Thirty years ago Laurens van der Post led an expedition across the Kalahari Desert in search of some last remnant of the pure aboriginal Bushmen of southern Africa. As well as a spiritual and physical exploration, it is a portrayal of the Bushmen's way of life - their customs, music making and intimate participation in the world of nature - and in contrast, the fate they have suffered at the hands of their human persecutors.

This book was originally published in 1958. For this new edition, van der Post has written a long account of the Bushman's final Kalahari home and has collaborated with the photographer, David Coulson, whose visions and feeling for Africa he feels match his own. Dramatic desert scenes and powerful rock-paintings are combined with authentic images of stone-age Bushman life.

Laurens van der Post was awarded the CBE and was knighted in 1981. Since 1949 he has taken part in many expeditions to Africa and is author of 21 books including "The Heart of the Hunter", in which he continues the Bushman story started here. David Coulson has two previous books to his credit, "Mountain Odyssey in Southern Africa" and "Different Drums: Reflections on a Changing Africa".