South Africa Books

"Mortal Combat" tells how South African President Thabo Mbeki fell under the influence of quack AIDS theories at exactly the moment when the disease was becoming a massive public health crisis in South Africa. His government's halting and confused response to the epidemic was one of the great tragedies of post-1994 South Africa -- and one of the world's great policy idiocies of recent decades.

Mbeki was emotionally unable to accept the fact that HIV spreads through sexual contact, lest that finding "vindicate" racist attitudes about African culture. Groping for alternative explanations, he seized on dissident AIDS theories circulating on the internet, which blamed AIDS on poor nutrition and poverty. His endorsement of crackpot "science" had literally deadly results: it empowered his health minister (a heavy-drinking ANC hack) to delay the roll out of ARVs for years and to push "traditional" African remedies on a population of sick poor people who looked to the government for guidance. Eventually, Mbeki's anti-science policy was reversed in the face of opposition from civil society, unions, the courts, and the ruling ANC party itself -- but not before tens of thousands of South Africans had died unnecessarily. In the process, South Africa and the ANC became the laughingstock of the world.

"Mortal Combat" is informative, clearly written, and committed to science-based public health (which can't be taken for granted in South Africa). It also reproduces dozens of hilarious Zapiro cartoons. However, I took off one star because the book is based mostly on secondary sources and newspaper articles, and stays narrowly focused on AIDS denialism and its impact on policy -- it doesn't even attempt to tell the whole epic history of the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. But the heart of "Mortal Combat" is in the right place and it is essential reading for every educated South African -- especially the next generation of ANC leaders. Let's hope they learn from Mbeki's folly.

This book was produced for an exhibition at the metropolitan musuem of art in 1994. It shows how visions of 'the exotic' in places like asia and the middle east have affected western dress over the centuries - right up to the present time.

This volume is illustrated with numerous lovley colour photos of the exhibition pieces, which range from the 18th to 20th centuries. The text is quite light and easy to read, and the book does not have an index.

I give this book 4 stars for the photo and presentation content, but I'd have to drop one off for the text content. It's not a big book at 95 pages, but it's a nice one:)

If you are interested in learning about how a nation can develop and deploy nuclear weapons and then rollback the entire process...read this paper. It provides a history of South Africa's nuclear program and how they eventually dismantled their weapons prior to eventual majority rule. A bit dated but still a valuable study in how a nation can pursue nuclear weapons technology and develop and deploy effective systems without conducting full-scale tests.

The stories included in this compilation are very powerful. The authors have captured the feelings of those involved in apartied throughout history.

The nation of South Africa is one of the most beautiful in the world. With a wide variety of geological features, both warm and cold water ocean beaches, one of the world's greatest varieties of flora and fauna, a rich agricultural base and some of the most barren land in the world, it doesn't lack for variety. This book is a series of pictures of the country with a short description of what is in the photo. The focus is on the scenery although a bit of history is included to complete the descriptions.
South Africa is a nation that has undergone a dramatic political change in the last decade. I once had the opportunity to attend the first joint U.S./South Africa joint conference on education and turned it down. I have regretted it ever since and have had to be content with looking through books about South Africa. In looking through this one, it is clear that if I had gone, I would have been strongly tempted to stay there.

This is a great book. It helps you understand the troubles and hardships the people of South America go through times of fighting and war. I also liked the way the author used many adjectives to help you picture the setting and sorroundings. My only dislike was the confusing situations. At some points I had to reread a page to actually understand the situation. Another thing I liked was that I felt like I was actually growing with the main character through his teens and becoming a man.

Mathew Paul treats the South African Paratroopers with respect in this wonderful book. The book is made up of many stories told by "Parabats" that covers the history of South African Airborne Soldiers. The book covers the Bush Wars in Angola and South West Africa, and police actions in the black Townships in the early 1990's. Often having different soldiers telling their stories about the same battles but from different views. The book isn't political, it just shows what soldiers do in their words. Mathew Paul is a former Paratrooper Chaplin in the South African Defense Forces, and this book is a labor of love for his fellow "Parabats". The book is an easy read and tell's a story that few outside of Africa have heard of. Buy the book and enjoy a fun historical yawn.

As a fan of cartoons, politics and history, I was delighted to find these three favorites of mine all fused together in this mind-numbing collection of South African political cartoons which goes back to the Anglo-Boer War through to the modern day. All sides are represented, conservative and liberal, Afrikaans and English and pro- and anti-apartheid, with extensive commentary to help explain the political climate in which the cartoons were born. Love it love it love it!

This book intrically discussed many of the ethnic groups in Africa including, The Suku, Swazi and Tiv. Unlike other books I have read about Africa, this provided an in depth acount of a few tribes, instead of rushing to cover them all. My only complaint would be that it could've been updated to get more current information on the AIDS crisis, etc. Photos and charts helped in understanding the cultures of these tribal groups.

A fascinating novel regarding the damage done by keeping family secrets.