In 1863 Andrew Anderson set out for Africa to “fill up the blank” of South Central Africa. He planned to survey an area of 2,000,000 square miles, from 15° S to 30° S, roughly modern Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Anderson was a near contemporary of David Livingstone and in the spirit of the time he was motivated by an uncomfortable mix of idealism about “civilising and Christianising the native races” and cynical plans to help Britain open up the area for trade and exploit Africa’s natural resources. This book details the geological features, natural history and botany of each region and describes the people who inhabit the land. Although it is not exactly a travelogue, Anderson includes anecdotes of his experiences in Africa in order to make the book more attractive and readable for the enterprising young men and women who he hoped would follow him to the uncharted regions of the “dark continent”.   Published by Chapman and Hall, 1887.The book is in fair condition. It contains a frontispiece and 5 facing page illustrations.The book is an ex-library copy with a Morrow's Library label on the front cover. The binding is still intact but has suffered some wear. This is a scarce item.