2010/03/15
Talking Balls
By John Bishop and Tiki Dickson
(Zebra Press)
WHO has the worst swing of any successful golfer? Which Springbok rugby personality sidestepped Australian passport control … twice?
These are just some of the questions answered in Talking Balls.
At first, this seems to be a great book to skim through, but after a few stories I really got stuck in. Expect to chuckle out loud at some of the anecdotes.
And I guarantee many stories will be repeated over a braai. What’s also enjoyable is that you can put down the book and then pick up from where you left off weeks later .
Sporting giants like John Smit, Graeme Smith, Makhaya Ntini, Bakkies Botha and Hashim Amla add weight to the lighthearted book and their stories feature life on and off the sporting field.
Funny and well written, Talking Balls will appeal to a larger market than just sports fanatics .
My funny bone was certainly hit for a six. — Michael Kimberley
Wildlife of South Africa:
A Photographic Guide
By Duncan Butchart
(Struik Nature)
IT’S great for a family to have a shared interest. We all have our own individual pastimes but we come together when it comes to the brilliant diversity of life, flora and fauna, of South Africa’s eco-system.
Naturally, we have ended up with a bookcase full of guides, some area-specific, others on birds, trees, mammals, succulents, insects, etc.
Obviously, not everyone has the inclination, the means or the time to indulge in gathering a little library like ours but Duncan Butchart has come up with an answer that’s an excellent second-best – a fairly comprehensive photographic field guide that covers most of the more conspicuous and interesting birds, mammals, reptiles and trees.
It’s ideal for anyone setting out on the eco-adventure that starts in your garden and ends up wherever you want it to take you and, of course, it would also be a superb present for any visitor to our shores.
The 170 A5 glossy pages are crammed with pictures and information about the climate, where and how to spot wildlife, the country’s vegetation zones and what you can expect to see in each one, as well as introductions to the sections on mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and trees and shrubs. — Peter Godson
My First Book of Southern African Wildlife
By Erroll Cuthbert
(Struik Nature)
CHILDREN will be kept entertained for hours paging through this book.
While their eyes roam the pages looking at all the pictures of mammals, birds and reptiles, they’ll be learning loads, too.
Names of animals are given in English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu.
A notebook appears alongside each picture indicating whether the animal is active during the day or night, its size, what it eats and the shape of its footprints or tracks.
When it comes to the reptile section, there is a bright red skull and crossbones indicating if it is dangerous.
This book is a must have for young children. — Nicolette Scrooby
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