This text examines the flora and fauna of the African continent by viewing it as a complex mosaic of landlocked islands; islands which vary from isolated forests in oceans of grassland to lakes in seas of land. Each of these islands represents a snapshot of millions of years of evolution. The author highlights representative species, and as the reader is led around continental Africa, a pattern emerges which provides a deeper understanding of the complexity of the biology of Africa. The author was born in Tanzania and now teachers at Oxford University. He has also published a 7-volume work called East African Mammals.