Beyond the Secret Elephants is Gareth Patterson’s long-awaited sequel to The Secret Elephants, published in 2009. Beyond the Secret Elephants is the continuing story of Gareth Patterson’s almost two decades of research into the secretive Knysna elephants. Significantly, however, it also reveals his startling discovery of a much more mysterious being than the elephants – a relict hominoid known to the indigenous forest people as the Otang.

‘The lion is my totem animal, and this is the story of my life in Africa, for the lion.’ My Lion’s Heart is an all-encompassing African story. From Gareth Patterson’s childhood in West and East Africa to his study of a threatened lion population in a private reserve in Botswana to his work with George Adamson, celebrated as the ‘Lion Man’ of Africa, we witness Gareth’s growing commitment to his life’s mission. This is nowhere more evident than in his account of his life as a human member of a lion pride, experiencing life and death through its eyes, as he successfully rehabilitated three famous orphaned lion cubs back into a life in the wilds.

There is a vast wealth of innate wisdom in the wild, if we would only listen. Humanity today, while technologically advanced, is so busy doing that they have forgotten how to be. They have lost heart. The Book of Samson contains deep truths that come from the hearts of the animals. These truths, explained from the perspective of wildlife, are very easy to grasp. Truths that, with courage, will make an immense difference.

The Soul of a Lion, an engaging memoir by Willie Labuschagne, is an exhilarating journey which begins with the young conservationist’s unique experiences with wild animals. From his groundbreaking research on the desert cheetah’s behaviour and ecology to becoming an internationally respected consultant on environmental and wildlife-related issues, he holds the reader’s attention with all the skill of the master storyteller. The numerous occasions when Willie faced potentially life-threatening situations with wild animals are vividly recounted, many of them wryly humorous while others evoke deep emotion.