Journey Into Africa through the lens of National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting, whose images have created an enduring vision of Africa's diverse landscapes and wildlife. Experience the wonders of wild Africa as seen through the eyes of master photographer Frans Lanting, whose images have created an enduring vision of the continent's primeval natural heritage--and what is at stake in the twenty-first century. Lanting's images feature some of the most celebrated landscapes on Earth, from the sweeping vistas of the Serengeti Plains and the water wilderness of the Okavango Delta to the enchanting deserts of Namibia, the bewildering jungles of the Congo, and the otherworldly island of Madagascar. During many journeys over the past three decades, Lanting has documented Africa's iconic animals--elephants, rhinos, giraffes, lions, leopards, and cheetahs--as well as its endangered primates, including gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and lemurs. His personal stories express the deep understanding and sense of mission that make his work stand out as a unique tribute to the continent's wildlife and wild places. This book is based on Frans Lanting's landmark exhibition, Into Africa, which was produced as a partnership with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and the National Geographic Society, with support from the World Wildlife Fund.

Beauty of the beasts. This is Frans Lanting's vibrant tribute to Old Africa revisited on its 20th anniversary. Botswana, many say, represents the last of Old Africa. And in the heart of this arid land lies a place as inspiring and as incongruous as the snow-capped summit of Kilimanjaro rising on the equator: that is the Okavango, one of the greatest wetlands on earth, whose very existence in the middle of a desert is nothing short of miraculous. - Frans Lanting, 1993 For a year, between 1988 and 1989, Frans Lanting roamed the wetlands and deserts of northern Botswana, living by the rhythms of the water and the movements of the animals as he captured them on film. The "National Geographic" had sent him there on assignment, but what he would take away was much more than a magazine story; it was a seminal and unparalleled collection of photographs depicting a world of flora and fauna that many had assumed no longer existed on this earth. As Lanting wrote, "To many who have seen the fate of other wild areas in Africa and elsewhere in the world, the very notion that such a place as Okavango still exists is like a dream." Living out of vehicles and canvas tents, gliding through swamps, following lions by night - Lanting, armed with his Nikon FE2, got up close and personal with some of the planet's most formidable creatures. The book he published a few years later, "Okavango", was a testament not only to the wondrous wildlife of the region, but also to Lanting's extraordinary courage, skill, and photographic eye. After many publications of Lanting's work, including "Jungles", "Eye to Eye", and "Penguin", TASCHEN now revisits his original classic with this updated and expanded edition of "Okavango", further enhanced with all new reproductions and dozens of previously unpublished photos, as well a new preface by Lanting.