When I was working at SOAS, the publisher of the famous South American Handbook, then Trade and Travel, (now Footprint) decided to expand. They only published the one title at the time so it was more of a serie than a series. They asked various staff in the SOAS geography department to write books on their areas of expertise. At the time there was no East African geographer at SOAS, so they asked me.

I thought the assignment would be a relaxed tour round the game parks, beaches and historical sites of the area. Several thousand kilometres of travel on poor roads by overloaded local bus, interspersed with overnights in ramshackle lodgings and a diet of chicken and rice soon convinced me there was to be little glamour - but a measure of fun and incident.

Two books materialised - an East Africa Handbook which went into 7 Editions starting in 1995 with the last in 2002. The first editon covered Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern Zaire (now DR Congo), Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti on the mainland, and Seychelles, Mauriitius, Reunion, Mayotte, Comoros and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

The Indian Ocean Islands were dropped after the first edition, and by the end Rwanda, Burundii, Eastern Zaire and Somalia were exluded as well. Nonetheless it had expanded by about 50% in size to 1,000 plus pages and 750,000 words (about the length of 10 PhD theses).

From 2005 the Handbook has been split into individual country Handbooks. The new Kenya and Tanzania Handbooks are based on the old East Africa Handbook - but with a new editor (see Footprint). I retained the Uganda Handbook which I edited with Angela Roche. Neither the East Africa or Uganda Handbooks are still in print - although copies can be still be obtained through Amazon or Albris.

A couple of excerpts from the special interest Boxes in the Handbooks.

A Snip at the Price

Isaac Misigo, the chairman of Lukembe Circumcisers of Kakamega, is dedicated to improving the professional and ethical standards of his members.

In a statement to the Standard newspaper in May 1996, Mr Misigo listed the new rules by which his members will now be required to abide:

Rate for job Ksh 3,000 (US$50) � although a cow can be accepted in payment

Four Muggings and a Funeral

Africa is quite safe for travellers provided they are cautious and take care to avoid risky situations. This is a lesson quite lost on your Editor.

In Nairobi, during the rainy season, he was walking one evening from the Boulevard Hotel to a restaurant. The road was awash, and he went along the poorly lit, fairly unfrequented, Uhuru highway. Four guys grabbed him from behind, took his money (about US$30), his golf umbrella, his shoes � and legged it. Your Editor limped to the nearby police-station in his socks and was told to `wait in a rear room with the others� � three sorry-looking individuals without a pair of shoes between them.

In Dar es Salaam it can get hot, and you�d think that, even as dusk is falling, a beach, albeit deserted, but in front of a large hotel would be safe for a swim. Alas your Editor was surrounded by a gang. Their intention was clear, even though their English was limited to but one phrase � �Gimme the Reeboks, muthafucka�.

North of Dar es Salaam the hotels have beaches patrolled by guards. At the end of one hotel beach is a large sign warning against proceeding any further as muggers operate. Your Editor was not able to work out from this that if he went for a jog beyond the hotel limit he would actually get mugged. In any case, what could they take? This cost a pair of Nikes.

The dock area of Bujumbura in Burundi is fairly deserted, but a fatal attraction for an Editorial stroll. What a shock, then, when a chap jumped out from behind a tree brandishing a screwdriver. Your Editor had had enough of passive compliance by this time and set off, as briskly as he was able, up the road, toward a group of people in a petrol station, shouting for help. Unfortunately he tripped over a drain, his assailant snatched his wrist-watch, and having done so, departed in some haste. A triumph for your Editor, however, as he was able to saunter into the police station fully shod.

Back in Nairobi, a follow-up visit had to be made to the Police Station. The desk sergeant was looking fairly pleased with himself � `I�ve got some good news for you,� he said. `We had a decoy out on your Uhuru Highway last night - and we shot a mugger dead�.