A welcome addition to South African botanical literature. This lavishly illustrated book is written by the authors of the highly sought-after publications Fynbos: South Africa's Unique Floral Kingdom and Namaqualand: A Succulent Desert. The story of East of the Cape: Conserving Eden is a story about nature and people. It takes place in a region located on the south-eastern coast of Africa where nature's diversity is manifest: rainforest, karoo, fynbos, grassland and savanna are juxtaposed in complex and intriguing ways. Aptly called Eden, this region is also home to thicket, a Lilliputian forest of great antiquity that harbours the ancient stock of many plant lineages found in southern Africa's contemporary ecosystems.