South Africa Books

Though now somewhat dated I kept this book handy when I was working as an unclassified reference. Much detail not found elsewhere.

I orginally owned the book in the 90s found it a useful and comprhensive look into a different war in a different time.

Justin Marozzi's introduction is undoubtedly the best introduction of any book I have ever read. Most introductions just give a tepid overview of the book, but Mr. Marozzi's introduction is an exciting, lucid, and extremely frank story just by itself! Very enjoyable...and refreshing!

This book is an account of the author's remarkable two month-long trek, via camel, across the old slave routes of the Sahara. The problem is that the very vastness of the desert, which makes it romantic, arduous, and forbidding, also makes it difficult to translate into prose. As a result there is a certain sameness to the ramshackle procession of now dilapidated desert towns though which the Marozzi and his companion travel - the dramatic highpoints, like the hovels, are few and far between, such as when one of the camels falls into a trench and nearly dies. With little social interest material to work with, Marozzi contrasts his own experiences with the diaries and travelogues of mostly 19th century explorers and abolitionists. The result is interesting, but more understated and less obviously accessible than say the books of Redmond O'Hanlon. Nevertheless, it is quite a tale, and it is apparent that with the dying out of the camel culture embodied by one of their guides, the 76 year old Tubbu nomad, Mohammed Othman, the depiction of an experience that will soon be impossible to relive, if it is even now.

Basics: 1995, 1st edition; hardcover; 304 pages, 142 plates containing 1,000+ color photos; additional 262 color paintings show identification points; 700+ species; range map for each bird; US$50-200

Cautionary Note: There are two books with the same title by the same author. The similarities end there. This confusion has caused some online booksellers to list the tiny 144-page book (normally US$15) at the US$100 price of this larger book. So, be careful of what you are purchasing. This review covers the large 11 x 9-inch hardcover book (ISBN 1868257851) by Struik Publishers and not the small paperback.

This is a very attractive book with its high quality photographs. Nearly all photos are up close, sharp, and printed in good color. These photos are the highlight of the book. Of the 900+ species found in southern Africa, over 700 are illustrated here. Each plate contains 5-9 photos. Only a small percentage of the birds are represented by more than one photo. Those that have two photos are typically species with notable sexual dimorphism.

On most of the text pages, there are 1-2 small color paintings in the margin. These are used to point out detail relevant to age, sex, season, or similar species. The illustrations are good quality.

The one-paragraph text on the adjacent page offers the typical physical description of the bird along with a very brief outline of its habitat and vocalizations. The 3 x 3cm range maps found next to the text are adequate for showing where the bird may be found. Only one color is used in the range map; thus, no seasonal information can be inferred.

My only negative comment is the minor difficulty in matching the photo on the right page to the species name and map on the left page. To match them, you must look at the little numbered box diagram that corresponds with the photo layout. The number in each little box is then used to compare against a numbered list of names. This method is not unique and can be found in several other photo format books; however, it is still cumbersome.

Other Related Books:
1) Complete Book of Southern African Birds by Ginn, McIlleron, and Milstein
2) Larger Illustrated Guide to Birds of Southern Africa by Arlott
3) Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa by Sinclair
4) Sasol Birds of Southern Africa by Sinclair
5) Roberts Birds of Southern Africa by Hocky, Dean, and Ryan
6) Newman's Birds of Southern Africa by Newman
7) Illustrated Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa by Sinclair

The photographs in this book are excellent. All the birds are in good light with plumage variations evident. Where needed, colored drawings supplement the photos. A map of the distribution is on the facing page, and the text describes habitat, behavior, and plumage characteristics of the species. Size is given in centimeters.

This is the perfect book for an armchair traveller to Tanzania. It does a wonderful job of showing what the country has to offer, from culture to wildlife to history. The photos are stunning, the writing well-crafted.

This is *not*, however, a book I would choose to take with me when visiting the country. While it does provide some information on transportation and accomodations (mostly high-end), it is not geared towards the traveller 'on the ground.' Do buy this book and read it before you visit Tanzania, but take the Lonely Planet or a Rough Guide along for the trip.

I found it most informative of all books on Tanzania.

My name is MJ Weiskopf

Recently, I read Simon Winchester's travel narrative, OUTPOSTS, about his mid-1980s visits to the last vestiges of the British Empire. This left me oddly fascinated with Britain's three mid-South Atlantic island colonies identified in the title of this guide to ST. HELENA, ASCENSION, TRISTAN DA CUNHA. I mean, they're so "out there".

Each of the three having one part of the volume dedicated to it, the book describes each island in terms of geography, climate, natural history (flora and fauna), history, people and politics, practical information for the visitor, and what to do after arriving. There are several very useful maps and four short sections of color photographs.

Being the largest and most populated, St. Helena (47 square miles and population 5,100+) gets most of the attention with the visitors' practical information and what-to-do-when-you-get-there sections comprising 45 pages. Ascension (34 square miles and population 1000+) gets honorable mention with the same sections comprising 14 pages. Tristan da Cunha (38 square miles and population around 300) is almost an afterthought with the touristy section stretched to a whopping 6 pages. My backyard has more sights of interest and things to do.

St. Helena is, of course, most famous for being Napoleon's prison from 1815 to his death in 1821. Therefore, the chief attractions are arguably Longwood House (his residence in exile), his campaign cot, and his original burial site. Beyond those tourist traps, and compared to Ascension and Tristan de Cunha, there's a lot of other stuff to see. Trust me.

Ascension is essentially controlled by the RAF and the USAF, the latter operating an air base. Private land ownership is virtually non-existent. Big tourist draws include egg-laying green sea turtles (January-May), a notable blowhole at Hannay's Beach, the Volcano Club - a "real American" bar on the airbase serving American-style food, and Dampier's Drip, a natural spring that sounds more like a sailor's venereal disease. For botanists, two destinations of pilgrimage might be the patches of ground hosting:

"Sporobolus caespitosus is an endangered endemic grass. The last time this species was spotted, there were approximately 70 tufts remaining high on Green Mountain. Since then, no further sightings have been made, and it is quite possibly extinct."

And my favorite ...

"Dryopteris adscensionis is an endemic which can be found in moist ravines. As far as anyone knows, there is only one single plant remaining." Honey, we're leaving for Ascension, and pack a garden trowel!

Tristan da Cunha is remarkable for its lack of sight-seeing opportunies, unless one counts the sheep and the Potato Patches, the latter where the islanders grow their food staple.

Basically, one's route to any of these places is expensive and convoluted, and usually involves a ship of some sort, though the Royal Air Force does reportedly operate passenger flights from RAF Brize Norton to Ascension twice weekly. Perhaps as a cautionary addendum to such, the guide features a special section on how to prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT) on long-haul flights.

ST. HELENA, ASCENSION, TRISTAN DA CUNHA is a little gem of a travel guide providing more information than you ever dreamed possible about three places on the distant edge of nowhere in particular. If you skim it from cover to cover, you'll likely come away with more knowledge than if you actually visit. Of course, you'd miss the opportunity to dig up and smuggle home Dryopteris adscensionis.

Hats off to Bradt for producing this guide in the first place. The three destinations covered in the book are about as "off the beaten track" as it's possible to get without falling off the edge of the Earth. They are 3 tiny islands floating in the middle of the South Atlantic. None can be reached by commercial air service. St. Helena is accessible by a regular, but quite infrequent passenger ship traveling between England and Cape Town. (The schedule of which requires visitors to spend either only a couple of hours/days on the island, or several weeks.)
Ascension is a stop on a few of the St. Helena runs. Tristan, the most remote of all, is served only by the occassional freighter or private vessel.
Not surprisingly, none of the destinations is exactly overflowing with tourist attractions [though St. Helena, of course, has some Napoleon sites], but this (along with their inaccessibility) means that they aren't exactly overflowing with tourists either. Which, for some people, is what gives them their appeal.

No, I won't be visiting these destinations any time soon. But the guidebook was a lot of fun to read, providing plenty of fodder for travel-dreams.

I want to describe this debut thriller novel with the cliche: Tomorrow's history ripped from today's headlines. This story refers to real events and issues that are important in today's news, such as shipments of dangerous nuclear materials around the world, weapons of mass destruction, nuclear terrorists, America's current situation in the world, etc.

Ken Palmer is an ex-FBI agent who has a good unterstanding of the psyche of a wanted criminal, Donald Morse, and the FBI recruits Ken Palmer to go and search for Morse in South Africa. Morse stole a military jet fighter airplane and uses it to steal a shipment of nuclear material. Morse has a special use for this material, but Palmer only discovers that towards the end. Morse also wants a new type of nuclear weapon hidden somewhere in South Africa and he goes after it in quite an interesting way.

The story contains a lot of suspense and action and follows Palmer in his search for Morse and his organisation and how Morse tries to end Palmer's life on various occations. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can recommend it to thriller lovers. An excellent debut novel!

I could summarize this debut thriller novel from Ian Kruger with the following: All is not what it seems to be ... this is scary stuff!

The bad guy in this story, Donald Morse, is a psychopath who has the ability to influence and mesmerize people. Through some devious scheming, he gets a test pilot in South Africa to steal a jet fighter plane and he uses this plane to sink a military ship so that he can heist a cargo of nuclear material from another ship on route to deliver the nuclear material to Japan's nuclear reactors. Through political manipulation and conniving, he gets some ex-nuclear physicists from the South African nuclear program back in the apartheid era to help him to build thermo-nuclear bombs from the stolen nuclear material.

The good guy, Ken Palmer, is an ex-FBI agent who knows Donald Morse from childhood and had to get Morse into jail a few years ago on charges of various criminal activities. Morse used to be a weapons manufacturer who supplied the apartheid South African government with high-tech weapons. In doing this, he violated US sanction laws against apartheid South Africa. Morse held his arrest and conviction against the American government, because he felt that he had helped America to fight against the Communist threat in South Africa, and this is mainly the motivation for his actions.

The FBI enlists Ken Palmer again to track down Morse in South Africa. As Ken starts his search for Morse, Morse raises the stakes by detonating a nuclear bomb to great effect. Morse also keeps Palmer's ex-girlfriend as a hostage. Eventually Palmer discovers that Morse knows where more deadly nuclear bombs are hidden. These bombs were developed by the apartheid-era South African nuclear physicists and were hidden by them when the nuclear development program was abandoned just before the end of the apartheid era. Morse wants these weapons and eventually Palmer discovers his plot, but Palmer is too late to stop Morse. Morse made sure that he has eyes and ears in many places, and so he goes after Palmer and tries to eliminate him. Palmer eventually gets wind of what Morse is really up to and this is not what everyone expects Morse to do - it is much more terrifying than anyone could have imagined.

I don't want to give away too much of the story here, but I have to mention that this suspenseful thriller kept me awake through the night. There is enough action, technology and science, plot twists and interesting characters to make this a must-read. Also, the bad guy, Morse, seems to have an endless horrifying assortment of creative methods to kill off his enemies. A great effort by a first-time author. I want to see more!

I saw a performance of this play in Minneapolis this past winter, and I have to say, it was one of the most amazing theatrical experiences of my life. Half is simply because I couldn't believe how good the actress was, and half because the script was just so beautiful. Even thinking about it months later, and it's still pretty jaw-dropping.

Great delivery of this item. Will use again and again

When I started reading this book I knew that I was about to dig into the truth of the everyday lives of children in South Africa. This mystery is an autobiography. I have read some materials about South Africa but this book really tells it all.

The book started out with Peter living in Johannesburg. He lived with his parents and brothers and sisters. At first, it appeared as if he had a good life and a happy family. Then things took a bad turn. His father died and they were forced to give up and leave their home to reside in Vrededorp.

This was a slum. It was different from life in Johannesburg. It was a really difficult and poverty ridged life. It was so difficult that his mother could no longer afford to keep him. She sent him to live with his Aunt Liza and Uncle Sam in Elseburg. It was not as comfortable as life in Johannesburg but it was better than Vrededorp.

Here he worked really hard at tasks his uncle and aunt would assign him. He was a very hard worker. It would appear as if he spent a great deal of time there. The book did not tell how long he spent. However, his mother sent his brother and sister to get him. His aunt got accustomed to his company and his help and she did not want him to leave.

When they got back to Vrededorp the family moved in to live with a family friend. He provided free lodging and food for them. From there Peter went to live with another aunt a few streets down. Here he got a job selling fire wood to the whites in white Vrededorp. Here his number of friends increased and they became a gang in which he was the leader. They would steal and fight other gangs. His aunt discouraged him out of the gang. He dropped the gang.

He realized his need for formal education and took it upon himself to approach the principal of a black school. He begged the principal to allow him to go to school. The principal agreed on the condition that he does good work otherwise he would be punished with lashes.

At fifteen his education seemed to stop abruptly when he found himself a job at a hotel cleaning, running errands, and doing room service. He worked really long hours and did not get enough sleep. He was often exhausted to start the job each day. He woke up one morning with bloodshot eyes and his sister sent him back to bed. Hours later he went to work but his boss was out looking for a new worker. His boss returned with a new worker to find him, Peter, waiting. He tried to punch Peter but Peter ran away.

He got various jobs after that. He went through anger and bitterness as he tried to succumb to the ridicules and hardships of life. Throughout his life he had questions he wanted to ask but dared not. He had to forego school for work. He was very ambitious. He read widely and became a nationalist in his own way, through the literatures. Eventually, he got his chance for a college education. The rest is history. It is a good book do not stop until you have read every page!!

Reaction
I believe this book highlights the true and real childhood of South Africa's children. This book, Tell Freedom, is a Mystery that only those of the high hierarchy can solve if they will. I believe there is still much evidence of this type of hurt today in some parts of South Africa. This is also present all over the world. Somebody will have to do something to prevent poor children from such ridicule and hardship. It has been going on too long. I believe a change will be welcomed at this time.

I would recommend that this book be read by all age groups. It is an excellent portrayal of life as an under privilege.

When I started reading this book I knew that I was about to dig into the truth of the everyday lives of children in South Africa. This mystery is an autobiography. I have read some materials about South Africa but this book really tells it all.

The book started out with Peter living in Johannesburg. He lived with his parents and brothers and sisters. At first, it appeared as if he had a good life and a happy family. Then things took a bad turn. His father died and they were forced to give up and leave their home to reside in Vrededorp.

This was a slum. It was different from life in Johannesburg. It was a really difficult and poverty ridged life. It was so difficult that his mother could no longer afford to keep him. She sent him to live with his Aunt Liza and Uncle Sam in Elseburg. It was not as comfortable as life in Johannesburg but it was better than Vrededorp.

Here he worked really hard at tasks his uncle and aunt would assign him. He was a very hard worker. It would appear as if he spent a great deal of time there. The book did not tell how long he spent. However, his mother sent his brother and sister to get him. His aunt got accustomed to his company and his help and she did not want him to leave.

When they got back to Vrededorp the family moved in to live with a family friend. He provided free lodging and food for them. From there Peter went to live with another aunt a few streets down. Here he got a job selling fire wood to the whites in white Vrededorp. Here his number of friends increased and they became a gang in which he was the leader. They would steal and fight other gangs. His aunt discouraged him out of the gang. He dropped the gang.

He realized his need for formal education and took it upon himself to approach the principal of a black school. He begged the principal to allow him to go to school. The principal agreed on the condition that he does good work otherwise he would be punished with lashes.

At fifteen his education seemed to stop abruptly when he found himself a job at a hotel cleaning, running errands, and doing room service. He worked really long hours and did not get enough sleep. He was often exhausted to start the job each day. He woke up one morning with bloodshot eyes and his sister sent him back to bed. Hours later he went to work but his boss was out looking for a new worker. His boss returned with a new worker to find him, Peter, waiting. He tried to punch Peter but Peter ran away.

He got various jobs after that. He went through anger and bitterness as he tried to succumb to the ridicules and hardships of life. Throughout his life he had questions he wanted to ask but dared not. He had to forego school for work. He was very ambitious. He read widely and became a nationalist in his own way, through the literatures. Eventually, he got his chance for a college education. The rest is history. It is a good book do not stop until you have read every page!!

Reaction
I believe this book highlights the true and real childhood of South Africa's children. This book, Tell Freedom, is a Mystery that only those of the high hierarchy can solve if they will. I believe there is still much evidence of this type of hurt today in some parts of South Africa. This is also present all over the world. Somebody will have to do something to prevent poor children from such ridicule and hardship. It has been going on too long. I believe a change will be welcomed at this time.

I would recommend that this book be read by all age groups. It is an excellent portrayal of life as an under privilege.

Three weeks before Sue Ross, the author's, untimely death in 1996 from cancer she received her doctorate in Fine Art for her thesis and signed a contract with Oxford Books to publish "This is My World" a book about the life and work of South African artist Helen Martins. The book was published a year later after her death. The photographs in "This is My World" are stunning and the book is an illuminating study of Martin's life story. Martins created a fantasy world of sculpture and light (known as Outsider Art) in her Karoo village home, named "The Owl House," in South Africa. In 1976, when her house and garden were filled with more than 200 camels, owls, peacocks, Buddha's, Bushman and Biblical scenes, she seemed to feel her life's purpose was complete and committed suicide. After her death she became a nationally acclaimed artist and her home was proclaimed a national monument and museum. "This is My World" is both inspiring and heart wrenching. It is not only a tribute to Helen Martin's work but to the life and work of Susan Imrie Ross as well. I'm proud that Helen Martin's is my great Aunt!

Three weeks before Sue Ross, the author's, untimely death in 1996 from cancer she received her doctorate in Fine Art for her thesis and signed a contract with Oxford Books to publish "This is My World" a book about the life and work of South African artist Helen Martins. The book was published a year later after her death. The photographs in "This is My World" are stunning and the book is an illuminating study of Martin's life story. Martins created a fantasy world of sculpture and light (known as Outsider Art) in her Karoo village home, named "The Owl House," in South Africa. In 1976, when her house and garden were filled with more than 200 camels, owls, peacocks, Buddha's, Bushman and Biblical scenes, she seemed to feel her life's purpose was complete and committed suicide. After her death she became a nationally acclaimed artist and her home was proclaimed a national monument and museum. "This is My World" is both inspiring and heart wrenching. It is not only a tribute to Helen Martin's work but to the life and work of Susan Imrie Ross as well. I'm proud that Helen Martin's is my great Aunt!

As many other Time Out Guides, the Cape Town one didn't let me down. It is a very reliable and updated source on best hotels in town, best shops, best restaurants, bars, and so on, for all budgets. I believe it enhanced greatly my experience of knowing new places. I took my Time Out Guides with me to NYC, New Orleans, Buenos Aires and Cape Town and I must say their recommendations rarely disapointed me. They also have a comprehensive session on tours, museums or sight seeing, but they are not the most complete in the market, though.

I spent a month in Cape Town and this guide was always by my side. Excellent guide with wonderful endearing side bars on locals-it gives you a great sense of Cape Town and its local flavour. All the sections are dead on. I found the dining and shopping extremely helpful with its guide to what is uniquely Capetonian. This is by far the best guide to Cape Town out now. The writers and contributors for this guide should be commended.