South Africa Books

A story of a relationship between an African man and woman, set in the Orange Free State region of South Africa during the Mfecane and Boer expansion. This is a more intimate and personal examination of the effects of these historical trends through the eyes of a young couple displaced by the battles and skirmishes. Although not sophisticated as a work of fiction, Mhudi is nonetheless a moving and insightful view of this period of history from an African perspective, as well as a piece of history in itself. Written by one of South Africa's true renaissance men whose contribution to his nation and people remains sadly underreported

It has been over a year since I read this book while I was living in Puerto Rico, but the deep impressions it made remain. Even now I feel like I would love to sit and just listen to the authoress in person as she tells more of her story. That is exactly how I predict you will feel as you read this account from her heart and you share her laughter and her tears.

Although now I live in Mexico, I realize that this true story of a young girl apparently forsaken by her own country and forced to move to another is universal in it's lesson of love and pride of your roots and how justice can prevail if we never give up!

Thank you Ms. Jacobs and God Bless You Forever, Bill

Long awaited subject, very informative and well researched book. I have several of Yeffim Gordon's books and they are all wonderful. This book covers the design stages and includes pictures of models that did not make it to the finals but that are interesting and one can see the progression of a concept, the things that worked and the things that didn't. The main thread of this and the other books is that they not only are factual but also present some details that are unique from native's point of view.

The photos are mostly black and white and in an age of digital perfection I sometime forget that this is a subject that was classified not so long ago. Nevertheless, I wish there were more close ups and more color photos and that the 3-d drawings include front and top views as well. I understand however that the space is limited and there are four helicopters covered.

It is a great refference material for historians and hobbyists alike and it is a great addition to my library of Soviet Aircrafts!

Borislav

I read this book while I was visiting South Africa and I would encourage it for anyone who is interested in an overview of life under apartheid. It was published just before apartheid ended, so the reader must look to other sources for a post apartheid look at South Africa, but I found this book to be well written, insightful, and interesting. South Africa is a very complex culture and that complexity is not always portrayed in American media. Hochschild lived in South Africa and his love for the people is evident in this work.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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