South Africa Books

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.

Mathew Paul treats the South African Paratroopers with respect in this wonderful book. The book is made up of many stories told by "Parabats" that covers the history of South African Airborne Soldiers. The book covers the Bush Wars in Angola and South West Africa, and police actions in the black Townships in the early 1990's. Often having different soldiers telling their stories about the same battles but from different views. The book isn't political, it just shows what soldiers do in their words. Mathew Paul is a former Paratrooper Chaplin in the South African Defense Forces, and this book is a labor of love for his fellow "Parabats". The book is an easy read and tell's a story that few outside of Africa have heard of. Buy the book and enjoy a fun historical yawn.

As a fan of cartoons, politics and history, I was delighted to find these three favorites of mine all fused together in this mind-numbing collection of South African political cartoons which goes back to the Anglo-Boer War through to the modern day. All sides are represented, conservative and liberal, Afrikaans and English and pro- and anti-apartheid, with extensive commentary to help explain the political climate in which the cartoons were born. Love it love it love it!

This book intrically discussed many of the ethnic groups in Africa including, The Suku, Swazi and Tiv. Unlike other books I have read about Africa, this provided an in depth acount of a few tribes, instead of rushing to cover them all. My only complaint would be that it could've been updated to get more current information on the AIDS crisis, etc. Photos and charts helped in understanding the cultures of these tribal groups.

A fascinating novel regarding the damage done by keeping family secrets.

This is a good introduction to post-apartheid South African politics. Deegan reviews the implosion of apartheid in the 1980s and early 1990s, and then analyzes the national elections of 1994 and 1999. The book is crammed with tables on everything from voter attitudes to crime rates. The writing is pedestrian and repetitive but also clear and jargon-free -- something of an accomplishment for a book written by a political scientist. My only real complaint is the unbalanced choice of topics. For example, Deegan devotes pages and pages to gender issues and to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; however, she has nothing on HIV/AIDS, foreign policy, or the internal workings of the ANC. For a book on politics, there is also a weird lack of political biography, with the exception of sections on Nelson Mandela.

Much of the research done on feminism and women's issues has been performed in the societies of North America and Europe. Likewise, most of the researchers are themselves of European descent. This book attempts to redress some of that imbalance. the authors study groups of poor women in South Asia and West Africa. Nor are the authors of European descent. This helps add diversity in the analysis of how marginalised groups of women can cope. While the regions surveyed are developing countries, the groups described here are typically regarded as poor, even by the prevailing standards of their countries.

A key finding is that the women are often marginalised in multiple ways. That is, they may have little access to health care, banking or other financial services, formal education or even political rights. The informal networks in which the women are part of, thus can be seen as a survival mechanism and perhaps one of the few ways in which the women can achieve some modest means of empowerment.

Overall, the book seems cautiously positive in describing how these women are coping, and perhaps improving their circumstances.

This nice little book gives a brief look at some of the many facets of Ngoma, a shamanistic healing cult (or rather cults, as the phenomena consists of numerous seperate movements) popular throughout much of southern Africa. More specifically, it looks at some of the political aspects of Ngoma. The concepts, beliefs and rituals of Ngoma are part of the greater whole of African culture, and the introduction does a good job giving a brief introduction to Ngoma, it's history and study of it by westerners. It then goes on to the different sections, covering Ngoma & gender in Zambia, the Mhondoro cult of Zimbabwe as social commentary, Ngoma in the Mdzimu Zionist churches of Zambia, Sangoma as shaman in Swaziland, ritualized scapegoating and the clash between Ngoma and born-again fundamentalist Christianity in Malawi. Throughout the book, the reader becomes aware of how deep and complex Ngoma is, consisting of ritual, healing, spirit possession and, most importantly, as a common link between the community. It is as much religion as it is a way of life, taking many forms throughout southern Africa, and has many parallels with Voudon, Santeria, Palo Mayombe, Candomble and other African religions transported to the Americas. This is pretty deep, involved reading aimed predominantly at anthropologists and other educated people, though certainly anyone should be able to read this and come away with a deeper understanding and respect for the healing shamanistic traditions of southern Africa.