South Africa Books

It is not often that a "nice" biography involving a world leader is written, but Goodbye Bafana is the exception to this rule and James Gregory only has praise for "his friend" Nelson Mandela.

Goodbye Bafana cronicals the life and experiences of James Gregory up, and until, he becomes Nelson Mandela's jailer in several South African prisions. Gregory writes a compelling and often blunt tale of how his hatred of blacks (he is an Afrikaner) and especially Nelson Mandela was turned around to a respectful and often sympathetic attitude by Mandela with whom he spent many close years as his personal jailer during Mandela's incarceration.

From this book one learns many things about South Africa's first black president and one thing that strikes the reader is his complete dedication to his cause (to end apartheid) and how much respect he has earned from both black and white people during his life. Onced finished one comes away feeling confident that there is not a man more deserving than Mandela running South Africa. I feel Goodbye Bafana is a masterpiece which shows how a friendship can florish despite political, racial and iron barriers.

This collection of short stories gives a view of one woman's observations of the people and culture of South Africa. The stories are cleverly written and very thought provoking. The first story I read, The Catch, was a little difficult to understand. After reading one more, The Bridegroom, I was hooked and enjoyed many more.

It is easy to be suspicious of the way in which Ian Knight churns out books on the Zulu, as if he were a machine rather than a hard-working author. But that would be an unfair assumption. Knight researches his books thoroughly, and give or take the odd minor error, he excels at what he does. This latest offering is my favourite Knight book because, at last, we get something that looks beyond the Zulu kings (although there are chapters on Shaka and Cetshwayo)and examines some of the men who helped them build the Zulu kingdom. Some of Knight's choices as the ten great Zulu commanders are bewildering. He includes Ntshingwayo kaMahole, the Swazi prince Mbilini kaMswati, Cetshwayo's rash and blundering half-brother Dabulamanzi and even Bambata (of Bambata Rebellion fame), but declines chapters on Shaka's brilliant general, Mdlaka kaNcidi; perhaps the most famous Zulu warrior of all, Zulu kaNogondaya; and, to a lesser degree, Mpande's faithful old commander Nongalaza kaNondela, who ensured that Mpande defeated Dingane at Magqonga hills in 1840. That aside, one can't help but marvel at the manner in which Knight has put this book together. It is a great read as the personal lives of the great Zulu warriors have been totally ignored by most historians.

Between its founding in 1937 and its demise in 1963 upon being outlawed by South Africa's apartheid government, the South African newspaper "The Guardian" went by seven different names; others among these were the Clarion (early 1950s), People's World (also early 1950s), and New Age (1954-62). Though its name changed, its definition of its role remained the same. Opposed to all dictatorial, totalitarian governments, the newspaper opposed fascism in Africa, in neighboring Namibia in particular, as well as the entrenched apartheid government in South Africa. After World War II ended and decolonization was happening in places around the world, the Guardian focused its coverage and editorials on South Africa's system of apartheid. In so doing, it incurred the wrath of successive apartheid governments so that it was continually harassed by government agents and on occasion banned by the government.

In its early years, the Guardian's opposition to fascism and racism automatically aligned it with Communism. The first time it was banned outright was when the South African government passed the Suppression of Communist Act (SCA) in the early 1950s; which among other things, would make much of the regular content of the Guardian illegal, subjecting its writers to arrest and jail terms. Officially disassociating itself from the Communist Party, the Guardian still faced a crisis of survival in that it lost its core readership and major sources of funding. Nonetheless, as a staff writer Abbie Sachs remarked, "The [SCA] actually did us a big favor because it meant we couldn't use the jargon and ever-ready phrases [of communist ideology]...We were compelled to use more substantive ways of thinking and writing...." In this transformation, the Guardian not only sharpened its reporting on events in South Africa, but developed contacts with indigenous anti-apartheid forces, some of which were growing increasingly militant in the face of the apartheid government's intransigence and policies of imprisonment and torture. Along with these groups working politically and in some cases militarily, the Guardian became a catalyst for change in South Africa.

The story of the survival and role of the Guardian is written in conjunction with political events in South Africa leading to the overthrow of apartheid. Zug also writes about the work and influence of major and some secondary individuals connected with the paper. With a background as a historian as well as a journalist, author Zug writes an enduring history of this notable newspaper.

I found this an excellent introductory text for any serious student who is keenly interested in, but unfamiliar or only marginally familiar with, the region. A liberal sprinkling of lucid maps and well-annotated photographs render the book eminently readable. The strictly chronological treatment of the subject matter helps in an easy understanding of the interrelationship of the various factors at work which shaped the unfolding history of this fascinating region.

An interesting glimpse into the lives of a Jewish family in Capetown, South Africa during apartheid. The family relationships were beautifully portrayed.

This is about the author of "To Sir, With Love" going to South Africa while apartheid is still in effect. Again, as in "A Kind of Homecoming," he is a witness to history, and it's always more interesting to read a first-hand witness's accounts than just the usual media "sound bites"--especially a witness who's always so honest about his reactions and feelings (e.g. actual dismay at having his visa application APPROVED after he learned the South African government had UNbanned his writings--reminded me of when I asked my parents if I could go to my first dance in junior high & was COUNTING on their "no" as an excuse for avoiding something I was scared to death of, and then they said "yes," leaving me having to either find another excuse or face my fears!) The title comes from how the South Africans considered him in order for him to get treatment and prvileges that the resident blacks were denied.

The implied terms and expressed terms. The innominate terms, conditions and warranties

Anyone who likes travel literature will certainly not be disappointed in Alex Shoumatoff's IN SOUTHERN LIGHT. It is a book in two parts. In the first, he travels with a friend up a large, but seldom-visited tributary of the Amazon, the Nhamunda, in search of any clues about the eponymous Amazons themselves. He finds mostly caboclos, mixed race people who live off fishing, hunting, and a little farming when possible, and the last remnants of the Indian peoples who lived in the region for centuries. The second, less-focussed journey is in the former Zaire, now Congo (again). Though the current wars and massacres had not begun, the reader gets a strong impression of the crumbling, decaying society that existed under Mobutu. The author travels by truck, by riverboat, and through the jungle on foot with some BaMbuti (pygmies). I liked two things about this book. First, I liked Shoumatoff's attitude towards the people he met: neither condescending and critical, nor full of gushing admiration. He took each person as they came, just as he would have in his own society. If you are tired of the snide, superior writing style of a Theroux or Naipaul, this could be a welcome change. Secondly, I liked his descriptions of the natural world of the forests, rivers, and interactions between people. My criticism is that both sections lack focus and sometimes the book and the diary are a little too close together. The Amazon section starts off with a very fascinating description of the Greek Amazon legend and how the early Europeans were influenced by it, how the Indians may have fed it back to successive explorers once they realized what the intruders were looking for. But, since Shoumatoff found no vestige of the legend in his travels, there really was no point to setting up this "straw woman". He was basically "messing around"; travelling to see what he could see. That would have been enough I feel---travel for its own sake is just as good a reason as any. Nothing much holds the Zaire section together either: it's just a bunch of impressions. I happened to like them, but some people might feel the book is a little diffuse. Criticisms notwithstanding, IN SOUTHERN LIGHT is well worth reading. I recommend it to anyone looking for a different sort of travel book, one not about the pastel, effete joys of Provence or Tuscany.

This short compilation of Nelson Mandela's words provides wonderful insights into the man, the politician, the philosopher - from his youth to today. They show him as a a warm and simple human being, a tough and principled leader, as an elder among his people and as a man of wisdom. He has much to teach us. The book doubles as a quick read and a reference, as the quotes are sorted by topic.