South Africa Books

This particular biography, written by one of Trevor Huddleston's brethren from the Community of the Resurrection, focuses on Huddleston the Priest as well as Huddleston the anti-apartheid veteran.

For me, as a white South African who grew up in the thick of the apartheid era and its problems, this book was an eye-opening read. Sadly, like many of my fellow White English speaking South Africans, we had been led to believe, that Huddleston, like Mandela, was the devil incarnate.

The biography brings to the fore, a man who not only passionately loved Southern Africa, but Africa in general. A priest who not only believed in the evils of what aparthaid was doing to millions of people, but believed that it could be overthrown.

The Sophiatown years are beautifully brought to life, and Robin Denniston also cleverly shows the broader context of the Johannesburg Socio-political scene in which Huddleston found himself. The references to Huddleston's time at St. Peter's in Rosettenville are an important component in getting to understand Huddleston as both priest and anti-apartheid campaigner.

As a South African though, I found the section of the book dealing with his time as Bishop of Masasi in Tanzania as one of the most fascinating times in Huddleston's life. Little did anyone realise the acute depression that Huddleston suffered from during those years, as he yearned to be back in South Africa, as well as fighting the poverty that the newly independent state of Tanzania faced.

His episcopates as Bishop of Stepney in East London and then as Archbishop of the Indian Ocean are well structured and show the ongoing desire he always had, to be back in South Africa, fighting first hand to bring about liberation.

His internal conflicts, such as obeying his Bishops and Superiors, which at times were at loggerheads with his personal wishes to see the liberation struggle through, also come across clearly and succinctly.

His personal tragedies are also very evident, and the pain he felt when returning to South Africa after apartheid, only to find that in many respects he was largely a forgotten figure, especially among the youth, and that the country did not seem to have time for him in his old age, especially as he had chosen to retire in Johannesburg.

Robin Denniston is to be comlimented on a fine piece of literary work, which hopefully will educate more South Africans as to who Trevor Huddleston really was, and what he stood for, and that South Africa has much to thank him for.

"I cannot speak too highly of this book- the overall standard of presentation and production is excellent. It should be on the reading list of all university biology and environmental science courses, since it is the products of such courses who must deal with the major challenge facing our own species in the next 50 years: the sensible stewardship of the remaining forests. It also merits a place in school libraries, and will serve to provide a wealth of information to the concerned later day reader who seeks accesible, up-to-date information on the complexities of forest conservation."
-reviewed by Barry Meatyard

Mr. Newman has written one of the great and comprehensive rainforest books on the market. The book is loaded with great pictures from Mr. Newmans travels around the world. His book is research based but he explains it in a manner that everyone can understand. It is well organized. Each chapter has a differernt topic that breaks down the complexities into a much simplier discussion. He also outlines his beliefs in how society can save the rainforests. It is an outstanding book, one of the few everyone should own on the topic.

The book by Juo and Franzluebbers is the best book ever written on the subject of tropical soils and their management for sustainable agriculture. Authors discused systematically the properties of the major tropical soils, their linkage with agroecosystems and management options based on current knowledge. The book is very informative, easy to read, well illustrated and contains useful tables. It is highly recommended as introductory textbook for students in tropical soils and also for agricultural and environmental workers interested in natural resource management for agricultural production in the tropics.

"A masterful job...enjoyable to read...large number of photos a strongpoint of the book...photos complement the stories well...make them meaningful...does not pull his punches...sobering moments...runs the gamut of the Wing's experience in Korea...stories are revealing for folks who may not have been aware of what was going on in Korea...some stories paint graphic pictures of combat that may not be palatable to squeamish readers...it is about war, after all...includes the humor and pathos of every day events...When looking for a thorough, education history of the air war in Korea," readers "cannot do any better."
Graybeard Magazine, Korean War Veterans Association,
Nov-Dec 2005

The book contains pieces by noted academics such as Amy Gutman, Martha Minow and Kent Greenawalt, providing a reasonably through overview of the moral issues surrounding truth commissions. The book tries to pose and discuss questions such as "Do truth commissions sacrifice justice for pragmatic reasons?" and "Can truth commissions be justified by appeals to non-retributive theories of justice." Almost all of the essays are well written, and on the whole the book provides an excellent introduction into the theory behind truth commissions, though it focuses almost exclusively on the South African model and generally ignores commissions in Latin America and Europe. Although a number of the essays cite historical events, the book lacks pieces describing the actual formation and work of South Africa's Truth Commission; nor does it contain any primary documents. However, most of the relevant documents are easily accessible on the web, and their absence does not seriously detract from the book.

The book is solidly aimed at the academic realm; those wishing for an easy-to-read, general introduction to truth commissions should probably look elsewhere. However, I highly recommend this book as a general reference and for students and scholars seriously interested in the theoretical underpinnings of truth commissions.

an absolutely brilliant novel, concise and intense and thought-provoking while allowing for occasion bits of wry humor and, towards the murky conclusion, outright hysterics. plomer tells the story of w.p. telling the story of a dying turbott wolfe telling the story of a young turbott wolfe as he interacts with native south africans. the superficial theme of race relations my have gotten this book reprinted and heralded by nadine gordimer, but its real worth is in the character of wolfe, a bizarre combination of gatsby and prufrock (and a possible genius), ultimately failing in a great attempt of re-creation. pay special attention to plomer's cat-thought descriptions; they're fleeting but brilliant.

How to succeed in supporting the iron lady views on the unfeasibility of sanctions in Apartheid South Africa (truly an impossible task) and in later being awarded the top post at the Washington Embassy! This book mixes tipically British humor with un unembarassed justicication of british economic interest over human rights according to Maggie's ideals. Anyway the man is truly outstanding in the way he narrates and the book is a must-read for anyone interested in diplomacy! There is definitely a diplomat's style in writing books and H.E. Amb. Renwick is one of the most noble representative of this literary genre Long Live Renwick!

This a great book. I would highly recommend it to anyone. You should definately buy this book.

This book is well worth the price. It has been out of print since 1997 or 1998, but it continues to be highly valued by researchers and activists, as it is the SEMINAL, ORIGINAL document in the rapidly expanding industry of Urban Agriculture Worldwide. The book contains 60 case studies from 35 countries. It has 40 pages of useful appendices. It is written in a clear, non-academic way. I find it useful both as the place to begin tracking Urban Agriculture as a worldwide movement, and as a reference. Katharine Coon, PhD