Wild Africa Volume 1 : Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tarangire (2nd Edition) [CD-ROM]

Jerry Borrell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999

The first of a series of CD-ROMs focusing on the world's wild places and the creatures that inhabit them. Filmed entirely on location, and specifically for multimedia formats, this CD takes the reader to the African plains of Tanzania, home to one of the world's richest collections of animal, primate, and bird populations. A habitats section provides interactive maps allowing the reader to explore three of Tanzania's national parks (Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire) including their various ecological zones and animal populations. A visual tour section offers an extended photo-essay covering over 75 species, and a field guide provides instant access to information about all the plants and animals on the CD-ROM.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Buy-It. -- C/net, 7/95

Editors Choice, The Years Best 75 CDs: A multimedia field guide to the colorful creatures in three of Tanzanias parks. -- PC World, 12/95

If for some reason you cant sign on with an American Museum of Natural History Discovery Tour, The CD-ROM Wild Africa might be just the ticket. -- Natural History Magazine, 6/96

Wonderful, an excellent education tool for students of all ages. -- Bookpages New Media, 8/95

From the Publisher

After watching nature documentaries for a generation, we wanted to create a product that would incorporate the best of PBS style documentaries, and that would allow the reader to pause the main program and to ask questions about the content that they are watching. Rather than license old television documentaries we produced entirely new content, suited for this medium, creating one of the first CD ROMs in the WildLife/Ecology/Travel genres. Our goal as publishers is to document the wildlife and ecology of the richest remaining areas of Africa. As in our other titles, all of the photography, maps, and video are easily exported to the readers computer so that they can create their own materials or print our travel notes for use in the field. We treated the parks in a roughly contiguous line from the Serengeti in the North of Tanzania, south across the Ngorongoro Crater, and into Tarangire three of the riches wildlife areas remaining in Tanzania.

Product Details

• CD-ROM
• Publisher: Sumeria; Cdr edition (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570470170
• ISBN-13: 978-1570470172
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,922,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Introduction and Souvenir, September 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wild Africa Volume 1 : Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tarangire (2nd Edition) (CD-ROM)

Having just returned from Tanzania and visiting these parks, I sat down to use this CD again. It was purchased prior to my trip to give me some insight to the places I would visit. This it did very well.

I found that the CD was well put together, with an interesting introduction and generally good photographs of wildlife, plants and locations.

The CD gives a very good overview of the areas it covers and I find that it now makes a nice souvenir of my trip. Looking it after actually visiting the parks brings it all back again!

For anyone wanting to get a feel of the national parks, then this CD can be recommended. Like any product, it could be improved (the background music gets a little repetitive after a while) but any criticism would be fairly minor.

I think that the CD would also prove a useful eductational resource for African Wildlife studies, particularly as individual slide show sequences can be made and photographs transferred from it.

All in all, a nice CD and recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun romp through wild Africa, June 10, 1999

By 

Larry Hunt (Las Cruces, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild Africa Volume 1 : Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tarangire (2nd Edition) (CD-ROM)

Wild Africa Volume One Review By Dr. Larry L. Hunt

Wild Africa, Volume One, is a fun voyage with pictures and narration into three of Africa's most beautiful game refuges, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Tarangire. The CD is broken down into three sections:

1-A Visual Tour which is a photo essay that details the splendor and drama of the African plains through large 9 X 7 inch vivid color photos using upbeat background music and a charming female narrator.

2-A Locations Guide that explores three of Tanzania's wildlife parks through maps, photos, and movies.

3-A Field Guide that gives you instant access to information about hundreds of plants, birds, and animals of East Africa.

Overview

The controls to move through the experience are easy to use and straight forward, not requiring any elaborate manual or instructions. One Control Bar located along the right side of any information or picture allows you to easily move from one area to another. The program allows you to export any of it's movies, text or pictures individually for use in your own creations. The text exports as a Word file and the photos are nearly all PICT files. The program has a very interactive search engine allowing you to select any of the movies, text or photos through and individual search using a name or through a find all search of any of the categories. You can also design your own custom slide show by selecting photos to be played in any order you desire. The help menu is very clear and straight forward and is actually fun to browse through.

Quality

I am using a 21 inch screen and am very pleased with the quality of the color and text. However, it would be a nice touch if I was able to increase the size of the display beyond the 9 X 7 inch size.

Photos

The photographs are exceptional with great variety and contrast. If anyone is interested in the flora and fona of Africa, they will not be disappointed.

Information

The sources of the information used for this CD are a variety of excellent texts including,"The Safari Companion," by Estes, "Collins Field Guide, Birds of East Africa," by Williams and Arlott, "A Guide to Tanzania National Parks," by Lyogello, and Park Tourist Guides to Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Serengeti. My wife has been to all of these parks on two separate trips and she says that from her standpoint the information is rather basic by accurate. Having never been to Africa myself, I rather enjoyed the basics. I believe, Wild Africa, Volume One is a great value and I am anxiously awaiting the release of Volume Two which I have been told is now available.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The photos in this cd are disappointing., April 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wild Africa Volume 1 : Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tarangire (2nd Edition) (CD-ROM)

The photos in this cd are quite disappointing. It was apparently manufactured in 1995. Photo resolution and technology has advanced so much since then that you feel like you are looking through gauze. The descriptions of places and animals are not very complete either.