South Africa Books

Michael Bishop is a Nebula and World Fantasy Awards winning author. Blue Kansas Sky showcases four of his best novellas under one cover. These superbly written stories include Apartheid, Superstrings, and Mordecai Thuban; Cri De Coeur; Death and Designation Among the Asadi; and the title piece, Blue Kansas Sky. This outstanding anthology is enhanced for the readers with an informative introduction to Michael Bishop and his writing by James Morrow. Blue Kansas Sky is "must reading" for Bishop's legion of science fiction and fantasy fans.

Blue Kansas Sky takes us from the rural heartlands of the early 1960s to the furthest reaches of 21st century space and beyond. From ordinary people to extraordinary people, from human alien to the enigmatic alien. Michael Bishop's writing is engaging, thought-provoking, lyrically poetic; sweeping us along with the gentle lullaby of magic, memory, and estrangement that is, and will always be, the human spirit. Gary S. Potter Author/Poet.

Michael Bishop, Nebula Award-winning author of No Enemy but Time, has just released Blue Kansas Sky, which collects four of his short works - one never before been seen in print - in a single volume. These stories showcase his mastery of different genres, and provide the reader with an sampling from various phases in Bishop's writing career.

"Blue Kansas Sky" is a moving story of a young boy in 1950s small-town America, who struggles between his love for an uncle just released from prison and loyalty to his mother (who blames the man for her husband's death). Bishop incorporated many details from his own childhood to make this tale come alive. There's no science fiction here at all - just an engaging tale, extremely well written. Michael Bishop is adept at incorporating fresh words and unexpected turns of phrase without making the reader scramble for a thesaurus.

In "Apartheid, Superstrings, and Mordecai Thurbana," a well-to-do Afrikaner "ghosts" in and out of reality after a freak auto accident and is forced to watch as the security police interrogate two black laborers - one who plays around with cosmic string theory as a hobby; another who receives pirate radio broadcasts courtesy of a metal plate in his skull. This story is very difficult to get through - not because it is poorly written (indeed, just the opposite); but because it captures in chilling detail the horrors of the old Apartheid system.

"Cri de Coeur" (Cry from the Heart) tells the story of a man who must cope with the responsibilities, and revel in the joys, of raising a son with Down's Syndrome aboard a generational starship seeking to colonize another star system.

"Death and Designation among the Asadi" deals with a human anthropologist living in the wilds of an alien planet, struggling to understand the enigmatic rituals of its lion-maned hominids - without losing his sanity. [After reading this story I asked the author what I should do if I didn't fully understand it - read it again, or embrace the mystery? His answer: "Death and Designation" is my Solaris (a novel by Stanislaw Lem). Real aliens, Lem implies, defy comprehension because they ARE alien. On the other hand, you could read my novel Transfigurations, which incorporates the novella, and which more than one critic badmouthed for explaining rather than embracing the original mystery. They may have done so with some justice.]

Blue Kansas Sky is a wonderful collection of stories that I heartily recommend. It's published by Golden Gryphon Press (a small firm specializing in anthologies).

In his eloquent introduction, James Morrow, another writer of "moral fiction", deftly analyzes the major imperatives of the four works included in Blue Kansas Sky, focusing on two major themes, the inclusion and redemption of the "other." Although his insights add to one's enjoyment of the collection, they only touch briefly on another important facet of Bishop's work, the clash between his essential optimism, his generally hopeful attitude towards the world, and his seemingly reluctant acknowledgement that optimism alone does not suffice in the face of the hardships the world has to offer.

Optimism positively suffuses the title story, a Bildungsroman featuring one Sonny Peacock, a young man who comes to understand his place in the world through the almost shadowy presence in his life of his ex-con uncle, Rory Peacock. Although warned off by his mother, who blames Rory for her husband's death, Sonny is drawn to his uncle, who enters the story looking like an accident waiting to happen. That no "accident" occurs is testament to the human capacity for change; that Sonny learns so much about life from his neer do well uncle is both ironic and touching. Taut and intellectually satisfying, "Blue Kansas Sky" contains several uplifting messages about redemption and human nature. Yet, Sonny's essential optimism is in constant danger of being eroded, and the story's ending is a heartbreaker.

The story most like it in the collection is former Hugo finalist, "Cri de Cour," which examines the nature of bigotry and the power of the powerless. It is the tale of star traveler Abel Gwiazada, and his son Dean, who was born with Down's syndrome. For Abel and most of the crew, Dean is easily lovable, a veritable repository for the positive emotions for those one board. Yet, to crewman Kazimierz Mikol, he is a freak. Mikol's presence provokes much tension, and much exposition about the nature of parental choice in an age where gene technology may make conditions like Dean's obsolete. Even though Mikol grows to love and accept Dean as the others already do, the novella ends on mixed note, as the travelers are forced to deal with a disaster that nearly renders their long journey meaningless.

The remaining stories (both Nebula Award finalists) are far darker, dealing with the nature of prejudice and the power of obsession, describing two personal journeys into the very heart of darkness. "Apartheid, Superstrings, and Mordecai Thubana" is essentially a science fictional play on books like BLACK LIKE ME and Ralph Ellison's INVISIBLE MAN. The latter is especially pertinent, in that the main character, a white man, is rendered invisible, and thus given a special insight into the plight of the black man in South Africa. Even though it is obvious that the character has seen the light, his personal epiphany is essentially meaningless against a backdrop of institutionalized racism. "Death and Designation Among the Asadi" is also about a journey of understanding, but one which proves impossible to complete. Here, Bishop plays with the theory of the observed being acted on by the observer, but deftly turns the tables, as the observer is slowly driven mad by his inability to understand the alien race he studies. Seemingly about institutionalized alienation, it really is more about the arrogance of human beings in assuming their mindsets are universal.

So, we have optimism, but optimism tempered by reality. We see closed minds opening, but also minds that shut down when reality intrudes. True, Bishop is an optimist, but this doesn't prevent him from being simultaneously tough minded, intelligent, skeptical, and morally aware. The magic is in the careful balance he strikes in his writing, tempered by his fiction's two essential ingredients: his clear, strong, trustworthy voice, and the obvious compassion he feels for his creations.

Blue Kansas Sky is a collection of 4 novellas spanning 3 decades and the full spectrum of Bishop's talent. The title story is a sweet, poignant coming-of-age story set in Bishop's semi-fictional Van Luna, KS: it's all about life and growing up and the random difficulties of doing so. The last line is guaranteed to send you reeling. "Cri di Coeur" and "Death and Designation among the Asadi" are stunning morality tales in the guise of science fiction; as usual, Bishop's characters, no matter where or when they are, portray humanity at its most believable, wanderers who find hope in the most fragile of circumstances. The ringer for me, though, is "Apartheid, Superstrings, and Mordecai Thubana," a magical-realistic look at the horror of racism, the sin of inaction, all neatly and convincingly tied up with the Theory of Everything. Quite simply: amazing.

This is a collection for fantasists, for realists, for anyone who enjoys one of our best unsung writers at his very best.

As a Zimbabwean who had to leave the country due to it's current troubles, it was very difficult for me to pick up this book and look for answers to some of the many questions I had about what went wrong in my homeland. However, I came away fascinated by Martin Meredith's careful piecing together of the last three or four decades of Zimbabwe's history. He has assembled a brilliant account of the rise and rule of Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party, and has, for the most part, accurately detailed the major events that have occurred since Mugabe came to power in 1980. The book is not only an account for Zimbabweans, but is written so that any person who is not informed of Zimbabwe's present crises will receive an in-depth look of all that has gone wrong in what was once "the breadbasket of Subsaharan Africa."

On an aside, this book bears a strong resemblance to another Amazon listing: "Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe" by Martin Meredith. Although I have not read this second book, I believe that they are one and the same book.
by Martin Meredith

great book. i'm not really a book guy. i had to read an african book for a class so i chose mugabe.

this book easily held my attention. i read every word of it in a few hours. i knew nothing about modern zimbabwe. this book changed that.

if you want to read a book that in 3 hours will make you an expert on a very relevant and important current world issue.. pick up mugabe.

For anyone interested in beginning to understand the dynamics of Zimbabwe's recent electoral crisis, this book is essential. Meredith goes into Mugabe's long history of violence,who like Mao sees violence as essential for politics. From the war waged against opposing guerilla forces because of political differences, the slaughter of 10,000 in Matabeleland, the seizure of white farms, threatening judges who ruled against the ZANU-PF government, and electoral violence, what we are seeing is nothing new, as Meredith reminds us. He also hints at the ethnic and racial tensions driving the politics and violence, something too often forgotten in today's media coverage. For example, Mugabe's ZANU-PF has its roots in the rural Shona ethnic group, while the Movement for Democratic change is much more urban and has many white supporters.

The book is also relatively short (about 244 pages) and easy to read. Meredith provides a huge amount of detail without wasting too many words (or the reader's time).

I think the book could have used a bit more of an introduction into Zimbabwe's and Africa's history more generally for the uninitiated to allow us to compare Mugabe's rule to how politics was conducted in the past in the country and the wider continent. For example, some readers might not realize the importance tribal and ethnic divides play in many African countries. However, any ignorance in this regard could be fixed by reading Meredith's other books on Africa.

Usually in biographies authors try to psychoanalyze their subject. Fortunately, Meredith does not try to do this. He provides insights using quotes and sources, not psychobabble. This is not only good academic practice, but also creates an alarming effect in the book in which Mugabe himself often seems somewhat distant, except through his public statements. That indeed appears to be how he is in real life, alienated from his nation, isolated from the people, and removed from reality.

I hope he comes out with another revised version when Mugabe finally falls from power.

[note: this book is a revised version of "Our Votes, Our Guns". It says this clearly on the front cover and back, but just to warn future readers...]

2 stars is not a judgment on the quality of this work. No, the low rating is due to the misleading title of the book. As an earlier reviewer suspected, this book simply is a "revised and updated" version of "Our Votes, Our Guns" -- which I already own! Needless to say, I would not have purchased this book had I known that. Yes there is a small footnote on the BACK OF THE BOOK, but you don't see that until the book arrives.

Furthermore, Meredith doesn't even provide and introduction telling one just what parts he has updated or revised. I'm sure this version contains valuable commentary on events since the earlier book, but there's no easy way to find the new material.

Overall I'm sure the book still is a valuable introduction to the insanity that is the Mugabe regime (that's why I gave it 2 stars rather than 1). If, however, you have read the earlier "Our Votes, Our Guns," save your money and wait for "Dinner with Mugabe" to be released.

I served briefly in Mugabe's Zimbabwe as a transiting diplomat in 1998 after the bombings of our East African embassies. I was astounded how someone could spit in the face of the economic forces that provided him with the lavish lifestyle he so enjoyed. This book does an excellent job of portraying the nascence and subsequent decay of one of the world's most corrupted minds. The breadbasket of Africa was turned into desert by this man. Everyone should read this book.

Sandy Balfour, South African by birth, but foreign in other countries since his 21st birthday, writes his memoir which he links inextricably with crosswords. It has a strange disembodied quality to it. It is almost as though Balfour is narrating someone elses life. It is reflective of the crosswords he adores, that sometimes the clues have layers to them, just like his life seems to be. Nothing, like a cryptic crossword, is straightfoward.

It is a slow and layered biography which seems to be at times oa series of interlinked anecdotes about what happened in his life and how it fits in with the crossword clues of that time. Even the title of the book is a crossword clue and reflects his life.

For those clues he doesn't solve, or even the ones where the answer is in the text there is a page in the back which talks about how to solve the particular clue, in case you didn't understand how the answer of reached. So you get the double benefit of learning to solve cryptic crosswords, if you didn't already know.

I quite liked this book. It was quite a different type of read but enjoyable and I found it oddly compelling. It wasn't that Balfour was a sympathetic character, or even Oprah-like in his confessions. It was such an unusual book and well written which made it so interesting. My only distraction was the at times jerky connection of events which, in the context of a crossword are fine, but didn't work as well for the connection of a series of life events.

This is a clever, quirky little book. The cover says it is a memoir of love, exile and crosswords, but it actually defies categorisation. It isn't really a memoir - the writer is quite selective about which doors of his life are opened to the reader. We know he becomes a crossword afficianado and has a deep fondness for his adopted country (England, he is an ex pat South African) and for his "girlfriend", a title that becomes somewhat grating as the book progresses and she becomes central to his life and the mother of his chidren. But along with a few snippets about his professional life, that's about all he gives away about himself. The story is more a series of recollections of moments in time which he describes for their life importance and for their association with where he was at the same time, in his development as a crypiic crossword afficianado. The originality and cleverness of the book is in the way it is a history of the development of cryptic crosswords and and their setters, and a "how to do them" guide, (arguably a fairly dry subject) which is flavoured up with human interest by being embedded in some important events in the writer's life. Definitely recommended for those who love doing cryptic crosswords and those who aspire to do them. Probably of less interest to those who consider crosswords to be only for nerdy types who need to get a real life. (Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose - answer, rebelled - if you can't work it out and are itching to know why, buy the book!!)

At first impression this seems to be a wandering memoir focussed on the author's love of crosswords with a few personal details thrown in. But as you read on, it becomes clear Balfour is writing a long love letter to his girlfriend, who introduced him to crossword puzzles. As he explains lucidly how he slowly began to understand the way the puzzles were put together, he slips in more and more details about his girlfriend. As you wonder whether they stayed together, you learn that she is pregnant with their first child. Time passes on, he gets better and better jobs, and suddenly she is giving birth to their third child. This is a wonderful piece of writing and one I cannot recommend highly enough.

I wish Balfour had concentrated more on his love of crosswords and less on the memoir. The crossword discussion and examples were fascinating and educational. I've learned a great deal on the art of solving the cryptic variety of crosswords. By the end of the book my chances of solving these clues had gone from none to slim. The deciding factor now is a matter of culture. So many of the clues in the British puzzles relate to British culture and/or slang as well they should. I'm fairing better with the clues in the Games Magazine cryptic crosswords which is a huge step forward for me.

What can one say that will accurately describe this book?
That it's a marvelous memoir that reads like a novel? Yes!
That it's a special treat for cruciverbalists of the cryptic kind? Most definitely!
That it's quite unlike anything you've ever read? Probably
That Sandy Balfour should just keep writing more and more? Most assuredly!
But, to sum it up in a phrase...?
O.K. *A truly fun read (reed)!!![.]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, because it brings me back to my home country, South Africa. It's interesting to read about the post-apartheid situation, and the obsession that Ruben had for a much younger, carefree woman.

I recently read a memoir about a Chinese South African girl growing up in the apartheid era of South Africa (Locked Passion of a Free Spirit). It's interesting to see how she was the one who became obsessed with older men.

It's great to read the different perspectives of South African authors.

I recently read Coetzee's Disgrace, and while I do think it well written and worthwhile, I found it to be a cold, harsh book, with the protagonist quite disagreeable to the bitter end.

In The Rights of Desire, Brink weaves a world I loved to be part of, despite the violence. The house and its people -- the three living and the one a ghost -- became my welcome hangout as well. Despite all the hearbreak and the pervasive sense of unease, I also felt cradled by a world of sensuality, deep connection between human beings, and lust undivorced from loving.

Coetzee ends with love refused. Brink ends with love affirmed. I am filled with gratitude for having been there.

This is the first book I read for Andrea Brink and probably the 1st ever book for a South African writer, if my memory is still intact( Alan Paton being the exception).
This is probably one of the most complex and daunting novels that have been written between 2000 and 2005, and its complexity lies deep within the ethos of the issues and subjects tackled. It is not merely a novel about post apartheid south Africa, but constitutes a conscience and often bloody account of not only South Africa from 1930, but of human nature in general. It's a narration of fanatical Christianity, of the despair and hope of many Boers, of the often harsh daily realities that are often ignored or merely trespassed in modern historical narration of that historic epoch. The story centers around two main characters Ruben and Tesse; the former is a retired librarian, who has witnessed the rise and decline of various South African generations and political ploys, while the later is a young 30sh old bohemian, who for better or worse is living the turbulences of a changing world and society. Their lives intertwine and are linked for a short period of time, yet despite the brevity of their relation, they both share an intenseness that renders returning to a state of normalcy quite unbearable or unachievable. The energy and youth of Tesse forces the main male protagonist to confront not only his present old age, but also to soar back in time to his lonely childhood, on a desolate farm, his initiation into adulthood, his melancholy and often hypocritical marriage, that was marred by dismay and deception, to his current status as an old man, living in an empty house, surrounded by notes never to be completed and articles never to be written, with the sole presence of an ancient ghost murdered 200 hundred years ago. Perhaps this ghost is only a reflection of all the occupants miseries, and phantoms of sadness. Anjtee even though witnessed by various generations of passers by in the house, is merely a reflection of the conflict between human desire, sin, a need to reconcile differences and simply move on.
This is quite a complex novel, multiply layered and quite extravagant in both style and manner, nevertheless, it surely needs some careful reading and contemplation.

It is a measure of Brink's genius that this compulsively readable novel seems so straightforward, at least at first, when one is deeply engrossed in the twists and turns of the main characters' changing relationship. Primarily a love story, it chronicles the complex, sometimes masochistic, interaction between Ruben Olivier, a lonely former librarian in his sixties, and Tessa Butler, an attractive free spirit, almost thirty, whom he has taken into his home and who claims to have deep feelings for him. But while Tessa enlivens his days with her attentions and conversations, she also toys with him, flaunting her numerous relationships with other men at night. As Tessa settles in, Ruben finds his once-orderly and peaceful world shattered, the memories with which he has consoled himself after his wife's death destroyed, and his view of himself and the world permanently changed.

The book is deceptively many-layered, for while Brink is exploring rights and desires in the relationship of Ruben and Tessa, he is also simultaneously exploring rights and desires in a political sense. In the newly independent South Africa, the formerly oppressed black majority is now in power and asserting itself. In the confusion of the power transfer, many young men, apparently feeling that "might makes right," have formed marauding gangs, attacking, raping, killing, and essentially doing whatever they desire, their only motivation being revenge for past injustices. No one is safe, and Ruben and Tessa, who had hitherto ignored the danger even when it struck close to home, find that they are not immune as they face a defining moment of terror.

The atmosphere of the novel is dark, the mood of violence is palpable, and a sense of foreboding lies heavily over all. The relationship of Ruben and Tessa is unsettling, strange, perhaps even clinically sick, but it is powerfully seductive in a Nabokovian way. The ghost of a slave, Antje of Bengal, 300-years-old, walks the house, haunts the inhabitants, and keeps them and the reader constantly on edge. Throughout the action, Brink's language is so fluid, his first-person narrative so smooth, and his sense of timing so keen that his style achieves an elegance few others could achieve, given the sometimes bizarre subject matter. This is a thematically complex tale of many interconnected relationships, and it's fascinating. Mary Whipple

and while I may be accused of missing the point, I found the relationship between Ruben and Tessa extremely annoying. I bought the book thinking it would deal more with the South Africa of today, but even that was trite, with violence and corruption the two prevalent elements. As I read on, Ruben became a joke of an old man and Tessa a sadistic tease. I did enjoy A Dry White Season and why this author has decided to sink into the musings of an old man rather than explore more about South Africa and the myriad layers of its society after apartheid is a mystery to me. I must admit that I did read through it avidly and with some anticipation, assuming there would be some deeper meaning. If there is, I will have to have it explained to me because I didn't find it. It is well written and easy to read but certainly no more than that. One would be advised to read Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee instead.

While the Boer War of 1899-1902 has been overshadowed in collective memory by the two world wars, in many respects the conflict was one of the first modern wars. The conflict was also unusual for its mobile operations over vast areas, its protracted guerrilla phase and in particular, the tactical successes by a small armed citizenry against a much larger, professional military force. Historian Gregory Fremont-Barnes does a wonderful job in Osprey's Essential Histories #52, The Boer War 1899-1902, in describing this landmark conflict. Even after a century, there are many lessons to be learned from a study of the Boer War by military professionals and this volume is an excellent starting place. The Boer War 1899-1902 is also one of the best volumes in the Essential Histories series.

After a short introduction and chronology, The Boer War 1899-1902 provides an excellent 10-page section on the background to the war. Interestingly, the discovery of diamonds and gold in South Africa in the 19th Century and its relationship to the crisis that led to war might seem analogous with the modern relationship between oil and international security. The six-page section on opposing sides is also quite good; in particular, the author notes the Boer's advantage in tactical mobility due to all their troops being mounted, and the possession of a small, but efficient artillery arm. In the section on the outbreak of the war, the author notes how both sides were inclined to seek war as a solution and how the Boers imported large quantities of weapons and ammunition just before the conflict began. The actual campaign narrative is 35 pages in length and is supported by ten maps (South Africa 1899, principal theater of operations, the siege of Ladysmith, the Battle of Colenso, the Battle of Spion Kop, the siege of Mafeking, Lord Robert's advance, the siege of Kimberley, the blockhouse system, and Smut's invasion of the Cape Colony). The section on "portrait of a soldier" profiles Deneys Reitz, a Boer commando who wrote a postwar memoir, while "portrait of a civilian" profiles Emily Hobhouse, an Englishwoman who attempted to improve the welfare of interned Boer civilians. Final sections cover how the war ended and its consequences. The bibliography is also quite good and more extensive than most other Osprey volumes, and the illustrations throughout are also excellent.

The series of military defeats that the British forces suffered in the first three months of the conflict are amazing by any standard; expert Boer rifle marksmanship, efficient artillery, knowledge of the terrain and cunning selection of defensive positions allowed the farmers-turned-soldiers to annihilate one British battalion after another. Most of the rest of the British army was cut-off and besieged in isolated posts like Ladysmith, Kimberly and Mafeking. Indeed, had the Boer's used their initial advantages to push on and seize the vital coastal ports, the British might not have been in a position to relieve their besieged garrisons for some time and the war might have been ended much sooner. As Fremont-Barnes narrative reveals, the Boers were very successful throughout the war on the tactical level, but on the operational level they were overly conservative and unimaginative. On the other hand, it seems almost incredible that so many British commanders could persist in frontal assaults against entrenched Boer positions, even after ample evidence that this was disastrous. The British had important deficiencies in tactical mobility and intelligence that left them unable to come to grip with their foes in the initial stages of the war. The British also had a tendency to split up their forces too much, based upon their innate (but false) sense of tactical superiority. Time and again, small British columns were surprised and overwhelmed. In the end, the British were able to win the conventional phase of the war by using overwhelming and concentrated force, as well as rectifying their mobility problems by widespread use of cavalry. The guerrilla phase was won by the controversial policies of "scorched earth," internment camps and blockhouses to contain the free-riding Boer commandos.

Fremont-Barnes' narrative is full of interesting insights that are applicable to other conflicts, in other times. One British officer notes that the seizure of the Boer capitals seems to have had little impact on their will to resist: "the Boers set no store by them [the capitals] apparently; neither Bloemfontein nor Pretoria have been seriously defended, and they go on fighting after their loss just as if nothing had happened." Barnes also notes that the British army found it relatively easy to control the few towns and even the rail lines, but found it almost impossible to control the vast stretches of open veldt upon which the Boer commando roamed (although in a few years, the arrival of aircraft would have made life tougher for the Boers) - which is still a problem familiar to modern military personnel in places like Somalia, Afghanistan and the Balkans.

Ultimately, the British achieved a military victory after committing 450,000 troops to subdue an enemy that never had more than 60,000 troops. Nor was victory cheap; the war cost Britain £200 million and 22,000 dead. Oddly, the victory was a hollow one. Fremont-Barnes notes that, "the greatest paradox of the war was the fact that, though Britain emerged the victor in the military sense, the Boers clearly won the peace. Within a decade of the end of hostilities all four South African Crown colonies had been unified into a self-governing union dominated by Afrikaners. The Boer republics had gone to war in the name of liberty and now they had achieved it."

I knew next to nothing about the Boer War when I sat down to read this book. Though I can't truly claim to be an expert on the subject now, I almost feel as though I am one, because this book is so well written. The narrative is very easy to follow and the plentiful maps and photographs are close to superb. Plus, the discussion of the centuries preceeding the actual war, though brief, put the war in context quite nicely. There really isn't anything more to say except that if you want a short introduction to the Boer War, then buy and read this book!

I had little knowledge of, nor interest in, the Boer War until I saw the movie "Breaker Morant", the story of the court martial of three (Australian) junior officers serving in a special unit of the British Army in that war.

Two of them were executed, and the third, Lt. George Witton was sentenced to life in prison(later commuted). Witton later wrote a book about this, entitled "Scapegoats of the Empire", making the case that the three of them were sold out by the high command and sacrificed to political expediency. Although I first saw the movie "Breaker Morant" about twenty years ago, I had often wondered about Witton's book, and how he actually told the story. I was under the impression that the book was out of print, but recently found it quite easily and reasonably priced through Amazon. So, I ordered it, and "The Boer War: 1899 -1902 (Essential Histories)" was recommended as a companion volume. So, I ordered that one, too. This book on the Boer War was helpful in setting Witton's book into the overall context of the type of grinding guerilla war the British were facing and why Witton's unit was given orders (denied during the court martial) not to take prisoners. (In addition, the British high command had adopted a "scorched earth policy" to try to bring the plucky Boer farmers to their knees, and confined Boer women and children to concentration camps under the most wretched conditons. So, the book on the Boer War help set the context for Witton's book, which was essentially the story of the raw deal he and Lts. Morant and Handcock received at the hands of the generals and the politicians.

The "Essential Histories" series from Osprey could easily be compared to the Cliff Notes series. They'll give you a nice introduction to a topic you are not familiar with, but no real depth. Most volumns are under 100 pages; therefore, don't expect many "man in the trenches" stories.

This book is what this series does best: present a little understood period of military history with some background, goals of participants, and outcome.

Critique

The book I read was called Crocodile Hunter. I would probably rate this book a four star book. The reason I would rate this book at such a high rating is because this book was very hard to put down because there was never any boring parts. The author kept the story very interesting through out the whole story. Some of the words in the story were really big words and from time to time I had to look up some of the words. Right from the start the story got right to the point and that made it a lot better than some of the other books that I had read. One thing I thought that made this story stand out from the all the rest of them I have read because the setting in the story took place in two different kinds of worlds. Some of the activities that took place in the story were also very interesting. At the beginning Sakira is living in South Africa and in the middle of the story he is one Broadway singing with a group of very talentiewd singers. The story taught me a good lesson that Sakira did not ever forget his roots and what was happening back at his home town, where ware and politics were taking place. I would not really recommend this book to someone under the age of 11 or twelve because of some of the big words.

Critique

The book I read was called Crocodile Hunter. I would probably rate this book a four star book. The reason I would rate this book at such a high rating is because this book was very hard to put down because there was never any boring parts. The author kept the story very interesting through out the whole story. Some of the words in the story were really big words and from time to time I had to look up some of the words. Right from the start the story got right to the point and that made it a lot better than some of the other books that I had read. One thing I thought that made this story stand out from the all the rest of them I have read because the setting in the story took place in two different kinds of worlds. Some of the activities that took place in the story were also very interesting. At the beginning Sakira is living in South Africa and in the middle of the story he is one Broadway singing with a group of very talentiewd singers. The story taught me a good lesson that Sakira did not ever forget his roots and what was happening back at his home town, where ware and politics were taking place. I would not really recommend this book to someone under the age of 11 or twelve because of some of the big words.

Crocodile Burning, by Michael Williams, is one of the most intense books that I have ever read. About a young man, Seraki, from a small, present day, troubled South African village and his small show, the book takes an unexpected turn when the musical is invited to Broadway in New York City. With Seraki's brother in jail, Seraki needs to earn money to get him out. When the cast find out that they are not getting paid properly by the evil producer, trouble starts brewing. Read the book to find out what happens! I would definitely recommend this book because the characters are excitingly unpredictable, and because the settings are interesting when changed. I really liked this book because the characters are so unpredictable. An example of this is that Mosake, the show's manager, seems to be a very nice person in the beginning of the book when the musical is stationed in the small village in South Africa. Then, when the show moves to Broadway, we see the evil man that Mosake really is. In the book, there is also a very unexpected change in settings. The small musical that is started in Seraki's poor South African town goes to New York City and is a huge star on Broadway. These are just two of the reasons why you will enjoy this novel. Even though the characters and the changes in settings are very exciting, some people might not recommend this book because it seems a little bit unrealistic. For example, someone might think that it is almost impossible for a musical, from a small South African town, would become a success on Broadway. I believe that this is not a good enough reason not to take my recommendation because thought the plot may e unrealistic, the story is told in a very believable way. You will not regret reading this South African novel!

Overall this was a fairly good book. The story at first is kind of slow, then picks up, but there is really never a climax. There was a lot of historical information in this book that I found very interesting. It really made me realize how tough conditions were in South Africa at the time that this book takes place.

Gillian Slovo is unapologetic in her rather petulant story of a neglected childhood. While her parents pursued Communism and pushed against the apartheid government of South Africa, all the while earning a good income with her father's lawyering, she and her sisters suffered especially her ambitious mother's indifference, imprisonment and lack of home life "quality time".

Ruth First, daughter of Polish Jews, ambitious in her own right and extremely intelligent and sharp-tongued, married Joe Slovo, also Jewish, of Russian origin, with struggling parents. It was a climb up for him, with the steady rise of his income as a lawyer in post-WWII South Africa under white rule. His children lived well, enjoyed the blacks as servants, and attended private schools. The parents ran hither and to as Communists tend to do.

What makes this book uncommonly candid from a red is that the daughter, while unequivocally defending her parents' "struggles", openly begrudges their self-absorption and cause-related time-consuming party activities. When her parents become wanted criminals, the father escapes over the border and the mother ultimately goes to prison. Understandably, our writer, the daughter Gillian, is annoyed. She and her siblings avoid mentioning their parents in any of their schools, but her Russian-Jewish name betrays their origins, their parents' political proclivities, and brands the daughters as traitors.

The inside battle of any political movement will always take its toll on the activists' children. This part of the book is almost comical in its self-centeredness, but we all can relate if we have had parents with any reasons for indifference or neglect.

What I enjoyed was reading how her parents had come to such political ideas, why they dove in to the blacks' cause so valiantly, and how they throve on the injustice to others. When push came to shove, the mother takes the daughters to England, since the Communists and others of their ilk have made South Africa a blood bath for whites. To this day, the nonblacks of that country are fleeing in huge numbers, not the least of which are the descendants of the persecuted Jews of Russia and Poland, who classify themselves as "white", yet still oppressed in spite of great economic priviledge.

The effect of Communist ideas on emerging nations has been catastrophic, but rare is the book that tells openly how devious and traitorous its proponents can be. The end result always seems to send them scurrying out of the nation in which they had once prospered, to go to yet another free nation and stir up further unrest.

Rest assured that they would not move into a black neighborhood in England or America, no matter their anti-apartheid views!

Thanks to Gillian Slovo for revealing the inside scoop on these infamous Reds.

i only read a small portion of Every Little Thing - having sat sobbing throughout A World Apart - the poignant movie version.

i followed the comings and goings of both joe slovo and ruth first, and was myself in exile in lestho, when father john osmond had his hand blown off by parcel bomb; in detention, when albie sachs had his hand blown off in moçambique; under restriction back in johannesburg, when ruth was assisinated in moçambique; in my second stint in exile in botswana when jeannette and katryn schoon were murdered by parcel bomb in angola.

the pathos deliverered in A World Apart wrenched my insides apart, for many of the questions gillian had for her father, my own daughter - separated from me being in exile - she in johannesburg, she pleaded me for, for clear answers. her young enquiring mind was never satiated with whatever i had to proffer.

the sad thing about these situations is that we have no clear answers - no magic solution, for when gross injustices prevail within a "civilised" society, some of us who heed the call - take up the challenge to right these inhumane wrongs. we are forced to forgo our own comforts and loved ones. the call of the multitudes, far exceeds those of our own personal loved ones; for we reach/strive for that day, when all our children - black, white, brown or yellow will be able to live as proud children under one free and democratic governement. only then will we all be opportuned to live out their dreams and aspirations as proud citizens of the world - an integral part of humanity ...

and it was this message that tore at my gut, my heart ... my troubled mind - that made me feel a little more proud of the many sacrifices so many of us were forced to endure. that our children and loved ones had to be denied our love and support and guidance that we as responsible adults/parents should have been fulfilling, can never be repayed; for within our offspring, the emptiness of both parents being there for them - when most needed has come and gone ...

A great read that poses the difficult question: what ought to come first--one's children, or one's cause? Especially challenging when the cause is the end of apartheid. Gillian Slovo is bitter that she didn't have her parents because they were busy trying to free South Africa. Understandable from an individual point of view, but the contribution of the Slovos to the anti-apartheid movement was invaluable. I don't know the correct answer to the question, but I do know that this is a good and engaging tale.

This book is very well and sensitively written. It gives a very vivid picture of Ruth First and Joe Slovo, two very strong willed people who were dedicated to the anti apartheid struggle in the dark years of apartheid in the last 40 years before the first democratic elections in 1994.

Here we get a true picture of how ths couple had sacrificed their family life for what they had believed in and how this had effected their relationship with their eldest daughter (the author). One cannot help but empathize with the author who makes no bones about the neglect that her parents had towards her relationship with them and how she truly wanted to know more about her parents who were rather secretive towards her.

The book makes very exciting reading. My main criticism is that there is a tendency to jump backwards and forwards in the past. There seems to be a problem of continuity of style as passed anecdotes are retold at different stages in this biography.There is also a tendency to repetition. This tends to marr a rather good book which is recommended to all those who are interested in the history of the freedom struggle in South Africa.

I first heard about this book on a radio talk show and immediately ordered it through Amazon.com. Listening to the author talk about his views on South Africa was quite interesting because he loves the country and its people and is cautiously enthusiastic about its future, but reading his book reveals that the vast problems South Africa faces are incredibly complex and that it may well take several generations to create an egalitarian society. One really wonders if South Africa will stand the test of time and not become another Rwanda or Yugoslavia.

The author intelligently divided the book into four parts: an introduction in which he talks about his early trips in South Africa under apartheid and the current social situation of the country, four portrait sections in which he includes a pair of interviews with people on opposite sides of the current post-apartheid experience, and a sensible personal conclusion. The reader should expect moving as well as harrowing personal accounts of apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. Many things throughout the book will bring hope to the reader; however, that hope will be checked by Goodman's well-informed statistics on criminality and unemployment in present-day South Africa. The book definitively deserves a wide readership.

Goodman has compiled a great book here with views on important events in South African history. These events are examined with narratives from both sides, white and black. The aftermath of each event is traced as well.

I originally bought this book because it was published about five years after Apartheid's official demise and promised to be about "the New South Africa." There aren't many stories that come out of that country these days and it is difficult finding real information about the transition to full democracy. Regretfully, this book adds little to the quest for answers about South Africa's future.

The author does a good job of interviewing various segments of South African society, but nearly 75% of the book focuses on Apartheid, which has been effectively dead since 1990. This book has the same feel as the many dozens of others that were written prior to Mandela's election. Technically the author is conducting the interviews post-Apartheid, but the reliance is on the old ghosts of the past to excuse tacit failure.

Perhaps most frustrating are the slight clues dropped along the way that hint at corruption and crime, two areas most indicative of national direction (especially in Africa), although the author never indulges us with detail. This is unfortunate because a lot of effort was spent to put together a book that gives precious little insight into whether South Africa will wind up as another Zimbabwe, or if the continent's last great hope will manage to retain its economy and pull up its neighbors as many of us were so hopeful of in 1990.

Having visited South Africa in October, 1998, and seen the extensive squatters areas described by the author, I do not believe that readers of his book can adequately understand the extreme poverty he describes. It has to be seen and experienced to be appreciated. Mr. Goodman's portraits of the eight people in his book gives flesh and humanity to the otherwise dehumanizing nature of apartheid. I think his work is best appreciated if you have seen South Africa for yourself. For your readers who have not been to South Africa, they owe it to themselves to see it. I believe you can not remain unmoved by what you see and one must come away from that experience a better person.

Here it is 2006 and Peter Hounam's book will not go away. It's just as scary today as when written -- perhaps more so in light of breaking news about 911.

We knew about the seismic spike associated with the WTC collapse on September 11, 2001. Well, as it happens there is also evidence of an EMP, and elevated tritium. The University of California found elevated tritium at ground zero 2 days after the event. And more recently we've learned about a sharp spike in cancers among 911 responders -- the sort of cancers caused by ionizing radiation.

Last year a Finnish military expert put it all together and argued that mini nukes were planted in the basement of the WTC. The question is now being asked - and it makes Hounam's 1995 book about red mercury, miniature nukes, the end of apartheid and pure fusion more timely than ever.

It's time to go back and have a fresh look at Hounam's research. Did the South Africans achieve a breakthrough in the nuclear field? I predict a revival of interest. Thanks to Hounam's dogged work the story hasn't been TOTALLY swept under the rug. This book is highly disturbing and suggests we are not out of the nuclear woods -- not by a long shot.

Hounam's book deserved to be a best seller -- and in a wiser world it surely would have.

This is an entertaining tale of political intrigue, murder, and nuclear arms. The authors argue that the South African apartheid government developed a highly advanced form of nuclear weapon using "red mercury", and that this technology later found its way to rogue states in the Middle East -- thus mobilising out of control security agencies such as the CIA and Mossad to track down the people responsible. The story is an entertaining one, but the consensus today is that "red mercury" does not exist. It is a hoax. That nuclear weapon technology found its way to countries such as Russia, Iraq, and Syria is much more likely. Much more interesting is the authors' claim that although the South African government was supposed to have destroyed its nuclear weapons arsenal in 1993, many devices found their way into the hands of right-wing groups who have stashed them at secret locations throughout the Transvaal as a way to "blackmail" the communist ANC government. I for one hope this is true, as it gives our white brethren in South Africa a way to fight back against the black communist ANC regime. All in all an interesting book, but I suggest that you take it with a pinch of salt.

1978 SOUTH AFRICA TESTS THEIR FIRST NUCLEAR WEAPON. USA AND USSR ARE SURPRISED AND CONFIRM THAT THE TEST OCCURRED.NAZI/FASCIST BOTHA ("THE HOMELAND BLACK IN SOUTH AFRICA IS ONLY IN THIS COUNTRY TO SELL HIS LABOR", 1970's BOTHA'S SPEECHES ) AND THEN DEKLEERK HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS.1993 DEKLEERK ANNOUNCES TO THE WORLD SOUTH AFRICA WILL DISARM AND DISMANTLE THEIR NUCLEAR WEAPONS/ICBM MISSILE PROGRAM. DID THEY?WELL KNOWN BRITISH NEWSPAPER AND TELEVISION INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS, PETER HOUNAM AND STEVE MCQUILLAN RESEARCH AND TRAVEL TO SOUTH AFRICA AND INTERVIEW THE PRINCIPAL INSPECTORS AND OVERSEERS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS DISARMING AND DISMANTLING PROGRAM.QUOTE FROM SOUTH AFRICA'S TOP INSPECTOR, ALSO KNOWN AS "TNE TERMINATOR" OF SOUTH AFRICA'S NUCLEAR STOCKPILE, "THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A LOT OF CHEATING." AND PROFESSOR WYNAND MOUTON(same) IS NOT SURE EVERYTHING IS DESTROYED.NUKES IN IRAQ? NO. WORLD INSPECTORS AGREE.CHINA HAS HAD 12,000 MILE MISSILES AND AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED NUCLEAR WEAPONS SINCE THE MID-SEVENTIES. IN 1976 A PRINCETON SENIOR WRITES A PAPER ON HOW TO MAKE A NUCLEAR WEAPON AND THE PAPER IS IMMEDIATELY DECLARED "TOP SECRET". NO NUKES PEACE NOWLEO SZILARD (EINSTEIN'S STUDENT)HIS THREE POINTS:1. THERE ARE NO SECRETS2. THERE IS NO DEFENSE3. IT IS A CRIME WHAT WE DO TO EACHOTHER UNTIL WE ALL RID THE WORLD OF THESE WEAPONS.REVELATION - TO REVEALAPOCALYPSE - THE OPPOSITE OF HIDING A GOOD BOOK BUY IT AND INFORM YOURSELF.

This book adds materially to the stock of information on the subject of Red Mercury, something that few publications succeed in doing. See, in this respect, the list of Russian export documents and their associated authorisations on pages 288 to 290. Unfortunately, the headings include 'Volume in Kg.' but, in such an (otherwise) informative account, it is easy to overlook such blemishes. The footnote reference to Dr. Arthur Sleight's report on his synthesis of the Red Mercury base compound, mercuric pyro-antimoniate, which appeared in the Journal of Inorganic Chemistry (volume 7, no.9) has an importance completely out of proportion to the space allocated to it in the thriller, but no other document dealing with the subject cared to mention it at that time (1995). The report was responsible for the key compound acquiring a number in the International Chemical Register: 20720-76-7. The book is unique in drawing attention to the activities of Thor Chemicals' South African branch and there are sufficient scandals exposed in its pages to provide material for several documentaries and many more books.

Many spy novels follow the formula set down by John Buchan at the end of WWI - exotic locations, powerful and dangerous enemies, damsels in distress, and secret plots to dominate the world. Buchan's fictitious protagonist, South African Richard Hannay, once did a job for His Majesty's gov't before the war. Now, they've asked for his help again.

Hannay is tasked with going undercover to penetrate a nest of peaceful war objectors to ferret out its suspected German ringleaders. Before long, thanks to Hannay's speaking skills, he is accepted into their group as a persuasive, but simple, speaker. Trailing mysterious figures across the English and Scottish countrysides, literally running into war movie film sets, and escaping on the wings of the wind are just part and parcel of being a secret agent deep undercover. Wanted by both German agents and the local police forces, Hannay may be the hunted, but he is still their hunter as well. However, despite busting the ring and foiling their plan the evil ringleader, Gresson, gets away.

And so Hannay returns to his job in the army rising to brigadier general when he receives the call to secret service again. This time Gresson lurks much closer behind the French lines, but remains carefully hidden. Only his saboteur agents seem to be leaving their mark. Hannay amazingly encounters Mary - his true love - breaking into the same suspicious looking chateau as he. Together they join forces to break up Gresson's fiendish plot before it is sprung. However, Hannay is tricked and Mary is captured. Again, like many spy novels after it, the hero is imprisoned in a diabolical way with the villain leaving the hero unattended. However, like always the hero manages to break free, just. In the mountains of Switzerland there still remain a few twists and turn yet to remain.

The action in the book is fairly fast-moving, but the characters are purely two-dimensional and the plot is highly predictable. Just like a 007 movie. Reading the book, though, I wasn't able to really get into it, except for a few of the scenes in the first half of the book and the Swiss episode in the last half. A much better series that takes place in the same era is Reilly: Ace of Spies, who is a British spy working in Wilhelmine Germany. Overall, this is a decent book, which serves as a prototype of many spy novels thereafter, especially the sexier James Bond series.

For those who like good, clean spy-type fun, this is a SUPERLATIVE work. Part three in the adventures of Richard Hannay (which started with Buchan's well-known "Thirty-nine Steps"), this is a first-rate thriller set on the eve of World War I, with plenty of atmosphere and hair-breadth escapes, plus an excellent dogfight climax in the skies over France. Along with everything else, it has some sound theological reflections (the title being a character from "Pilgrim's Progress") about courage and fortitude. Highly recommended.

This is my favourite Buchan book of them all! Although not as tightly-plotted as Greenmantle and The Thirty-Nine Steps, its predecessors in the series, it's still a nail-bitingly exciting adventure story sure to have you hooked for most of the first half and the whole second half. In Part One, Hannay spends some time with artistic types very familiar to those of us who enjoy 'lowbrow' fare, and then spends some time in radical political circles in Glasgow. Although it can be slow, there's lashings of satire to keep you chuckling. Then the plot begins to move--through the Scottish Highlands in a sequence akin to The Thirty-Nine Steps, but with far more characterisation and philosophy than the earlier book. During this time, Hannay realises that he's in love, pretends to be drunk, and impersonates a movie director. (No, it's not one of those spy novels with miserable characters and a depressing plot, in case you were wondering.)

The second half, however, is peerless. The stakes rise, the scene shifts to the battlefields of Europe, and the adventure is non-stop. Hannay must outwit a foe far more intelligent and ruthless than himself, try to pick up the courage to propose to lovely, clever young Mary Lamington, and manage to survive a brutal war. The climax is breathtaking and actually has you fearing for the outcome; moreover, it shows that Buchan was not in fact blissfully unaware of the horrors of trench warfare as many people, reading his optimistic work today, would think.

In the first quarter or so of this book, I was afraid I had been duped. I found myself grumbling about how the definition of "thriller" had changed over the last 90 years. Then, somehow, mysteriously, I fell under Buchan's and Hannay's spell. I realized what a wonderful period piece this book is, and how well it captures the tense situation of the Great War. Furthermore, Buchan's writing has true literary value -- he was extremely well grounded in classical literature, English literature, and the Bible, and they all shine forth in this book. This thriller of Buchan's has deserved to stand the test of time. Now, ask yourself, do you really think that will be true of Tom Clancy?