South Africa Books

Itis necessary to read this book special to those how are related to the political search or how related to the horn Africa, Also from this book you can know the relation between Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia

i like to order this book and get as fast as you ca

This book provides a deeply moving portrait of the authors' time in Angola, working with MSF. They describe the most distressing work under difficult circumstances, in a country I knew little about. The book is written in an honest and sincere tone, which effectively expresses the enormous human tragedy. The sterling work done by the authors and other volunteers is presented in an unassuming way, but I am in awe of what they have done.
You must read this book. You will cry, you will sit up half the night to finish it and you will realise how fortunate we are - but you will not forget those who died in Angola.

As a political scientist interested in Angola I find myself caught-up in detailing battles, troop movements, political parties and leaders, etc. Upon reading this excellent book by two people, Doctors Without Borders vounteers) who spent time in Kuito, Angola I was stunned to realize that I often forget the human cost of warfare. Anyone who reads this book will get a gripping reminder, some with pictures, as to what a bullet or landmine can do to a human body. These brave people volunteered their time to work in conditions so primitive that one is in awe that they saved anyone at all. Yet, in this war torn city they performed miracles on a daily basis. The next time I read about injuries and casualties in warfare, this book will remind me that it is more than a word. It denotes human suffering that few of us can imagine. The authors do a good job of telling their story without being too judgmental of the government and rebels. As with many nations in the world, the people of Angola deserve our humanitarian aid, respect as human beings, and our prayers. An excellent book, buy it!

In CATCHING LIGHT, Kathryn Stripling Byer weaves yet again her own brand of poetic magic. Poems in the voice of an aging woman named Evelyn take us into the life and imagination of a woman who refuses to give up, refuses to let go of life. In lyrics with delicate yet strong movement and closure, she gathers her reader into the web that only language well used can weave. Byer continues to grow as a poet, and I look forward to future volumes. The terms Southern and Appalachian no longer apply to such work; it has moved beyond the regional and into a realm accessible to anyone who cares about poetry, regardless of its regional roots. All good poems begin in the particulars of their worlds, of course, but too often poems termed regional, especially Southern or Appalachian, are met with condescension from the more entlighted literati in NYC, Provincetown, and else where. Byer's poems rebuke such a constricted view of American poetry.

When the Southeastern Bookseller's Association selected this book for their 2002 Book of the Year in Poetry, they knew what they were doing. Kathryn Stripling Byer's fourth book of poetry takes on the subject of a woman's old age, her last days, and how she reacts to them. By turns stark, witty, lyrical, elegiac, these poems seem determined to rise to the challenge issued by Eavan Boland in several of her poems and essays that writing about an aging woman is difficult if not downright impossible in the Western poetic tradition. In the voice of a woman by the name of Evelyn, and growing out of a collaboration with photographer Louanne Watley, whose Evelyn Series illuminated the last days of an eccentric old woman, these poems take the reader into Evelyn's interior world, her fears, her sexuality, her memories. It's quite a journey and one well worth taking, not only for its insights but also for the beauty and clarity of its poetry.

I was happy to buy this book to send to a school in Rwanda.

"One Child, One Seed: A South African Counting Book" is an excellent book for children age 4 - 8. It teaches counting, and tells the story of a South African child, her family, and their garden, and a seed that grows into a plant and yields a harvest of pumpkin that is made into . . . Isijingi. There are actually three texts in this book that can be read separately or together: the counting text; the story of the seed; and background about South African family life. The book is illustrated with a couple dozen color photographs, and also includes a map of Africa and South Africa. This book teaches more than counting, something just as valuable: a look at another people and their culture. Younger children will like the counting text, with its large font and big pictures, slightly older children will appreciate learning about South Africa, its people and food.

Thanks to Steyn we get a closer look at one of the most fascinating persons in modern history. Nelson Mandela demonstrates most convincingly that integrity and respect for fellow human beings of all levels is not a sign of weakness but rather the ultimate demonstration of greatness. This book ought to be mandatory reading for every person in a leading position, be it in the political or any other field. Thus, let us hope that it becomes more readily available outside of South Africa!

An excellent book! This book was very well written and contained in depth information about executive and personal protection that few people have the intimate knowledge to find out about. I was especially drawn to the special relationship that formed between Mr. Steyn & his protectee, President Nelson Mandela. This book also contained some very humerous passages, such as the incident where the driver for Mr. Mandala's principal car accidently locked the keys in the car, with the president's helicopter inbound a due to land in a few minutes! I would recommend this book to any protection specialist in the field and others alike.

Going to the archives can be a bore -- for historians and those who read their work. But going to and through the archives is also what great and true historiography is all about. In this book, I.R. Smith carries out the historians' craft with meticulous care and commendable merit. Smith demonstrates through this seminal case study that the British empire was not merely a scramble for one market after another. He demolishes the various conspiracy theories surrounding the South African War, particularly those put forward by left-wing economic determinists, proving a point that surely needs oft-proving: economics is often subordinated to politics and the pursuit of power.

This is a meticulously researched study of the events leading up to the outbreak of the Boer War. Particularly when tracing the events of 1899 the book is really impressive in its marshalling of the facts, and I thought its conclusions are well-reasoned. It was another age, when countries could look at war and decide that maybe it was worth while.

If you ever want to know anything about the rainforest, this is the series to buy. The author thoroughly discusses people, environment, and hope for rainforests. Beautiful colored pictures throughout the book supports the easy written text. I highly recommend this series to any student who needs to do a report on the rainforest. This series is a must have in any children's library collection.

If you ever want to know anything about the rainforest, this is the series to buy. The author thoroughly discusses people, environment, and hope for rainforests. Beautiful colored pictures throughout the book supports the easy written text. I highly recommend this series to any student who needs to do a report on the rainforest. This series is a must have in any children's library collection.

Basics: 1998, 1st edition; hardcover; 207 pages, 32 color plates; additional 16 b&w photos and a couple of b&w line drawings; 30 species of Pitta; range map for each bird

It's hard to resist a bird book featuring a Gurney's Pitta on the cover. It's equally hard to resist this book once you've looked through the fine plates and skimmed through the incredible amount of research provided for each of these colorful birds.

A full page is dedicated to each of the 30 species of Pitta around the world as a color plate. These plates display the gender and age differences, where applicable. The artistry is of good quality. One plate depicts an egg from each of the species while another vibrant plate displays all 30 adult males together.

The text is to be commended just as much as the plates. Each bird receives between 4-15 pages of extensive information. Each mini-chapter gives an exhaustive account of the subspecies, taxonomic history, recent records, and tables of data that compare physical appearance and measurements.

The standard text of description, distribution, habitat, behavior, vocalizations, and breeding biology are very thorough. This monograph is further enhanced with less commonly seen sections of movements, feeding behavior, molting, hybridization, status & conservation, and captivity.

The range maps are tailored to each bird, such as the three islands for the Black-faced Pitta and the island-numbered map for the Elegant Pitta in the Moluccas and Sulawesi.

As a mark of good research, this book concludes with a bibliography containing over 1,300 references.

Other Related Books:
1) Pittas, Broadbills and Asities by Lambert

A SUPERB VOLUME ABOUT A LIITLE KNOWN FAMILY OF BIRDS-THE PIITAS.
ALTHOUGH THE TEXT IS SCHOLARLY,IT IS ACCESSIBLE.THE AUTHOR MUST HAVE TRACKED DOWN EVERY SCRAP OF PUBLISHED INFORMATION ON THESE BIRDS,BECAUSE THE REFERENCE LIST HAS MORE THAN 1,300 ENTRIES.
AND THEN THERE ARE THE COLOR PLATES!THIRTY-TWO MAGNIFICENT FULL PAGE PLATES,A VISUAL FEAST.
I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ORNITHOLOGISTS OR ANYONE WHO LIKES BEAUTIFUL BIRD BOOKS.


BILL NEWTON

I had read The Good Doctor and enjoyed it plenty for great characters, great writing and a slow-building, relentless tension. The Quarry has the same great characterization and prose, but nothing at all slow about it. The beginning of the story is enthralling, both the introduction to the main character and the first incident at the quarry (best not read liner notes etc more max effect). What continues seems a combination of Greene's "Power and Glory" (in terms of "feel") and Coetzee's "Waiting for the Barbarians" (in terms of suspense and pace). A fantastic aspect is the power of the not explicitly stated (e.g. main character's real name never revealed, ). And the construction and build-up to the denoument is something Tolstoy - like. The Quarry is clearly another example of the spectacular literature of South Africa.

In this stunning novel, Mr Galgut tells the story of a fugitive from justice hitchhiking in the desolate backdrop of South Africa and who is picked up by a driver, a minister on his way to a remote parish. When the minister discovers that the hitchhiker is a fugitive and confronts him in a disused quarry, the response is lethal.
This novel is a masterpiece featuring a story and characters utterly compelling. The author shows that even the quietest spots on earth can seethe with repressed violence. A blunt and tense read about guilt and evasion of truth. Justly enough, Mr Galgut has been compared to the greatest South African writers like Andr? Brink, Nadine Gordimer, J.M. Coetzee and Achmat Dangor.

The author, Alon Peled, examines the question as to whether or not subjected ethnic groups (i.e. 'trojan horses') can be trusted in the army. Peled briefly cites the recent Yugoslavia conflict and Czechoslovakia in 1938 as two well-known examples of successful trojan horses. The Yugoslav army disintegrated and was turned into a Serb ethnic militia, and the Czechoslovak gov't stood down under the combined threat of hostile German invasion and internal subversion by Sudeten Germans. In the last section, he describes the horrendous ethnic genocide in Rwanda that could have been instantly quelled had Rwanda had a truly ethnically integrated military. With this unnerving history, can subjected ethnic groups ever be trusted with weapons in their nation's army?

Peled looks at the three historical cases of ethic integration or disintegration within the military. First, he examines how South Africa, even when under the severest terms of apartheid, managed to slowly but successfully integrate first coloreds, then Indians, and finally blacks into the SADF. This highly-sensitive political issue in apartheid South Africa was handled very deftly by its leaders. Singapore, on the other hand, started with a military almost purely staffed by an ethnic minority and wound up almost entirely excluding them (Muslim Malays) within Singapore's defense establishment. And finally, Israel has integrated some ethnic groups (e.g. Druze, Christian Arabs) while continuing to exclude others (i.e. Muslim Arabs).

Peled defines two types of integration, horizontal and vertical. Horizontal integration is basically the increase in number the number of ethnic enlisted soldiers, while vertical integration is the promotion of ethnic soldiers into positions of leadership and sensitive areas (intelligence, operations, etc.). Peled states that for ethnic recruitment to be successful that horizontal integration must be followed by vertical integration. If not, the subjected ethnic group feels used, remains alienated, and represents a continued threat to internal security.

This is an important book on a rarely discussed, but highly important, topic. The description of the defense organizations in South Africa, Singapore, and Israel were quite interesting in and of themselves, while the ethnic integration/exclusion process was fascinating. (Ethnic leaders often negotiate the recruitment of their youth with the dominant gov't leaders.) I enjoyed this book, but more importantly, I believe that military manpower specialists will find this book an excellent introduction to the issue.

Alon Peled, a Harvard Ph.D who has achieved world-wide acclaim for his knowledge of both empirical political "events" and the theory that underlies these events, has written a truly brilliant book. It is my understanding that Peled visited several foreign countries, among them Singapore and Israel (Peled himself was a decorated Israeli officer) as he wrote this book, which arose from his doctoral dissertation, written under the auspices of the late Judith Shklar, who was a genius in her own right. Peled's analysis is inspirational in its breadth, thoroughness, and mostly in the piercing insight he offers. He is razor blade brilliant, and I am sure anyone interested in international affairs, military issues, Israel, political theory or the world as a whole will benefit from it immensely. I would like to add that I once had the good fortune of meeting Dr. Peled, and I am sure that he is a man of honor and decency whose interests transcend the intellectual realm and are aimed at the greater good of our society, our children, and ultimately ourselves. I have read many books in my day, yet none are more probing, more carefully thought out, nor more brilliantly written than that of Dr. Peled. We should count ourselves fortunate to have him among us!