Africa Books

Left to Tell is a powerful story of one womens tragedies and survival experienced during the Genocide in Rwanda. This book brought tears and joy to my heart; it inspired me to know that through any horrible and life threatening experience a belief and faith in God will transcend all atrocities man will commit. It is also about how forgiveness can calm and soothe the soul so life can move on with peace in your heart.

I think this is an excellent book, I could not put it down. I ended up reading till 3 in the morning.

I had never heard of Immaculee Ilibagiza before I picked this book up in my local book store. I bought it after reading the back cover and I will never look at life the same again. Immaculee's ability to forgive is something we all should strive for; however, I think none will find the ability within themselves. It can only come from God, just like Immaculee's did. This book will make you cry, it will make you smile but most of all it will make you discard those petty little things that used to irritate you. I will keep this book and will probably read it again and again.

This book was truly life changing for me. When I find myself sweating the little things in life (i.e bills, pregnancy woes, hot weather)I remember Immaculee holed up in this tiny bathroom just praying and pleading for her life. She painted such a horrific picture I simply cannot forget. The killers were calling her name! What a humbling and amazing story she has to tell I literally could not put this book down..at the same time I was educated about how the Rwandan Holocaust all came to be..I had no idea what these poor people went through, the Hutus and the Tutsis became real to me. Who would have thought something like this still happens but this was just the 90's. In the beginning of her book, I smiled through tears as she described the tight knit Catholic family she was reared in--how strong and wise her daddy was, how much she loved her brothers with everything in her being, and how her mother was there until the end to protect her "babies". I was fortunate a few weeks after reading her book to see Immaculee speak at a local venue in Dallas. She was beautiful in person and her joy could light up an entire room. She was filled with the Holy Spirit and it was obvious how humbled she has been. I just kept thinking this woman has lost her entire extended family and she even had the grace to forgive those who killed her own. Forgiveness is the message I took from the book. Life is too short to carry the burden of not forgiving others who we think have wronged us. Excellent read with a message that will keep you thinking long after you read the book!!

I started reading this book before bed, big mistake on my part. I stayed up entranced by this book and continued reading until I couldn't stay awake. The first thing I did the next morning was pick this book back up and finished it. (Which only took a half hour)

I am absolutely amazed at Immaculee's ability to maintain her connection with God while surrounded by such hate. Immaculee shares her story of how she not only survived the Rwandan Holocaust, but how she forgave the killers of her family. This is an inspiring book which confirms how great humans really can be.

Some books are like the best of cats, they end up in your lap whenever you have a spare moment; they seek your company even as you desire theirs. Stealing Karma will be that book that one gives to a dozen friends - and they will all be grateful for it. Amazing.

Aneesha Capur's novel, Stealing Karma, is a story brimming with characters and situations that feel fresh, unexplored, and compelling. The dynamics here may mirror others in contemporary fiction concerned with domestic complexities, however, Stealing Karma spins them on their head and uses the cultural milieu to show us human interaction as we have never seen it before. I want to be here, in this world, and get to know its characters and how they will ultimately resolve the issues they face. The writing is clear, lyrical, steeped in place and feeling, and makes you thirst for more. Capur offers a delightful antidote to the kinds of fiction we have seen so much of in the past few years. This is a book that many readers of all backgrounds will be sure to find satisfying.

A pity that one can only read a few pages of what promises to be a most interesting story! Capur catches the reader's imagination and holds it with tantalizing imagery and dialogue, moving the plot forward, leaving one wanting for more. What happens to Mira? How does she cope? I look forward to reading the novel in its entirety.

In a world where so many of us have been driven by a sense of adventure or desperation or opportunity to seek our fortunes abroad, Stealing Karma weaves the story of the expatriate into the life of Mira who loses nearly all connection to India after she leaves for Africa. Mira is suddenly widowed and the precariousness of her adopted world, her erstwhile world of choice, is stark. In her excerpt, Aneesha Capur skillfully sets the plot for the reader: karma will transform the comfortable, even opulent, lives of Mira and her young child. But Mira now belongs to neither the world she left nor the world that has left her.......

After reading the manuscript review by Publishers Weekly provided in the Editorial Reviews concerning the novel `Stealing Karma' by Aneesha Capur I couldn't wait to read the nine pages submitted to Amazon's ABNA contest. Here is a book containing a plethora of subject matter near and dear to my heart; prophetic dreams, Hindu deities, astrological omens, African tribal beliefs and Jungian psychology and reincarnation. It was almost too much to ask for.

With such high hopes in place I must admit that I was extremely disappointed after reading the excerpt. Not because the writing is bad or the story uninteresting. To the contrary, both writing and storyline are excellent. The disappointment experienced was due to the discovery that none of those tantalizing spiritual/occult matters already mentioned were included within the available nine pages.

Moving beyond my initial dismay, I did enjoy this excerpt and look forward to reading the novel at some later date. The characters are well developed and I found Mira an intriguing, beautiful and incredibly sympathetic figure. To create such an alluring and complex character in a short nine pages is a credit to the author and makes the reader hungry for more pages to explore.

The book, In the Company of Heroes by Michael J. Durant, describes the life of a prisoner of war in Somalia. The fact that the officer actually was the prisoner, makes the book an autobiography. Durant wrote this book in hopes of bringing his life and death situations as a prisoner of war, to the real world. He wanted to explain how difficult life truly was and the experiences he went through on a day-to-day basis. He wanted everyone to see eye-to-eye on ideas such as war. By writing this book, those hopes can be expressed. This shows that there are many hardships but you have to persevere no matter how painful it may be.
Michael J. Durant was born on July 23, 1961 in Berlin, New Hampshire. He then went on to enter the U.S army in August 1979. Michael was Chief Warrant Officer 3 in the United States Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. In the war, he was captured and held prisoner on October 3, 1993. He was very high up on the list of positions in the army. The importance of his job also came with many responsibilities. For example, he had to learn and teach how to fly helicopters. Up until the war in Somalia, he led a pretty normal life. He has a wife named Lisa, and a son named Joey. Devastated to leave his family, he got prepared to fight for his country, which is something he was meant to do. His adventurous character has led him to do great things.
Michael J. Durant did a fantastic job writing this book. He tells the story with great detail. This true story implants extreme images in your head. Coming from a first hand source, the story is even more meaningful. It makes you feel like you were actually there.
Many positives were found throughout the story. One example would be how it shows Durant's life before and after he encounters his captivity. It was interesting to learn about the daily struggles he had to go through in order to survive and how different his survival instincts were before the war. The book is very suspenseful and keeps its interest throughout every chapter. The only negative would be that the book is long and at certain points, difficult to read for younger people.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves suspense, intensity, and life or death situations.

I recently purchased this book, and I wish there were words enough to relay just how great it is. In the Company of Heros illistrates brilliantly the account of Night Stalker pilot Mike Durant, and his experience in somolian captivity. Mr. Durant may be a pilot by trade, however his story and how he tells it are amazing. This book is a great buy for anyone, but it is a MUST READ for any Army aviation pilots or aircrewmen.

A riveting true story, well written. If you didn't already respect the skill and bravery of the US armed forces, you will after reading this book.

Excellent,excellent book. I'd recommend reading Black Hawk Down first for an overview of the battle, but even if you don't, either way, this is a great book. Mr Durant just tries to tell it like it is, how it happened, and tell the stories of his fallen comrades, who are the "heroes" from the title.

I was in the 101st, in fact I was at Campbell when Durant was flying non SOG missions, and I went to Panama, so his career flashbacks were cool to read as I could relate. But even for someone who may not have been there, the flashbacks provide a backdrop for who he is, who the Night Stalkers were, and the mentality of these SOG operators.

Fantastic read, highly recommend.

Durant's story takes us from Black Hawk Down and gives us a persalized look into his ordeal in Somalia. But he also gives an itimate look into the lives and beliefs of his captors. This is must read book for anyone interested in the survival of the human spirit.

Hemingway, Ruark, and Sanchez are all pale imitators of the great Peter Hathaway Capstick. Try to imagine an American walking away from a Wall Street career to hunt as a professional guide in Africa. Now imagine that this guy could write WAY BETTER than Hemingway, and you're still not there.
A small snipet from the chapter on leopard.
"...the bark of the tree, when, suddenly, your gazing into two yellow-green eyes as evil as poison gas."
I'm not a hunter myself, but reading this book makes me wish I was.

"Death in the Long Grass" is my favorite of all Capstick's stories. Note, I didn't say "the most accurate or honest", but simply my favorite. He makes fearful episodes with wild beasts believable but, I suspect that Capstick put many second-hand stories into the first person.

I spoke to one long-time professional hunter in Zambia, old Rhodesia and Zimbabwe, "What do you know about Capstick?" At the time I was an avid reader and believed every word like scripture. He told me, "All I've heard of him is that he was a cook in a hunting camp in Zambia." Then again, my professional hunter friend may have had insufficient information. Another time, in one of his book, Capstick seems to quote me, personally. I will paraphrase, "I met a young African hunter who gave me his philosophy on hunting, 'It's better to spend small amounts of money and go on many safaris than to spend a great deal of money and go on only a few'." This is, in fact, an accurate quote...but...I never met Capstick. But this was and is my personal philosophy and, because of it, I have hunted all over the world and taken everything from doves to elephant.

Another friend, who reportedly knew Capstick in his later years, told me that Capstick said words to the effect, "Everybody believes that I am a liar." My friend responded, "It doesn't matter what people think. You are a great writer and you've done more for big-game hunting than any man alive." I quite agree with this, by the way.

In one of his books, Capstick tells the exciting story of hunting down a maneating leopard. It's truly a gripping tale. Late in his life, Capstick--for a fee--offered his company on African safaris. I read the account my one of the men who hired Capstick. Once again, I'll paraphrase, "It's a remarkable thing that Capstick, who had guided so many hunters in the killing of leopards, had never actually shot one himself. I therefore gave him my leopard permit and Capstick did the shooting."

Hey, Capstick was a fascinating writer, had a great ear and made the reader live the adventure. Were all his facts exactly straight? I don't know and doubt it really matters.

Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Conquest of Mexico.

I first read this book years ago, but that copy got lost and I was overjoyed to find it again. My siblings and I all wanted it when Dad gave away his library.

Mr Capstick is a wonderfully descriptive writer! Each one of the big eight African game animals has a chapter; and each is the very worst way to die. Capstick does not skimp on the gory details, but he is entertaining and real. He spent many years in the Africian bush and obviously knows each of these animals very, very well.

I worked with a gentleman who met Capstick while in Africia and he reported that the man in the book is the same man in real life. If you want a different view of Africa from the Disneyification of wildlife this is the book for you.

"If you want to be a writer, don't listen to your high school English teacher", Pete Townshend once told a caller on a syndicated radio program. In this instance, I emphatically agree! I never knew what my high school English teachers wanted either. I can just imagine them with their red pencils, crossing out one line after another if they would ever bother to read a book like this. But in actual fact Mr. Capstick spins his yarns so well in this, his first book, that most of his readers could not put it down.

Reading in the safety of your own home, as you are sitting in your recliner chair sipping an iced drink, I daresay you will look over your shoulder once or twice. Even if the hair doesn't stand up on the back of your neck.

I won't go into the content here, as there is more than enough info in the other reviews. I've read about half of his books and I suspect that this first one is his best. You just have to start here. He writes so engagingly that even the foreword is required reading!

PHC is a spinner of hair raising yarns. He is quite a creative storyteller with a style that makes you feel like you're part of the hunt. His descriptions and details bring you face to face with dangerous game on a safari adventure. I've read and re-read this book many times and each time I am always wanting to know what will happen next.

I particularly enjoyed reading the story of these brave young men who miraculously found each other from time to time, after undergoing such terrible hardships trying to find help. My church offered our extra parsonage to six of the "Lost Boys" and they were a part of our congregation for almost two years. Several became members of our church, and still attend once in a while. Truly God was with these children during that time of horror. They were more resourceful than any American child would ever be, and we pray none will have to suffer as these kids did. We are so proud of "our" boys who learned to speak American English, who learned to get around the city on bicycles, and later in their cars. Most have finished college now. I'm sure the stories of our young men parallels that of the three who shared their stories in this book. Ann Luna, Nashville, TN

This book is on our UMW 2008 reading list. The book is very well written and takes you on this journey that these boys made. It is amazing that they survived and overcame all obstacles

My favorite little independent bookshop, Latitude 33, recommended I read this when they found out I was interested in African Affairs. Melanie, the manager, said that she and several of her book club customers read the book and loved it. That was encourgement enough for me.

I was completely caught off guard.

"They Poured Fire on us From the Sky" changed my life in a profound way.
After reading this book about the Civil War in Southern Sudan, I felt compelled to do something on behalf of Darfur. The story told by Benjamin and his brothers is now tragically repeating itself with devastating consequences to the Fur.

Thankfully, the editor used at light hand so that it retained the Dinka voice, which is the
heart and soul of the story tellers.
You will fall in love with these boys. You will pray for these boys, and you will thank the IRC for bringing them hope in the form of a mentor and friend, Judy Bernstein. READ THIS BOOK!

It is hard to believe that in this 21st century, the atrocities that take place in Sudan are still happening and the rest of the world is blind to them. My heart goes to these strong boys that survive. I cannot imagine my own small son having to endure even a fraction of what Benson, Ben, Alphonso and so many other children had to live during their perilous journey.
I hope many read this book and open their eyes to what goes on in other countries. Let's not be quiet about it... This is a must read for our own leaders in hopes they get some perspective of what international conflicts are really important to stop.

Harrowing. Intense. Disturbing. Raw. Emotional. True. Tragically hopeful. A must read among the well-to-do. This will put anyone's life and problems into proper perspective. It is a tale of survival in the midst of the worst affliction that any child could endure imaginable.

I read this book after watching - several times over - David Simon's most recent work, The Wire. I have always been interested in detectives and was drawn by this book because it is non-fiction. As well as being a highly enjoyable read, I would say there were three main takeaways. First, the detailed first-hand account of actual cases and methods of investigation (including related disciplines such as interrogation, medical examination, ballistics, trace evidence, etc. as well as the legal processes and challenges that lead to conviction) have made me much more familiar with the actual process of solving murders. Second, a basic understanding of the structure and organization of a homicide unit within the police department and how the system is incentivized to solve crimes. Third, an appreciation of how these detectives - through late-night drinking sessions and office humor - manage to make their lives livable when they are not dealing with the darker side of their profession. Simon's first book is really special, I look forward to reading it again someday.

Homicide is one of the better of the crime reporting novels I have read. Simon was definitely at the top of his game.

He manages to write the book with more of a novel feel then a biography of the people involved. Other similar books, such as 'Homicide Special' try for the same thing, but you still feel the writer in their presence. Simon makes the reader feel as if they are there without feeling that the writer is intruding on anything.

The cases the officers work on are all interesting, and not all are slam dunks or even solvable. Many authors would feel a need to make their book have cases with endings. I applaud Simon for not giving in to that temptation.

Baltimore definitely plays a role in this book, and you get a real feeling for the city. You can see in this book the seed that would eventually sprout the series 'Homicide'.

If you are interested in detective work this is an excellent read. I highly recommend this book.

great book - heard David Simon on NPR and he knows the streets of BMore

Journalist David Simon's homicidic tome, published in 1991, follows a group of detectives from the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit for an entire year, beginning in January 1988. It is a gritty, great read about the matter-of-factness of murder in a city with one of the highest rates in the nation. An article in a recent (April 19, 2008) issue of New Economist highlights a recent drop in that rate (from 282 homicides in 2007). During the year of Simon's internship, there were 234 murders, followed by (p 618) 262 in 1989 and 302 in 1990. Based on those four years, that's an average of one violent death every 18 hours.

What Simon was able to put together from his year's worth of journalistic scribblings on life with the good guys and the bad guys is a fantastic fly on the wall's eye view: the graphic violence of crime scenes, the raunchy humor of and banter between the detectives, the despair of the victims' family members, and the utter stupidity of many of the criminals: (p 16) "the investigator's saving grace is the killer's overwhelming disposition toward incompetence or, at the very least, gross error." His Guidebook of Death Investigation Rules are remarkable: (p 34) "Rule Number One...the page 1 entry in a detective's lexicon: Everyone lies." Rule Five is equally profound (p 237), "It's good to be good: it's better to be lucky." Best of the book: Simon's ability to capture the events in a comprehensive and cohesive manner, even with several welcome change ups to the overall chronological format. Covering every aspect of "life on the killer streets" Homicide is a perfect read for tome-loving crime buffs, neither category of which I belong. Also good, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer, and Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love Mr. Simon's writing style, which is both intresting and easy to follow. The only negative about this book is the language, which may offend some people.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY ON ANGELINE JOLIE AND A LOG OF HER TRAVELS FOR THE UNITED NATION. VERY INTERESTING. JM

These extracts from Angelina's journal provide a unique insight into the plight of refugees all over the world. It is heart-wrenching to read about the terrible ordeals these people have faced during war & continue to face even after the fighting is over. The courage they show during such adversity is humbling & inspiring to the last page. A must-read book if you have any interest in the plight of your fellow man.

Angelina Jolie has a very personal connection with those who are in hard circumstances like the poor in Africa, one can speculate why but cannot realistically claim it is not sincere. She spends a lot of her time and money there and writes with warmth and humility. She expresses appreciation for those things in other areas that help keep poverty and related problems at bay. A good read as a eyewitness account of what people are going through but also a meaningful social commentary, most of all I find this book an inspiring example of how to bravely contribute whatever one can.

One of the most treasured books in my home library, Angie's courage and compassion for those less fortunate comes alive in every page of this book. This book is very inspiring and very humbling at the same time. My respect for Angelina has increased a thousand fold from reading this gem...plus she is donating all her proceeds to the UNHCR! I hope she writes more books!

This was a great book, i am soo glad i bought it. It really made things real and showed you the reality of what goes on in the world outside the bubble of your own perspective and own country. I would recommend this for everyone, even if your not an angelina fan because everyone should know about these living conditions that are how a large portion of the world are subjected too and it really makes you appreciate what you have. I wish that the book was longer i loved it so much!.

Monique and the Mango Rains is the moving account of Kris Holloway's experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, West Africa, assisting Monique Dembele, the area's local midwife and medical worker. In the crippling poverty of Mali, Monique and Kris work to help Mali's women and children in times of medical distress. From the birthing of babies to relationship counselling, fending off disease and infection to nutrition education, Monique labors ceaselessly and tirelessly. Her work builds a reputation far and wide that draws women from distant villages seeking her expert help. Kris, while adapting to her harsh environment, becomes more than just an assistant to Monique, experiencing with her the joy of her work and her relationships with the local women. She shares the anguish and disappointment of Monique's life outside the clinic and the close bond of her host family in Africa, becoming a friend to this inspiring woman. As Monique and Kris work to bring education and information to the women, they must broach sensitive topics like birth-control, AIDS, and abolishment of female circumcision. These topics, foreign to the local women, directly affect the survival of the community, and they work tirelessly to educate and inform the women while still dealing with the malnutrition, illness, and injury that besiege them every day.

The candid portrayal of life in the small village was very informative and interesting. I learned a great deal about the regions politics, the African society, and the general day to day existence of the small provincial village. The backbreaking work that the community must endure to prepare for the seasonal rains that fortify their village was explained in rich detail, making the story of the community's struggle for their survival come alive to the reader. Every hand is needed to plant and harvest the life giving crops that will sustain the villagers in the dry season. Monique's inexhaustible commitment to her patients and to her family was awe-inspiring. Her work to repair the birthing house, her bi-weekly weighing of babies, and her educational instruction to mothers for the care of their children was invaluable to the women of her community. Monique's story, though inspirational, was also fraught with sadness. The relationship between her and her husband, who she only calls le gars (the guy) is upsetting and one-sided. While Monique provides the money, care and stability, her husband takes and takes from her, never realizing the treasure that he is entrusted with. Monique works long and trying hours at the clinic, barely scraping by financially, with her young son tied to her back. Though at times the story was sad, there were real moments of joy and laughter throughout this book, from the triumphant birth of twins in an area where a double birth is almost unheard of, to Monique's musings on an airplane ride, I found myself smiling and laughing with Kris and Monique. Monique and Kris's friendship continued even after Kris's time in the peace corps ended, and straddled two different continents and many years.

This was a remarkable story of a remarkable woman. It encompassed the difficulties, differences and uniqueness of African culture that goes unnoticed by most Americans. I found Monique to be a fascinating woman who gave her heart and soul to the people who relied on her for their daily survival. This book was written in part to document the work that Kris did at Monique's side, but more than this, it was written as a homage to her great friend Monique. Monique truly touched Kris's life, and upon reading this book, I found she touched mine as well. Wonderful book, highly recommended.

Kris Holloway spent two life-changing years in Mali, West Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer. Monique and the Mango Rains is her memoir of that time, of the people she met, and the country she grew to love.

Holloway, twenty-two years old, fresh out of college and hailing from Ohio, was assigned to the village of Nampossela in southeastern Mali. Her host, the person she would shadow for two years and with whom she would develop a remarkable friendship, was the village health care worker and midwife Monique Dembele.

This book educated me about so many aspects of Mali - the culture, it's political climate, the economy - never once losing my attention or becoming tedious. In fact, I was hooked from the first page. I attribute this to the author's love of the country and its people. Even though her focus in this book is Monique and the villagers, it is obvious that Holloway was an exceptional person in the ease with which she adapted to life in Nampossela. She picked up the language quickly, had relatively few complaints about the lack of ammenities and physical comforts, and was in general open to the experience, embracing the beauty and simplicity of this extraordinary existence.

Above all else, Monique and the Mango Rains is a tribute to its title character. Monique was regal and intelligent, wise beyond her 24 years, with an easy-going sense of humor. She was compassionate and kind, dedicated to her work, despite its frustrations and the toll it took on her own life. Overworked and underpaid, she worked at the dilapidated village clinic with her infant son strapped to her back. The resources available to health care were scarce and educating the villagers often meant contradicting a patrilineal cultural tradition in which women were not free to control their own destiny where health and reproductive issues were concerned.

Holloway's descriptions made Mali come alive. She painted a richly hued picture of the village of Nampossela. When she described the oily chunks of mudfish that accompanied one meal, I could see and smell them. My skin crawled when a seven-inch long, jet black scorpion fell from an item of clothing she was about to put on one morning. I felt emotionally invested in this story, drawn to keep reading but not wanting it to end. I ached for her when her Peace Corps assignment came to an end and it was time to say good-bye to Monique and the villagers. While Holloway recounted holding back tears on her last day in Nampossela, mine were flowing freely.

I am so glad that Kris Holloway decided to write this memoir of her two years in Mali, and that she did it so masterfully. It touched my heart, and changed the way I see the world ... and I can't stop thinking about Monique.

I so enjoyed reading this book. My daughter was in Mali with the PC 10 yrs after Kris so I had a different perspective than the average reader. We so need to appreciate the health care we have in America, as flawed as it sometimes is. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is thinking of going into the health care field or anyone who is thinking of going into a third world country.

As a social scientist working with, and on, indigenous people's issues I read a lot of contemporary ethnographies. Most that I read are largely out of date by the time they reach publication. This is simply because of the nature of the discipline: taking time to do the fieldwork, writing up the manuscript, finding a willing publisher, and the overall book production process all take time. As a result, in a world that changes by the day, more often then not when an ethnography is finally published the material within it is often dated. Social scientists have tried to work around this disciplinary "time drag" by focusing on particular cultural phenomena rather then looking at the culture itself as a whole. Monique and the Mango Rains is an example of one of these modern ethnographies, where the central focus of the book is on midwifery and childbirth in Mali, and the Minianka indigenous people and culture are more part of the contextual background then the actual focus of the book.

Focusing on Fatumata - the author Kris Holloway's Malian name - and her Peace Corps experience among the Minianka indigenous peoples in Mali's southeastern region near the Burkina Faso border, the book is a deeply personal narrative about the rhythms of West African life and death. The Minianka (also known as the Mamara, Miniyanka, Minya, Mianka, Minyanka, or Tupiire) are an indigenous group speaking a northern Senufo language used by about 700,000 people in southeastern Mali and northwestern Burkina Faso. Mali is one of the economically poorest countries in the world - the average Malian earns roughly the equivalent of $210 US dollars per year. Compounding this extreme level of poverty is the fact that very few people in Mali have electricity, running water, telephones, or access to modern healthcare. Most women are married by the age of eighteen and have an average of seven children - the risk of death during childbirth and pregnancy is among the top ten in the world. It is here, in the remote southeastern corner of Mali that the author was stationed for two years, and where she met and befriended the local village midwife, Monique Dembele.

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The relationship between Fatumata and Monique is what makes this book succeed as it offers a unique glimpse into the day-to-day lives of the Minianka indigenous people and their contemporary struggles. The rarity of this glimpse is that we are given access to a component of Minianka life not often shared with the outside world - the inner realm of womanhood, midwifery, and childbirth. "I couldn't believe that here, in this dilapidated box, Monique, with a sixth-grade education and nine months of medical training, was birthing babies. Lots of babies" (Holloway 2007: 8). However, as we learn, not only was Monique the midwife - and thus responsible for the future of her village - but she was also a doctor and respected elder. The larger role that Monique played in her village is revealed in the deeply personal narratives presented throughout the book. For example, several times throughout the book Monique confides in Fatumata about her struggles and frustrations: Monique told Fatumata, "He has had many attacks of malaria over the past few months. It has caused severe anemia, and now diarrhea. He is also malnourished. The mother didn't know what to do. She had not heard about malaria prevention and drugs. ... I can do nothing. I don't have IVs. I don't have serum. These women must bring me their children before they get so sick, then I have ways of helping them" (Holloway 2007: 30-31).

Broken into thirteen chapters, the book chronicles Fatumata's relationship with Monique during several important cultural events for the Minianka indigenous peoples: the building of a new birthing hut, governmental revolution in Mali, and the death and birth of several community members. Filling an important gap within the contemporary literature dealing with indigenous peoples in West Africa, Monique and the Mango Rains is the perfect book for undergraduate classes, applied researchers and activists, or simply the interested reader.

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Indigenous Peoples Issues & Resources
http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com

If you care about Africa, women's rights, birth, and making a difference, then this is the book to read. Hard to put down once you start. Wish you could work in Africa? Read this book and "go there"!!

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to ready true stories from someone's life.

I am was in shock throughout this entire book. I could not believe that this actually happen in the 21st century. Mende told her story so descriptively. I could not stop reading it. Excellent memoir.

Parts of this book were too graphic for me. I can't believe what women in some parts of the world have to endure. I couldn't finish it.

I just finished reading this book and wow. One of the things that really helped me was the references to modern things like cell phones and VCRs. It really helped reminding the reader that this happens today. The book will have a profound effect on whoever reads it. We live in what we consider a civilized society but who knows what goes on in the house next door. I wish the remaining years for Mende to be filled with health, love, and happiness.

The story of Mende begins as a young girl growing up in a harsh environment in the mountain region of the Sudan. She is playful, witty, too smart for her own good, somewhat at odds with her mother, and completely enamored by her father. She is loved by her family and culture, and loved back in spite of some harsh rituals (female circumcision) and a harsh environment (dangerous wildlife and at the mercy of the land).

When raiders attack her peaceful village it all changes. She is raped on the way to the slave traders who then shove her off to an absolutely evil woman in Khartoum where she is unknowingly sold as a slave. No choices, no friends, no comforts, no real safety. She is a body of labor. Flesh that can work as a substitute for others who practice the art of leisure. Beaten and dehumanized to the point of absolute affliction.

She is then traded off from Khartoum to London where she manages to escape the home of a diplomat. She is now free. But she has still not seen her family in over a decade. She is in complete fear of her own country and those in power. And she is a devout Muslim all the while.

This tale shows us that violence towards darker skinned people is alive and well in the world. The violence in Sudan is not religious as much as it is racist and classist. Mende was an unclean barbarian who did not deserve to be treated as a human by her Arab captors.

Slavery is alive in the world and while much of the world decides to look away at such atrocities, there are undoubtedly thousands like Mende when she was just a little girl who are being beaten and abused in every way possible as I write this. Beaten for not washing dishes the correct way, for talking to others, for laughing, for smiling, for an unnoticed wrinkle left in a shirt, a counter left undusted, for not calling their owner "master". It is a reminder to those in the West that there are parts of the world where basic survival and the freedoms that we have are not taken for granted. A healthy reminder.

The book itself is wonderfully crafted, hard to put down even though you want to avert your gaze often.

Peter Godwin was born in Rhodesia, and in 1996 he published 'Makiwa', a gripping account of how he grew up in that country. He was conscripted into the Rhodesian army to fight against the independence movement, by which time he felt that he was fighting in an unjust cause. He eventually got to England, became a journalist, and in 1981, now based in the United States, he returned to what in 1980 had become independent Zimbabwe, partly because his parents were still living there and partly because he loved the country and its people. But he now had to record that the new government of Robert Mugabe was more savage than the white government had been and was carrying out bloody suppression in Matabeleland - a sign of things to come. Godwin's reporting at that time made him persona non grata and he had to leave Zimbabwe again, though he was able to return after Mugabe had `stabilized' the country with the so-called Unity Accord in 1987.

This second volume, first published in 2006, is an account of several later visits, beginning with one in 1996. In the chapters relating to 1996, 1997 and 1998, Mugabe's dictatorship is not central to his account, though of course he is aware of it; but he is more concerned with the quite non-political aspects of his family's life. At this time Mugabe had not yet whipped up anti-white agitation. Indeed he had for years encouraged white people to stay and help the Zimbabwean economy. In fact, in the year 2000, "78% of white farmers were on property they had purchased after independence, only when that land had first been offered to -and turned down by - the government, as was required by law" (p.56).

Godwin's next visit was in 2000. That year Mugabe wanted to change the constitution to allow him another 12 years in power; and this change had to be ratified by a referendum. To get the new constitution accepted, he inserted in it a law allowing the seizure of white-owned farm land for redistribution to black peasants (though in fact most of it went to his cronies). His instrument for this were the so-called war veterans, and violence against whites now took off, under such thugs as those calling themselves `Hitler' Hunzvi and `Stalin Mau Mau'. When Mugabe lost the referendum, he unleashed violence also against Tsvangirai's newly created Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

In 2001 there was a total eclipse of the sun over Zimbabwe, and, unusually, there was another one in 2002. The folklore expression for this is that `a crocodile eats the sun', and it is considered the worst of omens. Godwin now chronicles in the most graphic manner the increasing horror of Mugabe's appalling regime and the descent of Zimbabwe into chaos and lawlessness: the ruin of agriculture; the displacement of millions of black farm workers; famine; the government's deliberate withholding of food supplies from areas where the opposition is strong; hyper-inflation; casual murders and robberies, with the police either unwilling to intervene or actually participating in them. Among the many grotesque vignettes: cemeteries plundered, patches of maize planted between the graves, and befouled with excrement; the RSPCA being given permission to evacuate tortured animals from farms - when their white owners are not allowed to leave their besieged homes. Godwin is there during the General Strike of 2003 and its brutal suppression.

But this is not only a journalist's book about Zimbabwe. It is also a touching story of a loving family. The scenes with his gallant and now impoverished, sick and aged parents - who, beleaguered as they are, refuse to leave Zimbabwe - are deeply moving. And there is an unexpected dimension. On a visit in 2001, when he is in his forties, Peter Godwin learns that his father, George, now 77, was not in fact the reserved Anglo-African he had always taken him to be, but was born a Polish Jew. Only now can George bring himself to talk and write about it. The revelation has an immense impact on his son, who inserts a couple of chapters to tell the story of George's Warsaw childhood, how, just before the war, he came to leave Poland as a teenager, without his family. George's mother and sister later perished in Treblinka. Peter Godwin had heard of Auschwitz and Belsen, but (somewhat surprisingly for a journalist) he had never heard of the other extermination camps, which he now researched and whose horrors he then describes.

This beautifully written book is a lament for Zimbabwe, but it is also a tribute to his parents, and it is dedicated to his father's memory.

A good description of what is happening to "the man/woman in the street" in Zimbabwe by using the experiences of his aging mother and father.
However, the author fails to set important context as he did not live through the Rhodesia to Zimbabwe transitition. Also, by the time this book was published, Zimbabwe was already accelerating towards complete devastation for 99% of the population.
Ended up a "lightweight" editorial with no recriminations or recommendations.

I lived in South AFrica for 3 years and knew many Zim refugees, including a farmer's daughter who lost both her legs and her family to a land mine. I also knew many current refugees who just wanted to work and support their families. When are we going to be rid of Mugabe, who has ruined this beautiful country?

Peter Godwin's book, titled above, is a very worth while read. In plain dialogue he lets the rest of the world know what is really going on in Zimbabwe in the most sensitive way possible through his own families lives. The book is beautifully written, I couldn't put it down once I started reading it, more especially after following the last fiasco of an election in June 2008. Why the other African nations let Mugabwe get away with what he is doing to his own people, is beyond me. Farms that were productive have now grown wild and uncultivated, and a country that was the bread basket of Africa is now one of the worlds poorest countries, except of course for the government fat cats. Well worth buying and reading

This book moved me on so many levels. I could not put it down. Godwin's aging parents, his heartbreak about the decline of Zimbabwe, his anguish about living so far away, the fascinating past of his father... it is all so beautifully described. But it is what is not said that will take your breath away. A FANTASTIC book.