South Africa Books

Having recently completed a safari in Southern Africa, I had the chance to evaluate many portable field guides on the fauna of the region. I found Smither's ( a smaller version of the encyclopedic tome that is considered the benchmark work on southern African mammals) to be informative, easy to use, and beautifully illustrated. Helpful for both the naturalist as well as the sportsman, there are comparitive scale drawings that are quite accurate. A must for nature-oriented travelers to the region.

In 1965 Robert Sobukwe was a prominent black prisoner on South Africa's Robben Island--the famous prison known for holding Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid leaders. A journalist went to interview Sobukwe. Of the encounter she wrote: "As you enter, as you talk to him, you gain much the same impression of power, of leadership, as you do when with South Africa's Prime Minister [Hendrik Verwoerd]. Sobukwe has much the same quiet courtesy, much the same innate charm--and certainly much the same clear, incisive, trained mind. You are left with the overwhelming impression that, if this man is one day released, he will, for good or ill, leave his mark on South African history."

What is remarkable about the description is that it came from a pro-government journalist, explains Benjamin Pogrund in his book, Sobukwe and Apartheid. In fact, the journalist had been allowed to interview Sobukwe in order to produce a positive spin on prison life in South Africa. The government's aim was to counter adverse publicity over deplorable jail conditions, for black and white prisoners, at another prison. A series of shocking articles by Pogrund in the Rand Daily Mail, where he was a reporter, caused a furor in and out of the country. There were angry calls for a judicial inquiry; damage control became necessary.

That a journalist sympathetic to the government was forced to concede that Sobukwe possessed endearing qualities, comes as no surprise after reading Pogrund's fascinating and highly informative account. Men as different Andrew Young, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations--who brought some of Sobukwe's children to America to study and live with him--and Anthony Lewis, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, were strongly impressed after meeting him.

Pogrund writes about a personal friend. Sobukwe was the first leader of the Pan Africanist Congress, an organization staunchly committed to ending white dominance in South Africa. Though the two men first met in 1957, their unique friendship began in earnest the following year when the author, a white South African, joined the Rand Daily Mail. Pogrund was a rookie reporter eager to cover black politics. Fortunately for him, he joined the English-language newspaper in the same year it acquired a new editor who was not afraid to report on black issues and to attack apartheid through sharp political analysis.

Having been a distinguished student and graduate of the country's then leading institution for blacks--the South African Native College at Fort Hare--Sobukwe was one of the very few blacks who served as "language assistants" on the faculty of the well-known University of the Witwatersrand. As he got pulled deeper into politics, a process that really began during his student days, Pogrund noticed that "he was scholarly as always, but there was now also a fluency and passing which put it among the finest oratory I had heard."

Pogrund's book is also, in part, a touching chronicle of his correspondence with an imprisoned man who was one of the founders of black resistance to apartheid. Sobukwe was arrested and jailed after the PAC organized the Sharpeville demonstration in 1960 against pass laws, a seminal event in modern South African history in which police fired and killed 68 people. He was jailed until 1969 when he was released for health reasons but remained a banned person in an isolated small city until he died of cancer in 1978.

While Sobukwe was locked up, Pogrund managed, through the help of sympathetic friends, to have him steadily supplied with newspapers, books, clothes, food and other necessities. The letters that Sobukwe sent out to the author depict a man with a healthy intellectual appetite and who was surprisingly upbeat despite the grim sobriety caused by apartheid.

The book is also an informal history of early anti-apartheid resistance. The PAC and the African National Congress were both banned in 1960, forcing them to go underground and soon into exile. The Communist Party was banned in 1950. (All three organizations would remain illegal until 1990 when they and others were unbanned by President F.W. de Klerk.)

One learns how the PAC, less prominent than Mandela's ANC, emerged as a breakaway faction of "Africanists" who felt that the ANC was not dedicated enough to its stated goal of ending white domination. It also perceived the ANC as working too closely with non-blacks and thought that communist influence was so strong that the organization had substituted class struggle for the all-important aim of achieving African Nationalism. The irony of all this, Pogrund points out, was that white newspapers (and no doubt the authorities) saw the Africanists as "extremist rebels" of the ANC which was itself also viewed as "extremist."

One weakness of the book is that it does not adequately confront a key and potentially illuminating trouble area for Sobukwe. The author gives passing treatment to the issue of membership within the PAC. The organization decided that it was to be comprised of blacks and "colored" or mixed race people. This fitted with Sobukwe's claim that "Africans are the only people who, because of their material position, can be interested in the complete overhaul of the present structure of [South African] society." Was this really true? Did it turn out to be a tactical mistake when contrasted with the more inclusive policy of the ANC?

Pogrund estimates that in 1960 the PAC had slightly more than 20,000 signed members while the ANC had between 27,000 to 28,000. But, he claims, actual support for both groups was greater than the numbers indicated since party organization was hampered by police harassment.

In sum, Pogrund's book is an eloquent testimony of how an inter-racial friendship survived despite apartheid's seemingly all-powerful, divisive power.

As an experienced researcher of contemporary South Africa and its remarkable transition to democracy, I found this book quite extraordinary in its penetrating insights into the so-called South African miracle.

I recommend it to anyone with an interest in military sociology and civil military relations. At times I was utterly riveted by some of its insights and revelations behind the public face of what has happened in South Africa. I have no doubt it will strongly appeal to both an academic and general audience.

Song of Be is an extraordinary book. You have to read it over at least twice to fully understand it, but its worth it. It focuses on the life of a young African girl, a bushman, who moves to a farming plantation with her mother. She finds out to much about her past, and pays a harsh price for it. This book is a realistic fiction novel, as the bushman were really put through similar situations. I rate it five stars, and recommend for anyone to read it.

Credo Mutwa once again speaks with power and authority about Mother Africa. Told in his own conversational voice, the Sanusi (High Sangoma) Mutwa reveals much of Africa's mighty knowledge. See Credo Mutwa's various prophesies later in the book for living proof of his visionary abilities. eg: He predicts the role of Monica Lewinsky in Bill Clinton's career. Etcetera! Credo Mutwa is no doubt an authority in his field and we in South Africa look to him as such. Read and learn where-ever you are. This man is talking about the near future lives of us all.

I found this guide to be really useful, and to give me a really good sense of the places I went and the people I met. The practical info is very good, but unlike some of the other guides which focus mainly on practical info, this book also gave good insights about the different peoples living in South Africa (there's amazing diversity there, and the book helps explain who's who), the landscape, the history, and the animals (it has a wildlife guide that is a real help). It was a lot of fun to read and kept me entertained as I was deciding where to go next. The pictures scattered througout the book are also beautiful.

After returning from three weeks in South Africa I can attest that the photos and extended captions provide a real sense for the feel of the country. He has a knack for providing images that as tourists we may miss. All his books are beautiful - he has all the shots we are frantically trying to capture on film.

Beyond the photos, the quality of the book is astounding. The paper is of an extremely high quality and the photos are reproduced beautifully. A truly great coffee table book and conversation piece!

A brilliant book. Sanders dissects the racism of the media and emerges triumphant into the morning sun. Everybody interested in the media should read this book. Escape dumbness and embrace intelligence.

I had always viewed erosion as maybe "boring". This book, however, changed my mind. I now read everything I can about erosion and erosion related topics. His daughter Ellie is so good looking too. Back to the book. VEry good indeed.

This is a chronological index to South Africa's published treaties for the years 1806-1986. It covers bilateral and multilateral treaties; treaties concluded when South Africa was a British colony and then from 1910 on, when it assumed its own treaty-making powers; and agreements signed with the "independent" Homelands from 1976-1986. It does not cover unpublished secret treaties that South Africa, without doubt, entered into. For each treaty reference, the following are indicated: the date and place of signature, the dates of ratification and entry into force when known, the treaty partner or that the treaty was multilateral, a description of the matter concerned by the treaty, a source for the text, and whether the treaty was valid or was terminated as of 1986. This book also contains a subject and partner index. "South Africa by Treaty" is the result of long, scrupulous research into myriad governmental archives, national publications, and rarely-handled old monographs. It is, as of 1986, the best single index to South Africa's international agreements. Edward Grosek. Northern Illinois University