Loony Birds, Lion Men and the Snake That Was a Gerbil 20 of the Best Bush Tales from Southern Africa

For more than 50 years David Bristow has been jaunting around southern Africa collecting curious wilderness anecdotes and historical nuggets from chats around the fireside as well as the rare books sections of the region’s foremost libraries. His singular obsession with the region’s remarkable people, creatures and places has culminated in a treasure trove of travel writing that plucks a motley crew of fascinating individuals from relative obscurity, connects the dots between past and present, and renews our appreciation for our natural heritage. 

Loony Birds, Lion Men and the Snake That Was a Gerbil draws from Bristow’s Stories from the Veld collection to bring readers the ultimate compilation of fascinating characters, extraordinary insights and action-packed bush tales of derring-do. Meet a 5-foot-tall gender-bending doctor prone to gun duels and a Khoi chief who escaped Robben Island 
multiple times. Venture to Mapungubwe, South Africa’s very own El Dorado, learn how the Sabi Reserve’s first game ranger fought off two lions with the help of his trusty hound and get ready to pick your jaw up off the floor. 

David cannot recall exactly when he became ozone friendly. He does recall contemplating things like energy efficiency long before he learned anything about Watts and Amps. School protests in 1976 lit a spark and the next year saw him studying how to be a muckraking journalist. There he started spending weekends rock climbing with people who seemed to know an awful lot about stuff like plants and rocks and ecosystems. This so impressed him that he went on to study earth sciences. More than four decades and some 20 books later, he has been fortunate to realise a long-time dream –becoming a paperback writer. His Stories from the Veld series includes The Game Ranger, The Knife, The Lion and the Shee; Of Hominins, Hunter-Gatherers and Heroes; Big Pharma, Dirty Lies, Busy Bees and Eco Activists and The Lion, the Dung Beetle and the Veld Toolbox