Book review: Brian Jackson's walks on the wild side to risk life for conservation

West with the Light: My Life in Nature by Brian Jackman

As Africa bears the brunt of the Covid pandemic’s severe consequences for safari tourism, resulting in an explosion of poaching caused by the collapse of visitor revenue to support vital wildlife frontline defence, we can look back to a time when journalists and conservationists were putting their lives at risk to highlight the illegal ivory trade wiping out Africa’s elephant herds.

Brian Jackman is among those whose travel writing has entertained and educated myself and others smitten by Africa. Dispelling the myth that all travel writers do is go off on holidays at someone else’s expense, delivering public relations style prose, Jackman is a dedicated conservationist who helped to fire up some of the most important campaigns to save the African elephant from extinction.