About this List

Welcome! If you’re reading this, you’ll soon be traveling to Botswana, where you’ll be introduced to a country with a fascinating culture, amazing natural habitat, and interesting history. Below are a few hand-picked recommendations to read or watch in order to learn more about this beautiful country before you land

A few notes:

Some of these books are available only in England, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe or specialized travel book stores. They are included here as a listing of what is available. There are many guide books to Botswana (and other southern African countries.) We have tried to only include the ones we know and have used; this isn’t intended to be a complete resource. Excellent bird, animal and tree books are also available in Victoria Falls, Johannesburg, and Cape Town if you want to wait and buy them there.

The Eye of the Elephant is actually about Zambia, but still relevant, and The Covenant is about South Africa, but the complete story of southern Africa.

If you discover any books you think should be on our list, please let us know so we can include them for others.

Click or tap on a graphic to be taken to pages to find out more about each, including where you can purchase a title or find out more.

Nonfiction Books to Read or for Reference

Novels to Read