South Africa Books

When you listen to this music you can not help but being uplifted to higher regions. All worries will disappear and a higher reality will appear- yes even if you do not believe in higher realties.

A highly practical guide, informative and entertaining to read, sadly out-of-date now because of Zimbabwe's changed situation. But despite the current petrol crisis tour companies are still operating and well managaged, hotels still giving the renowned Zimbabwe welcome despite food shortages -- e.g. sustaining English breakfasts and local wines for dinner. It was an invaluable companion to an archeological trip to the stunning eastern higlands, indispensible in finding the way around Harare, with useful potted histories for most rural locations.

On the eve of the Soweto riots, a wealthy white South African looks back on his troubled and troubling past.

Martin Mynhardt, a highly successful business and Afrikaans Nationalist, returns to the family farm one weekend to arrange its sale to the government - a corrupt deal that will lead to a financial killing.

The weekend becomes a nightmare. Martin's closenst friend, a brilliant, idealistic lawyer, is sentenced to prison for his anti-apartheid "terrorist" activities - in part because Martin refuses to help him. Martin's son, recently returned from the Angolan war, is in silent revolt against the values of his father and his nation. Martin's mistress, Bea, an intelligent, strong-willed woman who offers Martin the hope of redemption through her own capacity for empathy, is also caught up in the gathering political storm.
--- from book's back cover

Running Towards Us presents new writings from South Africa from both established and new writers, revealing new subjects and concerns from writers who are now beyond the focus on apartheid. How does one define history and plan for the future? This turns to accepted masters of South African literature and new voices to consider changed themes and perceptions.

This book is based on a mini-series produced for South African subscription based television and contains many photographs. It details the British policy during the Anglo-Boer war (1899-1902), to send all Boer women and children to concentration camps in order. It is estimated that approximately 10% of the Boer population died in these camps, but this is a little known fact outside of South Africa. The British govenrment had recognized both Boer republics until after the discovery of Gold in the South African Republic, known after the war as the Transvaal province. When the British realized that they could not win the war, it was decided to break the spirit of the Boers by imprisoning their women and children.

It is unfortunate that no distributors in the U.S. were interested in this film, as I certainly would have liked to see it.

I bought Shack Chic as a "souvenier" after spending a summer working in the Cape Town townships with the youth there - I cannot think of a better object to take home and represent to my friends and family Cape Town's townships and South Africa as a nation. This photo-essay book, with brilliant colors and spectacular images, is a testament to the strength of South Africans and their innovation and resourcefulness even in the most destitute of living conditions. Portrays poverty in the post-Apartheid era not as the romanticized victimization of people but the hopeful and perservering will of humankind to live with digity.

This is a vitally important book for understanding the transition to democracy in South Africa. O'Malley leaves no stones unturned and while much has been written about South Africa's transformation too few authors have asked the really hard questions and dug up the hard to find facts of what went on behind the scenes. O'Malley does this hard work. In this book readers will find never before published underground communications, look into secret missions, but most importantly understand the physical and emotional pain involved in being a true rebel. No film could equal the real life drama that unfolds in this story. Some of the early pages are a bit slow, but give this book time and you will be rewarded with a unique story of intrigue, violence, revolution, love, change, rise and fall-- and rise again. This is a beautiful and necessary work that should not be missed.

Nicanor Perlas prepared this book in time for the Millennium Forums around the UN in September 2000. His key is to consolidate the understanding of "culture" as a third co-equal dimension of society, alongside the more easily defined political and economic segments.

His crucial revelation is how this cultural sector, though manipulated and diverted as much as possible by economic and political interests (I'll call it "buying lying and denying"), is still able to exert the greatest influence of the three, when properly worked with. Lincoln's assertion that "right makes might" falls into this category.

As a historical note I would add that in the evolution of human consciousness we have reached the place where the old institutions of culture and values are no longer effective, and the effectiveness of culture as a guide to healthy societies depends on individual conscience. That is what Perlas himself has shown, as recognized by his being awarded the "Right Livelihood" Prize from Sweden, sometimes call "the alternative Nobel Prize."

Anyone who aspires to understand and to help improve society at any level will be inspired and empowered by the book.

The authors of "AIDS Doctors" (also published by Oxford University Press), have written another equally moving, well balanced, and critical account of what it is like working on the frontlines of the AIDS epidemic, this time from the perspective of doctors and nurses in South Africa which has the largest number of HIV/AIDS cases in the world. There are a number of books that have been published in recent years about the AIDS epidemic in South Africa but this book stands out because it allows the reader to get inside the hearts and minds of those who have devoted their lives to helping AIDS patients despite numerous, often overwhelming odds thrown at them, many stemming from the innane policies of the South African government. This book is a great read and it will give you another view of AIDS in other parts of the world and it will give you a greater appreciation of how far we have come in the US in confronting AIDS. The voices in this book are real and what you get are a range of emotions and experiences but in the end you will have a greater appreciation of how hard the work is for doctors and nurses in South Africa and how little support they get in helping the most vulnerable members of society. A truly wonderful, inspiring book!

William A. Rusher is one of the finest minds of our time. His clarity of thought, reason, and logic and understanding helps the reader fully understand the extremely complex country and its history and where its future lies. It is a must read for anyone who wishes to comprehend such a troubled and yet great country!