Gone native: called by the curlew and the beat of drums

Donald MacIntosh had never left his native Scotland until, at the age of 23, he embarked on a career as a tree surveyor and forest botanist which took him to some of the most remote parts of the rainforests of West Central Africa.

From Nigeria and Liberia to Cameroon and Gabon he worked, from Newfoundland to the Hebrides.

A self-effacing observer, Donald revelled in his odyssey in which he encountered witch doctors, hunters, gypsies, dictators, rogues and heroines.

Sheltering under mahogany trees, sitting by a camp fire or sleeping in a mud hut, Donald heard tales of love, of ghosts and wild beasts, of humour and of passion.

His sense of the beauty and mystery of the human soul shines through each skillfully-crafted tale of his encounters.