LeRoy Neiman on safari

This new book by one of America's most prolific and popular artists records in vibrant, colorful images the animals, landscapes, and people LeRoy Neiman encountered during his African "painting safari." For the first time in book form, Neiman depicts life in the wild with the same curiosity and intensity that he has brought to sports and social subjects over the past half-century.

His brilliant palette and candid prose bring into sharp relief the mannerisms and attitudes of the wild, independent creatures he encountered while in Africa. In sections devoted to the "Big Five" (Lion, Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Rhinoceros, and Leopard) and "Animal Land" (Zebra, Giraffe, Baboon, Monkey, Warthog, Cheetah, Wildebeest, and Hippopotamus), readers are introduced to these animals in their natural habitat as they move, meet, graze, hunt - or sometimes just rest in the tall grass.

Afterward, readers visit the artist's camp and "Maasai Land," where the elegant men and women of this region pose and dance for him in their proud array.