South Africa Books

However, this book is WELL worth every minute it may take you read it. I've had the book for several months and finally opened it last week.

After reading "The Power of One", if you don't laugh, cry, tremble, smile, hit something, or hug something, you are inhuman. This is by far one of the most heartwarming and heartwrenchingly beautiful books I have ever read.

By the way, if you are thinking about getting the movie after reading this book, this is what the movie description says:

"The Power of One is an intriguing story of a young English boy named P.K. and his passion for changing the world. Growing up he suffered as the only English boy in an Afrikaans school. Soon orphaned, he was placed in the care of a German national named Professor von Vollensteen (a.k.a. "Doc"), a friend of his grandfather. Doc develops P.K.'s piano talent and P.K. becomes "assistant gardener" in Doc's cactus garden. It is not long after WWII begins that Doc is placed in prison for failure to register with the English government as a foreigner. P.K. makes frequent visits and meets Geel Piet, an inmate, who teaches him to box. Geel Piet spreads the myth of the Rainmaker, the one who brings peace to all of the tribes. P.K. is cast in the light of this myth. After the war P.K. attends an English private school where he continues to box. He meets a young girl, Maria, with whom he falls in love. Her father, Professor Daniel Marais, is a leader of the Nationalist Party of South Africa. The two fight to teach the natives English as P.K.'s popularity grows via the myth. Maria is killed. P.K. looses focus until he sees the success of his language school among the tribes. He and Guideon Duma continue the work in hopes of building a better future for Africa."

WHAT?!? P.K? Orphaned? The Rainmaker? Where is the Judge? Or Grandpa Chook? Where is the Crystal Cave? Where is Morrie? Where are the mines? Where is the dream of "Welterweight Champion of the World", not to mention Hoppie?

I suppose you can't blame Hollywood for making such a botchery of a book like this. There is no possible way it could EVER be felt on screen the way it is with words. However, it is unforgivable that PEEKAY (Not P.K.) was not known as the Tadpole Angel.

I suppose that if you've never read the book, the movie would be standard Hollywood fluff, with all the political, cutsie, hero-that-changes-the-world, love story type stuff that people seem to go for.

Which is also the reason I prefer to read and this is one book I will read again and again and again.

this book is amazien i can't spell to well because im reading the book right now. BUy it DO IT KNOW

I picked up The Power of One in the Johannesburg Airport on the suggestion of a friend. With its odd, self-help book title, I would have never chosen on my own. I finished it on the long flight home and have read it repeatedly since. It's that book I pick up when I want to remember that there is goodness in human nature. Peekay's coming of age is an experience completely different from mine, yet it evoked such strong emotion. It echoes To Kill a Mockingbird in how it shows you, through the eyes of child, just how unfair and ill-founded bigotry is, but it keeps from drowning in righteousness by preserving the love and humor of Peekay's youth as well. I cannot recommend this book enough.

The Power of One came to me at an important time of my life and empowered me in the face of hardship to continue on. I recommend this book to all of my students.

I read "Power of One" for the first time when I was 14 and since then I have wanted to visit South Africa. So when I finally got the chance to go a few weeks ago, I re-read the book for the third time; it seems to only get better each time I pick it up. I love this story so much that I wish Peekay were real (the book makes me believe he is, the characters are so well written).

it is a very humourous and (I guess) honest book. He tells his tales as a child, and the innermost changes that led to leadership.
Interesting AND entertaining!
Greetings form Argentina!

I recently finished a leadership training course sponsored by my company. One of the activities that we did in the class was to reflect on great world leaders and think about what qualities made them great. It came up during the session that some years ago the teachers had led a similar exercise, but had actually asked the participants to try to communicate with a living leader who had personally affected them. The idea had been for people to get in touch with a former manager or teacher. However, it happened that one of the participants (not having a manager who he or she had admired) contacted Nelson Mandela by email. To everyone's surprise, he responded quite kindly and shared some thoughts about leaders and leadership.

When I was traveling in South Africa, I heard many similar stories. Tour groups who told about Mandela coming out of the parliament building to greet and talk to the tourists. Employees at Robben Island talked reverently about how he had taken personal interest in their lives based on the briefest of acquaintenceships. Every story emphasized his humbleness, his respect for others, and his basic approachability.

Long Walk to Freedom, for me, confirms that image of Mandela as a man who is great in part because of his humbleness, and his resistance to myth. He emphasizes his role as the man in the middle, pushed by circumstances and common decency into greatness. He consistently avoids overdone bragging (the little that is there is surely allowed him) and looks hard at the actions that the ANC took in their quest for freedom.

While it would have been interesting to read this before going to South Africa, I actually think that I got more out of it now after seeing the country first.

I really enjoyed the book. It is not a perfect narrative. It suffers in parts from being written over a period of years. There are some little repetitions and awkwardnesses along the way. None of those things matter at all in relation to either the reading experience or the importance of the book. I liked it very much, and would recommend it highly to others. Do not be daunted by its size (625 pages, in my edition). It is actually a very quick read and kept me intensely interested the whole time. Genuinely inspirational.

This book recounts the life of Nelson Mandela beginning in childhood up to the present age. It is written by Mandela himself - it's honest, straightforward style seems to be an honest attempt by Mandela to portray himself objectively, avoiding the tendency to be self-serving.

A fascinating book. It begins with Mandela in his young childhood living in a pre-industrial society of native Africans in the countryside of South Africa where white settlers have dominated industrialized society. It is an engaging society, - perhaps more advanced than our own - as one must reconsider what it means to live in harmony and in cooperation; A true democracy, based on the ideals that all are equal.

Mandela undergoes culture shock when he runs away from his traditional homeland to seek his fortunes in the big city of Johannesberg. Here is encounters white society up close, and is mortified at the inequity that exists between the native blacks, and the immigrant whites that make every attempt to dominate their country and exploit its indigenous peoples.

Mandela encounters a small group of educated, free-thinking educated blacks, and joins the African National Congress. Here he encounters several other oppressed peoples: Indians, Communists, and liberal whites. He slowly makes his life's objective to be a freedom fighter. A fighter for civil rights for all people. A life of struggle, where one must be willing to pay the ultimate price. And he nearly does.

He becomes the inspiration for downtrodden average black citizen, nearly enslaved within their own country. He willingly faces grave danger, is tried several times for his political ideals, denounced as "treason" and is eventually sent to prison "for life."

Mandela's life in prison is austere. But he and his colleagues never yield in their commitment to freedom for all South Africans. His wife, Winnie is an example of true dedication - equally a woman of integrity and worthy of the highest praise. She undergoes severe hardships being married to a "freedom fighter."

Mandela avoids the tendency to give up in the face of severe conditions, showing true mettle as he remains dedicated to the rights for all people to live free in racist South Africa. 27 years later having risked his life and surviving harsh prison conditions, he emerges a national hero.

A must read for anyone - Mandela is history in the making.

This is a fantastic book that provides great insight into one of the most inspirational leaders in modern history. His story in particular and the anti-apartheid struggles in general are fascinating and provide extremely valuable lessons. With his humbleness and incredibly lucid and organized writing style (which admittedly did surprise me), this could be the best autobiography out there. One can only imagine how different the continent would be if other African Nations had such strong leaders with Nelson Mandela's courage and integrity.

Full of humanity, integrity, sacrifice, humility, and character. This is an uplifting book about the power of the human spirit to overcome great adversity. I loved it and I do agree that this book should be required reading for everyone. Parts of this book brought tears to my eyes. It illuminates a great man and the struggle people had to endure to overcome a great blight. To think that the U.S. did not place sanctions on South Africa until the mid 1980's, when men like Mandela were fighting and dying for the right to be considered human. I read recently that Pat Roberston, the great American evangelical, was a supporter of apartheid. How incredibly inhuman. If you know anything about South Africa, you will know that by the end of his long incarceration, even Mandela's captors had acquired great respect for this man. A must read...in many ways, this is a life changing, life affirming book. Powerful.

Sydney Sheldon, emotionally retarded and mentally challenged creator of "Gilligan's Island" and "I Dream of Jeannie", writes. It's grammatically correct writing, but this is the only compliment I can give it.

Sydney writes in a flat, unentertaining way... as though he expects his readers to be struggling with English, like an 8 year old forced to read this at school. If you want startlingly well-written prose, read Shakespeare, Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, Dirk Gently series, "Last Chance to See"), or Mark Twain (Letters from the Earth, Tom Sawyer, et cetera).

Sydney's characters are as flat, unlikeable and unbelievable as a 4 year old's superhero comic book, used as toilet paper and then unfolded to be read again. Imagine that twin daughters are *polite coughing* evil and good, in the extreme...yet their family is completely unaware of this, for decades. Imagine a wealthy playboy who goes around raping, beating, and sodomizing wealthy women... but goes unjailed, unnoticed, and undisciplined. Having difficulty imagining this? Blame Sydney, who thinks you've got the intelligence of the average preschooler.

Sydney's plots are as unbelievable as a 1950s cigarette ad claiming "not a cough in a carload". In this particular book (small spoiler alert), imagine how you'd feel after reading near the beginning that a white man and a black man in 1800s South Africa could be fairly good friends, without a hint of racism. Now break with reality again, and imagine that two people without tools could pick up enough diamonds on a beach (yep...diamons, lying around on a beach?!) in a few hours could collect enough wealth to compete against--and topple-- a millionaire who has 40 guys searching that SAME beach every day, all day, for years.

Notice that above and below this book review are 11 pages of shills and clacquers, using !!!exclamation points!!!, CAPITAL LETTERS, catchy lines line "Sheldon is the master of the game", and all giving this crappity book 10/10 stars. Clearly, Amazon has not done enough to keep out the marketing weenies who are posing as real, unbiased readers as they try to sell this steaming heap of rotting firewood to an unsuspecting audience.

BE WARNED: this book is junk. Total, boring, unbelievable, twisted, shallow junk. You will regret any time spent with it, unless it's bought at a garage sale and used to prop up a wobbly table.

first time i listen to a book by sidney sheldon and i think he is the best book that i ever read i am going to pay more of his books i hope that i am not going to be disappointed , you see some writer thy do write one good story but all wt come after it is garbage. pls if any one have recommendation for the next book pls advise.its not every profound book but it is very entertaining.and breathtaking, you going to love it .

"Master of the Game" is a 1982 novel by Sidney Sheldon, a man responsible for bringing you both lackluster television shows like "I Dream of Jeannie" and guilty-pleasure novels like "The Other Side of Midnight." I will say this for Sheldon. He knows how to keep you reading. The two novels I have read by the man (the aforementioned book and the one for which this review is being written) are entertaining reads. That being said, they are also silly, far-fetched and not particularly intellectual. Thus, if you are thinking about reading this book, you should ask yourself what it is you want exactly from the experience.

The story begins in 1883 where we meet the young and ambitious Jamie McGregor on his way to Africa to make his fortune in diamonds. Jamie eventually makes it rich, but not without consequences. He eventually has a daughter named Kate who takes over the business her father started. Kate marries into the company and makes running it the primary focus of her life. Her son, Tony Blackwell, is less enchanted with the business world and wishes to be a painter. Kate, however, needs someone to take over the business before she dies. Tony eventually has twin daughters, Eve and Alexandra. The two look exactly the same, but are actually as different as night and day.

Of course, there is much more to this story than the brief description I've offered here. The way the story unfolds will mostly keep you interested enough to keep turning the pages, even if there are a number of very predictable plot twists. The book is not without its faults. The book really seems to lack a narrative theme that holds throughout the entire story. It is supposed to be a family saga in which Kate Blackwell is at the heart of the story. However, that central character isn't even introduced until 159 pages into the book. What comes before her birth is the story of how her father made his fortune, which can be interesting, but really isn't particularly relevant to Kate's quest to make her company ever-richer and more powerful.

The rest of the book holds together a little better, as it all has to do with Kate trying to run the lives of people in her family. Still, when it comes down to it, this book is just a series of events over a few generations rather than an epic tale with a point to make. You could probably start from the section labelled BOOK TWO and only a few references here and there wouldn't make sense.

I've also heard it said that Sheldon likes to write stories about strong women. I found that interesting because while many of the female characters in this story are strong, most of them don't fare particularly well. Kate is strong, but also ruthless and not at all concerned with what someone else might want for their life. Margaret is a doormat, who allows Jamie to treat her like a punching bag. Alexandra is naive, and doesn't catch on when someone tries to kill her multiple times. Eve simply isn't human at all.

Of course, not everybody cares if what they are reading has a real point. Some people just read a novel to escape, and on that level, this book is more successul. If you are just looking to pass some time without turning on the television, this story should keep you occupied. I did find the ending a little anti-climactic, but I don't feel like reading the book was a waste by any means. I'd suggest starting with "The Other Side of Midnight", which had similar flaws, but was slightly better overall.

Sidney Sheldon is the master of the game capturing romance, twisting plots, greed, intrigue, and a furthering menu of exciting characters. This is my most favorite Sidney Sheldon read. I thought Sands of Time would be at the top of the list, but now just finished reading Master of the Game. IMO this is the best he's done. You will not be disappointed. This one is a page turner. Another classic for my library.

EXCELLENT !!!

WHO NEEDS TELLY WHEN YOU CAN SIT BACK AND LISTEN TO A GOOD BOOK.

I really enjoyed reading about this mans triumph to overcome the odds and to follow destiny (getting to America).

KAFFIR BOY is a must read for anyone interested in what life was like for a young boy coming of age in Apartheid South Africa. Mark Mathabane describes in vivid detail the horror of poverty and brutality which was a way of life for black children and families living in the squalor city of Alexandria near Johannesburg, the affluent suburb in South Africa. His account is heartbreaking. Yet, Mark was able to do the unthinkable. He was able to escape (thanks to the support of men like Stan Smith), and lived to write about his horrifying experiences. KAFFIR BOY is interesting and important because Mark Mathabane writes in a style as if he is talking directly to the reader, thereby allowing the reader to fully understand what it was like coping with the cruelty and injustice of apartheid.

I thought that parts of the book could have been penned more concisely. Also, it was difficult at times to understand the character of Mark's mother and father. Yet, Mark Mathabane's powerful and profound account/message of life in Apartheid South Africa far outweighs the minor flaws of this book. I highly recommend this book.

Stark and poignant, Mark Mathabane shares his autobiography of life under South African apartheid until the miracle of his escape to the United States in Kaffir Boy (Free Press, 350 pages). Mr. Mathabane's story is told in three parts. The first, The Road to Alexandra, offers a description of the appalling squalor and violence found in a black ghetto under fourth-class citizen status. How children learn to survive, let alone attempt to carry on any type of hopeful existence, defies any common understanding of humanity and pulls at the reader's heartstrings. The challenges, frustrations, and sacrifices that confronted Mr. Mathabane and his family are documented throughout the second section, Passport to Knowledge, where education, religion, and tribal affiliations swirl as possible solutions to combat the Influx Control Law and other forms of white-minority separatist rule. Passport to Freedom, the third section, narrates Mr. Mathabane's discovery of tennis and the difficulties of making dreams come true.

Despite the repetition of incidents and the infusion of seemingly inconsequential moments, Mr. Mathabane's autobiography is readable and moving. It is hard to imagine anyone living through the impoverished conditions he describes. Confrontations with his tribal father, local gangs, missionaries, and white authorities suggest hope of a better future is nothing short of a lottery ticket. The most effective sections of the text share Mr. Mathabane's inner turmoil in deciding his place as a black South African and an agent of change. The tumultuous history of apartheid is drawn with an effective narrative voice as violent uprisings and responses are juxtaposed with tender sacrifices and determination. With the assistance of liberal whites, Mr. Mathabane turned hard work and good fortune into a plane ticket to freedom. Kaffir Boy joins Cry Freedom and Master Harold & the Boys as yet another powerful depiction of South African life.

I picked up this book after watching the movie "Tsotsi". I was looking for a book about apartheid in South Africa and stumbled upon this one. And I am so glad I did. The author has done a great job in detailing his childhood and the struggle he and his family went through. Half-way through the book I found it extremely depressing and decided to stop. Later that night I realized that people have courage to actually go through and I can't even complete reading the book? People in Africa still go through horrifying experiences...Yes, it was a depressing read but a definite MUST. An absolute eye opener...

A truly heartwrenching tale of what life was like growing up under the oppressive system of apartheid in South Africa. Great resource for history classrooms and an excellent read, Mathabane relates a story that was hard to put down.

The novels of Laurens van der Post were based in the deeper reality of the African bush of the times of his writings. From the very beginning this film is untrue of his novels. Lonnie from the books, was a young boy-man who was a hunter of the first order, but based in the honor of code of the bush and its ways. Lonnie was never in the bush without his gun. In the movie the character does not have a rifle. Without Lonnie's own bush prowess, they, including the bushman would not have survived the ordeal of the African political factions and conditions of the forced initiations into manhood that he was faced with. Lonnie was a classical hero in every sense of the word and was never a twittering kid type as portrayed in the move. In van der Post's books Lonnie was forced to kill men to survive. Childen of a young age will like this film... its fairy tale, not reality. Those who respect the profound depth of van der Post's writing will be betrayed by this film.

Reese Witherspoon rocked in this movies as a young teen in Africa standing up for her family's values for the preservation of the magestic elephant. All in the name of greed the poachers killing these magnificent animals just for their ivory tusks. This movie made me laugh,get angry and cry.

This film is interesting and somewhat effective as a piece of cinema. That said, its story is so far removed from van der Post's indiosyncratic novels (upon which the film is ostensibly based) as to be almost unrecognizable. Only one connection to the two novels remains: both the film and the books are set in Africa. Beyond that, just about every other element of the books' narratives has been changed, usually so that the film follows some shallow Hollywood plotline, but at the expense of van der Post's encyclopedic knowledge and love of Bushman life and culture. As a result, the film is watchable, but its destruction of the novels is almost as complete as the razing of Hunters Drift by poachers in the film version.

This is such a heartwarming movie, great for the whole family, yet a love story for all us girls!

I remembered watching this movie a long time ago as a kid, which is why I decided to buy it, so many years later.

Long story short, the movie is just as good as I remembered it to be. While the story is cliche at times, and simplistic in some ways, the character interactions is what makes this film shine.

It also gives you a glimpse of a young Reese Whiterspoon, and you can clearly see her developing talent.

King Solomon's Mines is a story of a man's search for his brother, and told from the point of view the famous hero and hunter, Allan Quatermain.

He is the man they turn to for help, and become is solid and steadfast companions. The search for the Mines, the battles, the evil witch woman and the African setting are all excellent.

King Solomon's Mines is a straight forward adventure story. Two friends enlist the services of a crusty guide and a strong minded native to tramp across Africa in search for a missing brother, a brother who in turn was lost while searching for one of the greatest treasures known to legend (see title). To do so they must cross the desert, climb the mountains, confront an evil witch, and fight an epic battle.
It's a quick read and a pleasant one. Only one bit goes down sour, a bit of racism residual from the time period. While one of the lead characters, Umbopa, is a strong, intelligent African man, an interracial love story is cut short by death, followed by the observation that white and black cannot marry anymore than day and night. Not exactly the most enlightened point of view.
I love the writing and the story. If you could cut out that paragraph all would be well and this at least a four star book . . . but I suppose that would be revising history and literature, and so the book stands, or falls, as it is.

Note: I made some Mormon reader angry over my negative reviews of books written by Mormons out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews.

Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks, and note that a very short review is not necessarily a bad review if it leads you to read a great novel.

I got lost in this wonderful African adventure as I followed Allan Quatermain on a quest to find the lost mines of King Solomon. Quatermain finds an old map and heads out on a rip-snorten adventure. Quatermain was the Indiana Jones of his day.

At age twenty-nine, Haggard made a whimsical bet with his brother that he could write a story as good as Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" (1883). Six weeks later, Haggard completed King Solomon's Mines (1885).

This is proof that given the right time, circumstances, and motivation a novel can come forth quickly. See my review of "Singer in the Shadows," by Irving Litvag and my comments on Joseph Smith composing the Book of Mormon. Click here, then scroll down to my review of Litvag's book. SINGER IN THE SHADOWS the Strange Story of Patience Worth

Also highly recommended as an African adventure is "Cry Wolf," by Wilbur Smith. Click here for a great read! Cry Wolf

My review here isn't about the book, rather this edition. Like most reviewers here, the book is fantastic--a thrilling yarn of a story. This edition--The Modern Library, have done a wonderful job updating this classic. The footnotes are very edifying and the introduction helps to contextualize the novel. Well done editors! This is the edition one should use in your book club or in class for students.

King Solomon's Mines is one of the best adventures ever penned. Even the Victorian-English-speak dialogue adds to the realism. A lost brother, a great treasure, an exiled black king, a pitched battle, heroes, death, a vast and dangerous wilderness, a doomed love, strong friendships, one of the strangest and most evil villainesses in all of literature, and echoes of antiquity -- what more could you want? You could want literary excellence, wonderful pace, and a slight element of the occult. Well, Haggard provides those as well. The films VERY loosely based upon this great tale are horrible. This is a dream. Go read it. Unfold Da Silvestre's fragile treasure map and take the unforgettable journey that is King Solomon's Mines.

While traveling on an overland safari, I ran out of books to read. (Although I brought plenty, as an English teacher, I was devouring them as we drove through the African countryside.) Fortunately, one of the French girls in the back of the truck had just finished a book and was willing to lend it to me. She said that Mukiwa was captivating and that I wouldn't be able to put it down, and she was right. Having already visited Zimbabwe several times, I was fascinated to learn more about the white experience there, especially since I had recently read Catherine Buckle's African Tears, which also describes the current land invasions. Because many tourists don't delve deeper into Zimbabwe than a quick jaunt to Victoria Falls, Godwin's memoir is an important read. Godwin describes the reality of living in a country as tumultuous as it is beautiful. The reader can't help but gain a love of the country himself and come to understand why Godwin would risk his life in returning. Fortunately, I was able to experience a glimpse of the beauty of the country myself while visiting some of their game parks. It was on one of these drives in Hwange that I first fell in love with Africa and can understand why Godwin's parents would risk their lives by choosing to remain. I enjoyed the book so much that I purchased the sequel When a Crocodile Eats the Sun at the Johannesburg Airport. I follow the news in Africa online every day--especially the news of Zimbabwe and South Africa, and cannot express how much I value the insight that Godwin provides in both of these books. I also developed a fondness and empathy for his family as they endure the turbulent times that face Zimbabwe. Despite the many problems that face the continent, I am looking forward to my eighth trip. I have been discussing Godwin's book with my honors students and told them that I plan to read his other three--Wild at Heart, The Three of Us, and Rhodesians Never Die--before I leave.

All Peter Godwin's book, this one,and When a Crocodile Eats the Sun, are fabulous, easy to read, and so informative!

Our choice for April was especially meaningful to one of our members who had lived in Africa for over 12 years as a missionary. She was aghast at the author's mother leaving him while she did her medical duties and this was cause for a great discussion both of Africa and the decisions parents, especially mothers, so often have to make. We all thought the beginning chapters were the very best writing, just made us feel as the author had felt growing up. Especially powerful were his writing about wanting to live where it wasn't so dangerous for little boys! Lots of grief in this story, but lots of love, too.

Peter Godwin displays great skill in recounting his life and coming of age in Rhodesia. His personal life story touches many aspects of Rhodesian life from the UDI era through to the early parts of the ZANU(PF) Mugabe led Zimbabwe. Via his memoir you join him as a fly on the wall during the late years of Rhodesia through to the early years of Zimbabwe. Now I must say Peter Godwin weaves a beautiful narrative without interjecting any over bearing political beliefs. An excellent read!

Peter Godwin certainly has a story to tell. It's a story of an idyllic, if unusual childhood, a disrupted but eventually immensely successful education, military service and then two careers, one in law, planned but aborted, and then one in journalism, discovered almost by default. Listed like this these elements might sound just a bit mundane, perhaps not the subject of memoir. When one adds, however, the location, Rhodesia becoming Zimbabwe, the result is a deeply moving, in places deeply sad, as well as quite disturbing account of a life lived thus far. Mukiwa, by the way, is Shona for white man.

The setting for Peter Godwin's early years was a middle class, professional and, crucially, liberal family living in eastern Rhodesia, close to the Mozambique border. I had relatives in that same area, near Umtali and Melsetter, and they used to do exactly what the Godwins did regularly which was to visit the Indian Ocean beaches near Beira. We used to get postcards from there every year, usually in the middle of our north of England winter. Envy wasn't the word...

Peter Godwin's mother was a doctor and this meant that his childhood was unusual in two respects. Not many youngsters in white households had liberal-minded parents and even fewer helped their mothers conduct post mortems. Unlike most mukiwa, Peter Godwin had black friends. He learned the local language and got to know the bush. He also grew up close to death and then lived alongside it during the years of the war of independence. He describes how the war simply took over everything and labels himself as a technician in its machinations. It's a telling phrase, admitting that he did not himself want to fight anyone. Like everyone else, he was caught up in the struggle, required to actively perpetrate the violence and that is what he did.

His education was disrupted. His family life was effectively destroyed. And how he managed to keep his sanity during the period I have no idea. He served most of the period in Matebeleland alongside other members of the Rhodesian armed forces and police who were not, to say the least, as liberal as he was. So in some ways he was already doubly a foreigner in that he was working in an area where he could not speak the language and was accompanied by fellow countrymen with whom he shared no beliefs or ideals. And yet he had to fight.

I have never served in a war and hope I never will. But my relatives from the same area as Peter Godwin were also called up into national service and also fought the war. I had not seen them for fifteen years or so when we met after they, along with many thousands of others, as recorded by Peter Godwin, had already fled south. But for them also memories of war were deep and resented scars. It was a bloody and dirty war where, if you were lucky, you could at most trust your closest colleagues. It was a vicious conflict at times and left everyone angry. No-one won. Everyone suffered.

Having eventually achieved the education he sought, Peter Godwin attempted to launch a legal career. But then, almost by default, he became a reporter. After independence, he learned of atrocities perpetrated by the Zambabwean army in the area where he had served during the war. He investigated. He reported. And then, on advice, he fled.

But he did eventually return to all of the areas he knew and the last part of the book is a moving and deeply sad account of how little he recognised in the places he loved as a child. But within this, there is a moment of hope as he meets a former freedom fighter and, with humour and new friendship, the two of them realise that they had not only been enemies, but had actually been two commanders trying to kill one another on opposite sides of the same skirmish.

But in the end, Peter Godwin is changed man, and his home and homeland, at least as he had experienced them, were no more. War had changed everything and everyone. No-one won.

I first heard Janet two years ago during a NPR segment. Her words were so inspiring that I was determined to read the book. I procrastinated reading the book and just finished it this week. It was heartbreaking to go onto her website to find out that she'd left her incarnation as Janet last year. How I wish I could tell her how she gave many of my feelings and experiences words.

I gave the book 4 rather than 5 stars because the writing style is sometimes hard to get around. But it was only a minor distraction from the potency of her words.

This book in now on my shelf of inspirational books along with "When the Spirits Dance Mambo" by Marta Moreno Vega.

This is a wonderful true story about a woman overcoming obstacles in her life, some self-created and others caused by issues of class, race and gender.


Parents often sabotage their children's lives, even with the best of intentions. McDonald's otherwise supportive and loving parents refused to give her money for subway fare so that she could keep an appointment with a school that promised to get her life back on track and prepare her for college. Had she not jumped the subway turnstile that day, we probably wouldn't be reading her autobiography.

Or conversely, how life can so easily end up going the other way. If she'd been stopped by NY's transit police, she could have been arrested, never made it to the interview, and ended up living a life of crime. Without that school interview, and the two years of college prep that followed, she would have never had any of the positive opportunities in life that were later opened up to her.

Few books I have read in my life compare to this incredible story of triumph in the face of adversity. I could not put the book down. Ms. McDonald's conveys her rise from the projects of New York to the dorms of Vassar to the salons of Paris with openness and humor. She bravely uses excerpts from her journal to convey some of the most harrowing times. A gifted writer, we can only hope the sequel will appear soon.

Great novel...older students can get a real look at life. Things could be worst for some of today's students, but this novel should make them see that. You can still do great things in life when you are dealt a no so great hand.

I must say I am a fan of Janet Mc Donald's books. The first book that I read that had me in stitches was "Spellbound." After reading that one I was inclined to find any others she wrote. I purchased a total three and one of them being "Project Girl." I was pleased with the beginning of the book because she was able to take me into her world as a project girl. She was also able to express the ambiance and love she experienced in her family as a child with her readers. She however lost me from there on. I must say her redundant mentioning of how smart she is wore on my last nerve. I wanted to put the book away and forget about finishing it, but made myself after all I paid for it. I just wish the book could have lived up to its name and relied less on proving superfluous points to her readers. I am still a fan of the author; after all she is only human.

I have attempted to write a review of this book several times, but failed as I find myself gripped with the same conflicting emotions that Malan so succintly portrays in the book.

Having been born and brought up very close to the Msinga Valley (the subject of the closing chapter of My Traitor's Heart) in the heart of Kwa Zulu Natal, many of the names and people are known to me. Some of those people are the heroes of the book, others are the villains. I mention this only in so much as I can verify sufficient of the authenticity of Malan's very personal, cathartic journey.

Many others have written a synopsis of Malan's book. If you want to know about the story line - there are many reviews to be read. However, for me the review is a personal experience. Malan's catharsis is paralleled by my own! No other book I've read is as descriptive of the madness that is Africa. A madness that you both love and hate at the same time. A madness that drives you away and yet draws you in simultaneously. And finally a madness that drives you to the edge of reason, yet (as the story of Creina Alcock unfolds) drives you to the reason for being.

No matter where you start on the political spectrum (extreme left, extreme right or somewhere in the middle), you find yourself driven to the other end of the scale and back again, on a roller coaster of emotion. For Malan, his beginning point is 'extreme left'. His end point, is, I suspect, 'disallusioned'.

I recommend this book as an extremely well written, witty, sad, mad book. If you want to understand Africa (insofar as anyone can 'understand' Africa), this is the book to read.

But reader beware - it is a deeply disturbing, very graphic read!

White liberal draft-dodger hard at work. He's a good writer and the book's a painful look into the heart of a white liberal. My admiration goes rather to those who fought to defend their country.... but it's an insight into the tortured soul of a typical liberal wooftah. Why people put themselves thru all this inner torment I have no idea - have a beer and get over it, bloke! If you'd just done your time in the armed forces like pretty much every other south african had to do instead of taking the chicken run, you wouldn;t be going thru all this turmoil.

How does one explain the intricacies of Apartheid-era South Africa, from the political turmoil to the constant tribal warring? Primitive thought? Anger spurred by poverty and hunger? Ancient beliefs conflicting with modernity? Racism? There is no one simple answer, and this book does an incredible job of elucidating this. It is harrowing, horrific, and incredibly sad, but it is all real and should be read by all. The story of an incredibly violent and hopeless place told through the eyes of Rian Malan, a descendant of one of the first founders of Apartheid thought, as he retells his life story and searches his soul for an answer, travelling from white affluence to the slums, from America to the soul-crushing gold mines, from the base of a dwindling black political movement to the outermost reaches of the arid rural kwaZulu, meeting whites consumed by intense racial hate and those who tried to love so hard that it destroyed their lives, and telling their life stories along with his, to create an incredibly rich and horrifying mosaic.

When I read this book ten plus years ago it blew me away, both as political and narrative non-fiction, and as excellent writing. Malan's voice and humanity perfectly tell an important story. The second reading was as good, if not better.

Before a recent visit to S. Africa, this book was recommended as an introduction to the political climate in S. Africa, especially after Apartheid. This very personal account told by Rian Malan, whose ancestors were directly responsible for the formation of the Apartheid society, traces his teenage rebellion against Apartheid, his career as a liberal newspaper reporter and his ultimate rejection of the violence that the new government has spawned. Be prepared for graphic descriptions of violence committed by both whites and blacks.

A good introduction to the complicated history of S. Africa and leaves the reader with questions regarding the future of that sad country.

This book really surprised me since it differed a bit from other Michener works. I have never learned so much and enjoyed a book at this level in my life. The next runner-up would have to the "The Source". The Covenant is amazing!

Michener's true epics are always worth the time to read. "The Covenant" is no exception. Michener's take on South Africa and its history is an honest attempt to give some perspective on one of the more complex histories that this history teacher has encountered.

The book starts out strong (my edition was the two-volume hardback). The first volume was vintage Michener, but the second one dragged. Perhaps it was because the subject matter became more and more depressing. With the final 200 pages or so being about Apartheid, it's hard to find something to cheer about.

In a way, Michener's book seems incomplete - he hints that Apartheid could no longer stand - he gives a prediction that it would end by about the year 2000. Turns out, he was just about right, but the book feels like it does not have a proper ending.

If you are pondering a Michener book and have not read them all (personally, I only have one more to go) than I recommend skipping this one and coming back to it later.

This book really gives you a perspective on the history of South Africa and it's race related problems which has plagued the country since its very beginning. It gives you a real understanding about the Boer people and what they had to go through to forge a nation out of a barren, but beautiful land. Starts out at the first landing of Dutch Settlers and follows a couple families history until the 1960's.

It also details the earliest recorded history of the Zulu people and their greatest leader Shaka Zulu who made the Zulus into a people to be feared, it goes through the history of "the Coloreds" (which are a mixture of White and Black), it continues on through the Boer War between the British and the Boers and it spells out how Aparthied (Literally the two words Apart-ness in Afrikaans) was started and implimented and why it came to be in the first place.

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful book. Africa is a country I never knew much about. It opened my eyes to the struggles faced by both Black and White and the struggle for supremacy. Once I read the book, I had a much better understanding of what was going on over there.
I recently purchased another copy for my doctor who is from South Africa. He mentioned that he loves to read about South Africa. I asked if he'd read any Michener's books and he hadn't. I had a hard time finding the book though, because most of his books on locations are named by that location. A little persistence and I got it.

Prior to reading this novel, I was a fan of historical fiction, but had never read a Michener novel. After I finished it, I developed an enormous respect for the man and his writing. This book does not deserve to be classified with the other historical fiction I've read.

That being said, this was also the first in-depth look at South African culture and history that I had experienced. I was in grade school when Apartheid ended officially, so I barely remember hearing about it as it happened. it was incredibly educational without being a textbook. Especially helpful was that Michener not only followed one family, but only one branch of the family. He does make brief references to family branches left behind, but only in a reasonable context and does not try to backtrack into their histories.

The family trees at the end were incredibly helpful. I found myself going back to them repeatedly.

All in all, definitely worth the time investment!