South Africa Books

Read the book, see the film, but if you can go and visit the battlefields in the company of David Rattray and his team.

The guidebook is a well written, easily digested and comprehensive guide to this corner of South Africa, by the author, who is extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subject, having lived so close to two of the sites of major engagements, Isandlwana and Rorkes Drift, and who also owns and runs the Fugitives Drift Lodge. For those with only a short time to devote to seeing some of the sites the book is essential reading, the descriptions and directions to the sites being particularly useful. The illustrations and photographs are also useful especially in knowing exactly what one should be looking for at particular sites, in view of the sometimes overgrown and obscure nature of the locations.

The historical facts are well explained, giving the reader a good introduction as to why this conflict came about and on the major players in the campaign. A gripping narrative as to the conduct of each battle makes the book difficult to put down and readers would be advised to start the book earlier in the day rather than later!

Together with the guidebook a battlefield tour in David's company is guaranteed to make the visit come alive, his passion for the land and the Zulu people is obvious, the talks making it feel as if you were there on the day, especially on this 125th anniversary of the battles of Isandlwana and Rorkes Drift.

It is highly recommended from one who only recently purchased a copy, and was then lucky enough to visit South Africa, all within three weeks.

David Fuller
22 January 2004

I actually brought the book for modern photos and illstrations since I figured that I would never get to see these places in person. However, the book proves to be an excellent reference material as well. Its pretty clear that David Rattray knows his material and how to present them. Combination of great photos (b/w and color), excellent illstrations, maps and well written narrative, this book actually covered all aspects of the Zulu War. There are tons of information packed in this short book. This book appears to be a history book in disguised as a tour guide book. Can't get any closer to South Africa unless you were there already.

This book is very educational! I would say kids of all ages should read this book. This book is about a girl named Thembi who lives with her great-grandmother and parents. Well one day Thembi's mom comes home crying because black South Africans are finally going to get to vote and it it very special because it will be Thembis great-grandmothers first time to vote. At first Thembis parents say her great-grandmother cant go vote because they will have to be at work when she votes so she will have no way of getting there. Also that there will be very long lines and they dont think she can stand for that long. This book has very nice pictures that you should look at even if you havnt read the book! It teaches kids that in some places in our world people are not so lucky like we are, they dont have very much freedom. Also that children should'nt take things for granted and should respect what they have because other kids arent so lucky!

Contemporary authors tackle issues that would've been unheard of, fifty, even thirty years ago. "The Day Gogo Went to Vote" addresses South Africa's emergence from its apartheid past to the present politically-balanced form of government. Taking place in the days prior to the election of Nelson Mandela as its first black president, the book shows how important it is for open and free representation at the polling places.

The wonderful illustrations, coupled with the inspiring characters, make this a fascinating and insightful read. The love shared between the old lady and her grandchild, as well as the respect the community has for the elderly, helps to promote citizenship and family values.

"The Day Gogo Went to Vote" belongs in every library, every school, and, if things were perfect, every home.

In a speech before the Organization of American Historians, scholar Jacquelyn Dowd Hall offered a window onto "the long civil rights movement" -- a struggle for human rights, economic and social citizenship, and human dignity that began long before Brown v. Board of Education and continued long after the assassination of Martin Luther King.

In her pathbreaking book, Defying Dixie, professor Glenda Gilmore gives texture and character to the long civil rights movement, using indigenous southern activists, black and white, to give her story shape. These activists, from the fearless and foolhardy Lovett Fort-Whiteman to the brilliant and indomitable Pauli Murray, all faced the demon of American white supremacy and did their best to slay it. They did not always prevail with strategies they dreamed up and pursued, but their vision and dedication bequeathed us a social movement, more expansive than the classic civil rights movement, that still informs drives for justice and equity.

Gilmore's book moves beyond the tired debates of Cold War historiography and the simple hagiography of civil rights heroes to give us a dynamic movement filled with complex characters. In giving these people their due, and rooting them in American soil, Defying Dixie helps us to understand the promise and possibilities of American politics, and to contend with the present in which we live.

Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore's DEFYING DIXIE: The Radical Roots of Civil Rights, 1919 - 1950 is the history of the civil rights movement from that time until the early 1950s. It gives inside history, interviews and information on how the Civil Rights movement that we are aware of today, came about. In the beginning, the Communist party was deeply involved. Their plan was to get the workers of America - black and white - to fight for better salaries from the companies they worked for. The only way to accomplish that was to get the two groups to work together. Naturally, the South, with its legacy of slavery, wasn't too happy with the mixing of the races. The companies, to keep their profits high, wanted to continue to pay blacks less than they paid whites and the only way to do that was to keep them separate. Many residents of the South didn't want blacks involved in the job market because they felt it would reduce their ability to have those jobs. There were, however, many people, of both races, who were determined that segregation/Jim Crow, would end. They were brave enough to defy the system and as a result, they frequently ended up in jail or worse.

During the Second World War, as Stalin took power, the involvement of the Communist party began to lose its appeal. The House Un-American Activities became concerned and the FBI spied on Communist and suspects. Any contact with a Communist could cause problems. It didn't stop those who were determined to force America to honor what it claimed it went to war for, from pushing their agenda for social and economic equality for all, even though many of them suffered for it.

Gilmore has written a heart rending account that covers history that is either missing or glossed over in our history books. So often we don't know the brutal history that brought us where we are today and Gilmore lets us know in no uncertain terms. Some of the unfair situations that blacks face will break your heart. It is a book every American should read in order to understand where we have come from and where we are going. It should be required reading for both high school and college students.

Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

A mellifluous rendering of lives stunted by isolation and despair is rare. Yet Anne Landsman deftly accomplishes this in her transfixing debut novel The Devil's Chimney. Set in turn of the century South Africa, Ms. Landsman's narrative shimmers with scenes of windswept agrarian beauty and sizzles with the erotic as she describes passion run amok during the days of apartheid when Coloureds and women were disposable.

Poignantly related by Connie, an older woman who has sought release in alcohol, this is the tale of two women from dissimilar backgrounds. Their commonality, as Ms. Landsman skillfully reveals, is found in the loss of an only child.

With her feckless and abusive husband, Jack, Connie now oversees a dog kennel not far from Canga Caves, the area's major tourist attraction and home of Devil's Chimney, an aperture so narrow that you have to crawl through it on your stomach. Pregnant and afraid of being sent to Magdalena Tehuis, where they give your baby away and "make the girls wear maids' dresses and scrub the floors," Connie married Jack when she was 18. Two months later their child was stillborn, then buried in the yard beneath a lemon tree.

As Connie reflects upon her life, she interweaves the story of Miss Beatrice and Mr. Henry, a well-to-do English couple who came to Oudtshoorn in 1910 to run an ostrich ranch. Although "An ostrich can split you in half with the nail on his big toe," at that time their exquisite feathers - prime whites, tipped whites, spadonas, blacks - brought a high price.

During Mr. Henry's mysterious disappearance into the mountains, Miss Beatrice determines to find out all she can about ostrich farms from Mr. Jacobs, the Jewish owner of a neighboring ranch who is successful enough to be known as the Ostrich King. Society's cruel divisions are underscored as she thinks of meeting him: "Was there garlic in his pockets and a black beard covering his whole face?.......Your neighbors aren't Jews. The Boers are bad enough, and so are the Poor Whites but the Jews."

As Miss Beatrice learns about the care and raising of the valuable birds, we, too, are privy to a lost skill practiced in a culture rife with superstition and medicinal potions. Herding the graceful birds into pens or kraals to be brutally plucked mirrors the narrowly circumscribed lives of Connie and Miss Beatrice, both bound to the veld by time and circumstance.

Eventually, Miss Beatrice and Mr. Jacobs become lovers, lying together in a cave's ebony darkness. She also has a physical relationship with September, her native servant. Thus, when Miss Beatrice discovers she is pregnant she is unsure of the baby's father, and is left to bear the child alone with only Nomsa, September's wife, to assist her.

As Connie recreates the final tragedy in Miss Beatrice's life she does, to a degree, come to terms with the adversity she has endured.

With scenes as clearly drawn as a stereoscope's slide, Ms. Landsman carries readers to the story's tragic culmination. It is perhaps the only finale for lives lost in unchecked physical desire and emotional deprivation.

A native of South Africa, Ms. Landsman writes of her homeland with fluid grace; she describes human foibles with perceptive compassion. The Devil's Chimney is a meritorious debut.

- Gail Cooke

Another impulse buy (despite the convenience of Amazon, the ability to browse the occassional page will forever more keep me loyal to old-fashioned bookshops). South Africa is the scene, and the story of two women gently unfolds, narrated by a middle-aged member of the boer white trash community. She tells the story of a local myth, of a certain english woman who once ran an ostrich farm, way back when whites were whites and blacks were trash, when ostrich feathers were in fashion, when africa was still the dark continent. Its a moving story about the schizoprenia of society, where racial lines were as strong as sexual ones, where women and men had clearly identifiable roles. Our turn-of-the century rule-breaker is a little like the female lead from'the god of small things'. Very much so. Our narrators story also evolves, and the mythical woman takes on a fantastic journey as the personalities of the narrator and narrated get all jumbled up into one raging ball of unspent emotion, frustration, alcoholic stupor, forsaken love, misplaced feelings and confused identities. I'd say this is a good book, although its similarities in many ways to Arundhati Roy's work prevents it from being a great book. There are some disadvantages of being a second, even though its a damn good read, and probably written in parrallel to Roy's.

I wonder why the english speaking world have suddenly fallen head over heels with books about the indian subcontinent - witness the irrational admiration for soap opera's extraordinaire such as 'a suitable boy' and 'a fine balance'. I think africa or latin america, (for that matter) could do with a little more attention, and are equally fascinating.

Although Heidi Holland met Mugabe only a couple of times, she still provides some good interviews and insights into Mugabe. He has unfortunately proved to be one of the worst leaders of the past couple of decades. Look at the results of his presidency--100,000% inflation, massive food shortages and an 80% unemployment rate. Zimbabwe is an embarrassment to Africa and it didn't have to be that way. Here's a detailed critique of what went wrong, where it went wrong and who is responsible. Mugabe is an intriguing figure because he began his career largely heralded by everyone as a freedom fighter like Nelson Mandela. To see how tragically it turned out, leaves many questions; it's a void Holland is clearly trying to fill.

Holland writes well--the words are fluid and vivid and so it's easy to see how her years of reporting for the BBC, the Guardian and many other reputable news organizations has helped. The book is broken into 15 chapters with an index and bibliography for further reading. I do have one complaint, that I wish this were written by someone who had spent more time with Mugabe instead of relying mostly on interviews and a couple of brief encounters with him.

However, I am glad this book was written and even more glad that it was published in America! I heard Heidi interviewed on the BBC and was dismayed that the book was available for sale only in South Africa. (Note: The book was rushed into production here so the British grammar remains. IE: magnetised instead of magnetized.) Yes, we are interested in the subject here too and are horrified by the still unfolding tragedy of Zimbabwe. If only there was something more we could do to help, but what?

"Dinner with Mugabe: The untold story of a freedom fighter who became a tyrant", is a wonderful read that describes acurately why Mugabe is so angry and pushed into his current situation. My complaint is the subtitle of the book that Amazon advertises, " the man behind the monster". The real subtitle is on the front of the book. This other thing is a heading for an inside flap note. The average American has no idea about how England and the United States have colluded to destabalize The Zimbabwe nation state primarily because of Land Reform differences. Heidi Holland is trying to teach us how Mugabe got to this point in time, and Amazon's mangling of the subtitle of her book does not help people approach this book in a positive way. Please use the real subtitle which is plainly written on the front of the dust jacket.
Marion W. Sykes

This book is a worthy complement to Coetzee's Disgrace. Breytenbach is a writer and poet with a fine delicate sensibility. Not an easy read, the book is nonetheless fascinating, beautiful and horrifying in turn. He meditates on his childhood in the Boland area of the Cape, and the history of his Afrikaans speaking family in the area. He describes the brutality that happened in SA in the past and that happens in present day SA frankly and bluntly. He tells it how it is and and sometimes as I read it my blood just ran cold. He also describes the beauty of the country, the land and its animals, plants and trees, the night sky, the clouds etc. The subject matter is very interesting and the quality of his writing is superb. I have never read anything by this writer before and I was surprised by the brilliance of it. I found it very moving and profound. It is a stunning book.

This book is a worthy complement to Coetzee's Disgrace. Breytenbach is a writer and poet with a fine delicate sensibility. Not an easy read, the book is nonetheless fascinating, beautiful and horrifying in turn. He meditates on his childhood in the Boland area of the Cape, and the history of his Afrikaans speaking family in the area. He describes the brutality that happened in SA in the past and that happens in present day SA frankly and bluntly. He tells it how it is and and sometimes as I read it my blood just ran cold. He also describes the beauty of the country, the land and its animals, plants and trees, the night sky, the clouds etc. The subject matter is very interesting and the quality of his writing is superb. I have never read anything by this writer before and I was surprised by the brilliance of it. I found it very moving and profound. It is a stunning book.

As Ralph Ellison did in mid-1900s America, Mphahlele shrewdly conveys the actualities of a miserable, mendacious government, and its innumerable crimes upon its native inhabitants, in a way that does not turn off readers not of his own race prior to the story actually being told. He, again like Ellison, makes us (caucasians) aware of a central social reality of which most of us are ignorant: It's better to be hated than it is to be ignored, (ergo, 'I felt like a bull without a China shop.').

Mphahlele is an angry man, but he keeps his anger in check throughout this fine work and artfully renders his story, as well as that of millions of other unfortunate natives of South Africa enduring an unenviable existence during the Apartheid period.

Correctly so, Mphahlele has no use whatever for the Catholic (or any other) church and their superficial soup kitchens. It's not that he's an athiest -- it's just that he observed the perfect collusion between the church and the heinous government during the Apartheid years as black people were treated as chattle on the horrific 'locations' where they were forced to live. The church was no help in effecting change for these aggrieved people -- The church could never overcome the mentality of 'White Man's Burden' and 'Manifest Destiny'.

I also loved Mphahlele's ability to touch on the good times (as a boy, swimming in the local creek with his peers), and the humorous ones as well, (an old scoundrel gets run out of town for copulating with a goat).
If you want a look at Apartheid as it truly was, no rose-colored glasses, then don't bother reading some ivory-tower fantasy of a British author -- read Mphahlele, a highly-educated and accomplished man who endured the truth of those most heinous times.

Before the dawning of the next Millenium, every discerning reader should have read this classic, by pre-eminent author Es'kia Mphahlele. In his true-life drama, Mphahlele chronicles the life of a young Black man growing up in South Africa. From the onset, he takes his readers through the layers of his multi-dimensional life. In the spirit of Jean Toomer, the grace and sophistication of Nelson Mandela and the furor of Toni Morisson, Mphahlele offers no apologies about all that has unfolded in his midst. He celebrates women, challenges racism without showing bitterness. Like no other Black author, he is not ashamed to showcase his tenderness. All in all, he propels us forward and with Alice Walker's caution, and Sindiwe Magona's humour he clarifies the philosophy connectednism.He takes his readers from his rural roots of Pietersburg, to the lights and bustle of Johannesburg, and finally settles them on the rumbles and tranquils of West Africa. What is prominent throughout Second Avenue is his refusal to take no for an answer. Down Second Avenue is a magnifying glass that portrays a lifetime that is more refreshing than Vivaldi's concerto. He comes across-subtly so-as more of an uncolonized African who is not afraid to paint an elegant watercolour of his stumbles, fumbles, falls and moving ons. In my opinion, he is one of the the 5 best novelists of the 20th century.

Talk to most people about southern Africa and they will recount images of political unrest and violence. "Drive-By-Duck and other stories" offers the reader a different viewpoint. Human emotions and experiences of everyday life are interwoven in stories that reflect the depth of these nomatter where in the world you live. The only difference is the backdrop of the majesty that is southern Africa. For the reader brought up in southern Africa, the book will evoke many special memories. For the reader who has a curiosity for this part of the world, it will fuel your urge to visit one day. And for anyone who just wants a 'darn' good read, you WON'T be disappointed. If you only buy one book this year, let it be "Drive-By-Duck and other stories"

Nineteen compelling, "nearly true" tales set in southern Africa during the late 1970s and 1980s comprise a debut work for this promising writer. The book, essentially a memoir dealing with Howard's coming-of-age experiences in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe during and after its war for independence, is a labor of love -- love for the land and its inhabitants: black, white, colonial and indigenous. As an American youth studying veterinary medicine in South Africa, Howard, afflicted with wanderlust, chanced to hitchhike north to Rhodesia on school holiday, whereupon his life was forever transformed. Upon marrying a Rhodesian girl and beginning a veterinary practice in the quaint colonial town of Marondellas, his soul became an irreversible part of the hard, red African clay. Now practising in New Zealand, Howard has experienced that teawakening of midlife, when many of us feel an urge to do an accounting of our lives. Howard is eminently successful in this accounting, and has shared his impressions and experiences in a way that makes this reader, a resident of Zimbabwe in the 1980s, want to see more. His stories, some comedic, others tragic, will evoke fond memories and nostalgia in all who once called southern Africa home.

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electrostatic spray system and electrical insulatio

This book, the companion piece to the exhibition of the same name, is a blessing. Thompson, professor & head of the department of African Art at Yale, directed this incredible exhibition in 1993 at NYC's Museum of African Art. From Ifa in Nigeria, to Santeria in Puerto Rico, to Obeah in Jamaica, to Vodun in Haiti, he and his companion scholars and curators have contributed in a healing circle across the Middle Passage. Shattering damaging, racist mythologies of these religions, _Face of the Gods_ fosters an understanding for these misunderstood religions while maintaining a respectful distance. Complete with analyses, interviews, and color photographs.

This book is SO GOOD! I've had it for about five years, but every time I take it off the shelf I learn something new. Highly recommended for any Orisa devotee, a follower of African traditional religions, or anyone interested in the African diaspora. It would be a great gift even to the illiterate, as the photographs are amazing. I think this book sold for about $500 originally, and even at that cost it would have been worth every penny.