction,
Reference,
South Africa
Tags: Android,
App,
Apple,
Bird Guide,
Birds,
BlackBerry,
eBirds,
English,
Getaway,
Ian Sinclair,
Mobile apps,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
Norman Arlott,
Ornithology,
Peter Ryan,
Phil Hockey,
Reference,
Sasol Birds of Southern Africa,
Sasol Birds of Southern Africa IV,
Sasol eBirds of Southern Africa,
Smartphone,
Smartphone apps,
South Africa,
Struik Nature,
Warwick Tarboton
Quick URL
by Amanda on Feb 8th, 2012
Charles Griffiths, co-author of Alien and Invasive Animals: A South African Perspective and avid macro-photographer, was pleasantly surprised at the number of introduced animals he could actually photograph in his own garden in Claremont, including snails, slugs, woodlice, aphids, cockroaches, centipedes and many other creatures.
Griffiths and co-author Mike Picker estimate that there are about 601 alien and invasive animal species in South Africa – 487 terrestrial species, 38 freshwater and 76 marine. This number could even be highter, but Alien and Invasive Animals definitely contains the most comprehensive list of this sort.
You won’t find the bedraggled Joburg “prawns” of Oscar-nominated science fiction thriller District 9 in the new book by UCT zoologists Charles Griffiths and Mike Picker, but these authors account for pretty well every other alien and invasive animal that occurs in South Africa.
In fact, the associate professors and their specialist co-writers believe their book, Alien and Invasive Animals – a South African perspective, represents the most comprehensive current listing of these animals to date.
Book details
Cats: Nature,
Non-fiction,
South Africa
Tags: A South African Perspective,
Alien & Invasive Animals,
Aphids,
Centipedes,
Charles Griffiths,
Claremont,
Cockroaches,
English,
Freshwater,
Garden,
IOL SciTech,
Marine,
Mike Picker,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
Photography,
Slugs,
Snails,
South Africa,
Struik Nature,
Terrestrial,
Woodlice
Quick URL
by Amanda on Jan 30th, 2012
Ernst van Jaarsveld explains the importance of waterwise gardening in his foreword to Waterwise Gardening in South Africa and Namibia. Read the extract:
Waterwise gardening aims to make use of the best of indigenous plants to green our garden environment. Planting locally indigenous plants means they will be adapted to the prevailing conditions and, once established, should become self-sustaining. This not only leads to a reduced gardening bill, but also contributes towards environmental conservation. For example, if you live in a bushveld environment, it makes sense to establish a bushveld garden; or to create a fynbos or strandveld-fynbos garden if you live in the Western Cape. Indigenous gardening is effective gardening, in harmony with the environment and favourable towards birds, insects, frogs and reptiles. The key to waterwise gardening is to create a garden that is appropriate for your area, so that it becomes easy to select the right plants. Remember, though, that individual gardens can have many different microclimates, so you can also choose suitable plants from other regions to add interest and variety. This book deals with indigenous gardening in South Africa and Namibia, two diverse countries that embrace the full spectrum of different climatic regions, from arid deserts to subtropical forests. In order to make the best of your garden, you first need to understand your own environment so that you can select appropriate indigenous plants that are climatically adapted to your local conditions.
Book details
Cats: Book Excerpts,
Lifestyle,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
South Africa
Tags: Book Excerpts,
Book Extracts,
English,
Ernst van Jaarsveld,
Excerpt,
Extract,
Foreword,
Lifestyle,
Namibiana Buchdepot,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
South Africa,
Struik Lifestyle,
Struik Nature,
Waterwise Gardening in South Africa and Namibia
Quick URL
by Amanda on Jan 27th, 2012
Euegene Moll, author of What’s that Tree?, looks back on the life of the KwaZulu-Natal botanist, Kathleen Gordon-Gray, who died in Pietermaritzburg on January 13th.
Moll says that Gordon-Gray was “no ordinary woman” – she was the South African expert on Cyperaceae and collected some 4000 specimens, mainly from KwaZulu-Natal. Speaking of the personal impact she had on his life, Moll says he would have become a zoologist were it not for her influence.
KATHLEEN Gordon-Gray (née Huntley) died peacefully in Pietermaritzburg on January 13, 11 days before her 94th birthday. She is survived by her only daughter, Celia.
Gordon-Gray was no ordinary person. She was, in fact, a most extraordinary and generous woman. Not only was she the South African expert on Cyperaceae and some other plants of KwaZulu-Natal (see Google Scholar for a list of some of her publications), she was a wife, mother, excellent lecturer in the then botany department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Pietermaritzburg campus, and a much sought-after confidante and friend to students and colleagues alike.
Book details
Cats: Nature,
Non-fiction,
South Africa
Tags: A Starter's Guide to Trees of Southern Africa,
Botany,
English,
Eugene Moll,
Kathleen Gordon-Gray,
KZN,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
Shrubbery,
South Africa,
Struik Nature,
The Witness,
Tree spotting,
Trees,
What's that Tree?
Quick URL
by Amanda on Jan 25th, 2012
In 2010, Struik Nature released Bruce Cairncross’ Pocket Guide: Rocks & Minerals of Southern Africa, a fascinating reference book on the rock and mineral species of southern Africa. Today we are delighted to bring you an excerpt from the book, courtesy Namibiana Buchdepot:
Southern Africa is endowed with a wealth of mineral deposits, as well as several internationally famous geological formations and world heritage sites. The region’s geological history spans an enormous time period, with some of its rocks being over 3 000 million years old. All of the three important rock types – igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary – occur here. They are composed of many different mineral species, ranging from those that are somewhat dull to those with chemical or aesthetic properties that make them useful in industry, in building or as gems or collector specimens. Currently over 4 400 mineral species are known worldwide, many of which are found in southern Africa. This book features the more common, interesting or important rock and mineral types and is intended to provide a quick and easy field reference for amateur geologists and collectors. If you wish to learn more about the distribution or characteristics of rare minerals, the bibliography lists easily accessible professional publications dealing in greater detail with the geology of southern Africa.
Book details
Cats: Book Excerpts,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
Reference,
South Africa
Tags: Book Excerpts,
Bruce Cairncross,
English,
Geology,
Namibiana Buchdepot,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
Pocket Guide: Rocks and Minerals of Southern Africa,
Reference,
Rocks and Minerals of Southern Africa,
South Africa,
Struik Nature
Quick URL
by Amanda on Jan 19th, 2012
Karen Kotze interviewed the witty Ian Sinclair, author of the original Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, which last year was revised for a fourth edition, co-authored by Warwick Tarboton, Phil Hockey, and Peter Ryan. In the interview, Sinclair reveals a devious sense of humour, saying, “I actually hate birds”, and recalling the “hooliganism” that led him from stamp collecting to bird watching:
“After this one, I’m klaar,” declares Ian Sinclair. He’s referring to the fourth – and final – revise of his international best-seller, Sasol Birds of Southern Africa.
His physical address states Pinelands, indeed his spacious and elegant home is in Pinelands, but the man himself rarely is. As this is written, he’s hunting down 30 endemic birds of Sri Lanka which are rumoured to be there, but have not yet been seen. Half a dozen of them are nocturnal too, so he paints quite a picture of a “Saucepan Man” version of himself, strung with torches, Canon equipment and flanked by fellow explorers, creeping through thickets in the deep dark night.
Book details
Cats: Nature,
Non-fiction,
Reference,
South Africa
Tags: Athlone News,
Bird Guide,
Birds,
English,
Ian Sinclair,
Interview,
Karen Kotze,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
Norman Arlott,
Ornithology,
Peter Ryan,
Phil Hockey,
Reference,
Sasol Birds of Southern Africa,
Sasol Birds of Southern Africa IV,
South Africa,
Stamp collecting,
Struik Nature,
Warwick Tarboton
Quick URL
by Amanda on Jan 17th, 2012
Go! magazine speaks to Peter Ryan, one of the authors of Sasol Birds of Southern Africa IV (now in its fourth edition), about what makes this particular guide book unique:
Why another bird guide?
The first edition of this guide was published in 1993, the first revision in 1997 and the second in 2002, so you could say the fourth edition was overdue. It’s not a new guide, but an extensive revision of what is arguably the premier guide to the birds of southern Africa.
Revisions are needed to keep up with changes such as new vagrants and the latest taxonomic decisions.
Book details
Cats: Nature,
Non-fiction,
Reference,
South Africa
Tags: Bird Guide,
Birds,
English,
Go!,
Go! magazine,
Ian Sinclair,
Interview,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
Norman Arlott,
Ornithology,
Peter Ryan,
Phil Hockey,
Reference,
Sasol Birds of Southern Africa,
Sasol Birds of Southern Africa IV,
South Africa,
Struik Nature,
Warwick Tarboton
Quick URL
