ORIGIN AFRICA, safaris in deep time

472pp., b/w & colour illus., maps, hardback, London, 2023

Jonathan Kingdon on how Africa's geological history, climate, geography and biology gave rise to the myriad species found on the continent, and why it was the crucible for the evolution of homo sapiens.

"Magnificent. So rich, moving with ease through deep time and biological place, using a lifetime of thought." Redmond O'Hanlon, author of The Fetish Room, the education of a naturalist

Evolutionary biologist and visual artist Jonathan Kingdon was born in Tabora, Tanzania, in 1935. He taught at the University of East Africa at Makerere, Kampala, and later at Oxford, where he is currently a senior research associate in the Department of Biology. He was awarded the 1993 Silver Medal of the Zoological Society of London and the Royal Geographical Society's Cherry Kearton Medal and Award in 1998. His books include East African Mammals, an atlas of evolution in Africa and The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals.