South Africa Books

As an East African Asian, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it quite as much.
The author is very cynical and sharply critical of almost EVERYTHING. It doesn't seem that he likes ANYTHING about East Africa.
Also, he often provides more details than are necessary on mundane things, like unexpected meetings with strange people.

Overall I would say that the author has done injustice to East Africa, and particularly the Asians of East Africa.

Shiva Naipaul's _North of South: An African Journey_ is the most cynical book I've ever read. It is a travelogue of the author's visit to three postcolonial African countries in the 1970s: Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. Naipaul is a Hindu, born in Trinidad, and he pays attention to the role (and plight) of South Asians (Hindus, Pakistanis, Sikhs, Parsees, etc) in East Africa. He also focuses on the black-white relations in Africa as well. Naipaul gives Africa and everyone involved in its affairs (whites, blacks and Asians) no credit whatsoever. Declining European colonial powers gave their African colonies political independence in the 1960s and a variety of demagogues like and Julius Nyerre in Tanzania who took power spouting third world varieties of socialism and Marxism. Despite claims of social and economic progress, Africa remains as backward as ever. Naipaul freely writes of his disgust with the countries and its deceived leadership from the first page of the book until the last. This book, like another reviewer noted below, certainly is not going to make it into a black studies program anytime soon. It is a relief from portraits of Africa that classify it as a tropical paradise, a land of innocents exploited by evil Europeans, or conversely an AIDS infested human disaster. Naipaul's cynicism shows Africa the way it really is-struggling, corrupt, deceived, but at the same time Afroca is chugging along optimistically in some areas, with idealism and occasional realism, and attempting to do as well as it can to develop itself. No dry textbook prose here; the book is short, easy to read, engaging and very well written.

~North of South: An African Journey~ is succinct and controversial travelogue by an Indian expatriate to the African continent. The author Naipaul presents a cynical, if not lampoonish travelogue of his odyssey through Africa in the 1970s: in particular, he visits Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. His book reflects upon the socialist ideologies advocated by the various regimes, and how in spite of their lofty ideological ideals, they only partake of corruption and misery. Central Africa is a region synonymous with bloodshed, corruption, plight, and poverty. Naipaul comments frequently about loose morals, laziness, and rank corruption. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Naipaul also illustrates how deeply ambivalent native Africans are to Asian immigrants, mostly from India. The issue of race is quite an odd one. The legacy of colonials left Africans ambivalent against foreigners, but strangely dependent on them. As Naipaul notes the few mildly affluent Africans would rather have their children educated by Westerners than by their own people.

A July 04, 2005 interview with a Kenyan economist in the German newspaper Spiegel offered some hard-hitting truth that the world needs to hear about Africa. Socialism in Africa, reinforced by naive western powers and the United Nations, is at the root of Africa's problems. It held true in the 1970s. And it holds true in the twenty-first century. Intervention inculcates weakness, saps market vitality, and props up despots and dictators. In 2005, the Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati says that foreign aid to Africa does more harm than good, declaring, "For God's sake, please just stop." He elaborated, "Such intentions have been damaging our continent for the past 40 years. If the industrial nations really want to help the Africans, they should finally terminate this awful aid. The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape. Despite the billions that have poured in to Africa, the continent remains poor." Spiegel then queried, "Do you have an explanation for this paradox?" Shikwati retorted, "Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need. As absurd as it may sound: Development aid is one of the reasons for Africa's problems. If the West were to cancel these payments, normal Africans wouldn't even notice. Only the functionaries would be hard hit. Which is why they maintain that the world would stop turning without this development aid." Spiegel then queried, "Even in a country like Kenya, people are starving to death each year. Someone has got to help them." Shikwati declared, "But it has to be the Kenyans themselves who help these people. When there's a drought in a region of Kenya, our corrupt politicians reflexively cry out for more help... It's only natural that they willingly accept the plea for more help... before long, several thousands tons of corn are shipped to Africa ...and at some point, this corn ends up in the harbor of Mombasa. A portion of the corn often goes directly into the hands of unscrupulous politicians who then pass it on to their own tribe to boost their next election campaign. Another portion of the shipment ends up on the black market where the corn is dumped at extremely low prices. Local farmers may as well put down their hoes right away; no one can compete with the UN's World Food Program. And because the farmers go under in the face of this pressure, Kenya would have no reserves to draw on if there actually were a famine next year. It's a simple but fatal cycle."

This is a wonderfully written book; Naipaul's proses flows effortlessly across the page, the connexion between thought and word is seemless. The comparatively small body of work Naipaul produced before his tragic early death has been neglected in favour of that of his less talented, but longer lived, brother (a Nobel Prizewinner). However in this one work, Naipaul's prosody surpasses anything produced either by his brother, or by other twentieth century travel writers like Thoreau. That said, some of the other reviews here are ludicrously jaundiced and do a disservice to the book itself. This is no crude work of 'anti-pc' nonsense (an American political term that the archly European Naipaul would have shuddered at). The prose is not illiberal (in the American sense of the term) but rather aristocratic, in the best tradition of Evelyn Waugh (the writer Naipaul most resembles). Like Waugh, Naipaul's caustic observations rip into the heart of human weakness and frailty, exposing the hypocrisy and cant from all sides. The pretensions of ghastly businessmen disgust him as much as the crudity of the black 'socialists'. Those who seek to defend either Marxism or any form of business enterprise system face Naipaul's perfectly expressed derision. I personally found Naipaul's lack of human feeling at the extent of Africa's poverty a little shocking but it is a rapturous pleasure to be so shocked.

North of South describes Shiva Naipaul's journey through Eastern Africa as it emerged from colonialism several decades ago. Optimism and energy prevailed alongside a blind faith in imported philosophies which pundits failed to translate meaningfully to the impoverished, illiterate masses around them.

Naipaul is a witty, bold writer with a gift for sharp imagery and an uncanny radar for subtle undercurrents in human interaction - the hypocrisy of the black elite, the jittery desperation of the settlers, the paranoid clannishness of the Asians. He also vividly portrays the deepening poverty and decaying infrastructure that underscored the failure of well-intentioned socialism in Tanzania.

While some racists may use it to justify their beliefs, the book is more a compassionate, humorous look at pre-industrial populations trying to forge national identities from scratch.

While today's poor countries may not have to follow the painstaking, centuries-long process that western countries did, this is still a reminder that there is no shortcut to institutional development.

For Africans, this nostalgic book shows how far we have come, but is also a challenge to craft a fresh vision for the long distance still left to travel.

Being a novice cook, I find the recipes easy to follow and a sure fire way to impress my friends. The balsamic chicken and Ethel's cookies are some of my favorites.

"South African Gourmet Food & Wine" by Myrna Rosen and Lesley Loon

Don't be fooled by the title; this book is for all of us. Not only for experienced or gifted cooks but for those, like me, trying their hand for the first time. I particularly liked being told how many guests each recipe is designed to feed. I liked being given the option of measuring in either Metric or Imperial and I liked the simple way each recipe is explained. I showed it to a Master Chef friend and, despite his twenty years of experience, he was impressed.

Two old favourites that caught my eye were a Cape Malay dish called "Bobotie" based on fish and spices and "Monkey Gland Steak" with a terrific sauce of onions, mushrooms, Worcestershire and tomato sauce.

At random here are a few more : "Boerewors" (a typically South African barbeque sausage), Tomato Bredie (a tasty meat and tomato stew), Melktert (milk tart), Watermelon jam, Herring in mustard sauce, Sundried tomato and roasted garlic spread, Bombay curried banana chicken soup, Fish steak au poivre, Herb crusted rack of lamb and so on and so on and so on.....

This book is a must if you have ever lived in, or visited, South Africa. It will bring back many memories.

What a joy to have another Myrna Rosen cookbook on my shelves! This time she has teamed up with Lesley Loon and they have created yet another tour de force. My Mom gave me my first Myrna Rosen cookbook when I got married many years ago. It soon became my "bible" in the kitchen. Then came the second book, and again I was not disappointed. The new book is, if it's at all possible, even better! I have made many of the recipes to wild acclaim from all. There are so many outstanding ones, it's hard to pick one or two to mention specifically, although the Croissant Bread Pudding has caused more oohs and aahs than anything I have ever made before. The salads are imaginative and anyone who is a vegetarian will find themselves with many choices. The extensive South African section is a trip down Memory Lane, and Myrna and Lesley have also kindly considered those of us watching the fat grams by adapting some recipes, such as the fish and vegetarian options for bobotie. The Ratatouille Torte and the Tortellini Salad are unusual and appealing, and the Best Ever Chocolate Cake with Caramel Frosting is just that -- the best ever! I have given this book as a gift many times to some most grateful recipients. It is a "must" for anyone who enjoys good cooking!

I had a wonderful dinner party and made the Bobotie dish. It was a great success! Most of my guests wanted the recipe. I told them to just buy the book because there are so many wonderful dishes and they are easy to make. I have had the pleasure of eating both Lesley and Myrna's cooking, they are both wonderful cooks.

I bought this book in great anticipation and was dissapointed to find that only the first 72 pages, equal to one quarter of the book were devoted to South African food. I felt duped! and my further disappointement were blatant misrepresentations e.g. Traditional Bobotie is made with ground cooked lamb not beef. As a one South African to another, Ms. Rosen please be true to our cuisine.

If you like Wilbur Smith you will like this book it is typical of his africa stories,a little rushed at the end could have been a little better ending.

In reading the reviews, I was dismayed that some readers experienced trouble obtaining some of these books (Trilogy). How can that be? - this Courtney Trilogy is or should be considered a classic. I read the series when they were first published and I still remember the stories. To the powers that be, please do not stop publishing this trilogy. I gave away my set and will make sure I have another set purchased soon.

This is another excellent book of Wilbur Smith, I will continue to buy his books as long as he keeps writing

"A sparrow falls" is the third book in the Sean Courtney series. The main character, Mark Anders, returns from the first-world war to discover that his grandfather has been killed and that the farm that is now supposed to belong to Mark is owned by the Ladyburg Farmers' Bank. Mark travels to Ladyburg to find out who could have been responsible
for killing his grandfather and for taking the farm.

He comes to suspect that Dirk Courtney, the son of Sean Courtney, must have killed his grandfather since he needed the farm to expand his business. When Dirk becomes aware of Mark's investigations, he starts sending several of his hit men to hunt Mark down and kill him. Even Mark's employment by the influencial businessman and politician, Sean Courtney, does not prevent Dirk from going after Mark in order to keep the murder of his grandfather and the theft of the farm a secret. The conflict between Mark and Dirk comes to a violent climax on a stormy evening when Mark and Sean learn the truth about Dirks' activities from one of Dirks' own hit men.

"A sparrow falls" is mostly an action/suspense book, but it includes several subplots. One of the subplots is romance, in the form of Mark's relationship with Sean Courtney's daughter, Storm. The book also has a strong focus on nature and nature lovers living in nature. A very good book for those who have read and enjoyed the other Sean Courtney novels. It will make you treasure the familiar characters even more and will answer family questions left hanging in "When a lion feeds" and especially in "sound of thunder". Those unfamiliar with Sean and his family can enjoy it as a standalone action novel. If you're looking for a shorter book organised around one focussed plot, however, then this is probably one to steer clear of.

A Sparrow Falls is the third of Wilbur Smith's books I've read in the Courtney family series. Each has its own flavor; each one is delightful and hard to put down, but A Sparrow Falls was a real demonstration of a powerful writer taking his readers on a turbulent, tumbling ride on a river of adventure and emotion!

Smith's protagonists draw you in with their magnetic personalities and complicated problems to confront. The antagonists, the crude diabolical bad guys, are truly despicable. In this book, there is a seemingly impossible task in which the "good guys" must preserve a large African land area in its natural state, and to shield the wildlife which has rapidly been disappearing. Sections of the book which deal with the cruel maiming and killing of animals are hard to read, yet you know it has happened and continues today. We witness the bloody mutiny of the Marxist-led strikers, and atrocious deeds committed by greedy, evil people. The ending of the book is rather jarring and sad, and should not be given away in a review, but the ending works, and I closed the book with a "Wow!".

Yet Smith balances these intense scenes with humorous interludes, and equally intense romance and beauty. When he describes the African landscape, the sky, and animals, you are there, standing on a high peak, absorbing a flaming pink sunrise, or squatting down, admiring a tiny and delicate sunbird flitting among the flowers.

The Courtney family books, though written in the '70s and '80s are as appealing as any recently written adventure stories...they are timeless. I am eager to get my hands on any other books written by Wilbur Smith!

Wilbur Smith, whom I'm sure in his later years has fond memories of his Homeland, relevant to his writings.
His series of books inflect the hard times of personal tragedy of his characters, and invokes an expression of reality;
in spite of a fictional writing, there is a hidden truth that prevails, a sense of real history.

Quite emotive, with a sense of reality. It's easily imaginable to place the integrity of forethought into the readings he offers.
It will be a very sad day when Wilbur Smith writes, no more. He has an excellent fortitude of reality in past times.
Related to the Africikana's personified, life. A Country that roiled under oppression and few hero's prevailed.

Wilbur has the gift of moving people, into a realm of conjecture and gives credence to the humanity of the underdog.
Riches and poverty abound in all his excellent writings. Moving from riches to poverty in a blink of an eye.

The small fact that Wilbur personified, a reality, few could appreciate in todays World, his works dates back some time
[was it 1976]! And his 'Thick' and elegant works have entraped me into a World, I have known; on a different continent.
Few may be able to relate to the hardships, then there are those that can.

Because not all, of this fictional work, is in fact fictional. One can or could, read between the lines.

My most favoured author. Life should not be so easy, as it these days. Life for many, is a sweet path of ignorance.

Life for those that have battled in life, will most definitely appreciate Wilburs works.

Cheers

This has become my favorite family saga of all time and I still have 4 left in the series.....Awesome....

In this book you can see how a woman can hate a man and the man can still love that woman, but the hate of these persons is because he kills her adoptive mother, but in book never say why he killed her, all the book is rolling in that hating all the time, and you don't know why he did that, you hate him and maybe he killed her in self defense. The rest of the story is full of action and courage of all the protagonists.

This book was great - I plan to read all five in the series. I'm fascinated with Africa as described by Wilbur Smith.

I wish to draw attention to the inadequate binding on several of these books. Every time I turn a page, it just falls out of the book. If it were any other author, I would not buy a Fawcett Crest paperback book - 600+ detached pages, it's outrageous. I'll bet the whole series is like that.

As I have always said Wilbur Smith brings me the taste of Africa all the time. I am in Zimbabwe and some these things happened so close to home such that when you read his books it is like you have rewinded history. Mr. Smith's knowledge on mining, banking, firearms, politics, love, hate, the African wildlife and research is too good and accurate to be fiction. I have enjoyed the Power of The Sword such that I almost forgot about my exams. His twist and turns, plots and sub-plots are excellent and I am looking forward to the next book in the set. The Poer of The Sword is very powerful.

This book is told from a Basotho woman's perspective. Its made up of a series of short stories about the author's life. The stories follow no chronological order because the author doesn't feel they need to. In Africa, there are many oral story tellers who pass on their stories to generation after generation. Think of this as a written version of this woman's family stories. Every story is unique and reveals a great deal about the culture of the Basotho people. If you are curious about the lives of African women, particularly the Basothos, I would recommend this book. This woman suffers through many hardships such as poverty, hunger, the death of many members of her family, and the horrible treatment her and her people receive from the South African police. However, she is strong and able to survive a lifetime of tough experiences. Truly a great read.

Having lived in Lesotho, I picked up this book out of a sense of nostalgia. However, if I had never heard of Lesotho, I think I would still love M'e Mpho's story.

As the afterword explains, the autobiography, while not written down on paper by the author, truly is the author's word. This is so evident in the lyricism and phrasing. I could hear M'e speaking phrases I have only heard uttered by the Basotho. While many of the cultural practices she describes are slowly changing, they are still so evident in the most rural communities.

Basotho are fantastic storytellers, and M'e Mpho is no exception. The book is a quick, engaging read. The chapters are short (I often wished they would continue) and read like short stories. Her story jumps around in time and this adds to the experience.

Truly a joy to read. I laughed and I cried. M'e Mpho represents so many strong Basotho women. She offers us a chance to learn about a place so few have even heard of.

I love this book. Thanks to Limakatso, Mpho 'M'atsepo gave her story for all to read. I am so thankful I stumbled on this book. I read it in 2 sittings and will keep it forever.

Singing Away the Hunger is a captivating true story of an African woman and the journeys of her tragic yet fulfilling life. Mpho `M'atsepo Nthunya told her life story to Dr. K. Limakatso Kendall, an American who visited her country. The book is almost like a book of short stories, each chapter being a different event that happened to Mpho. She speaks of her childhood in Lesotho, growing into adulthood in South Africa. You learn about all the tragedies she lived through and also the wonderful time she had with her family. Even though she had a very difficult life, she always had a positive outlook on life. The most wonderful thing about the purchase of this book is that half the proceeds go straight back to Mpho and her family.
This book has many great qualities, one being the length of the chapters. Most of the chapters in the book are three to eight pages long, which makes for very easy reading. Each chapter is like a book in itself, a chapter in her life, so you can read one chapter in about ten minutes and set the book down and come back two to three days later and never feel like you missed anything. The chapters are titled in a very clever manner. The title does not lead you to believe that the chapter is about something else. By reading the chapter titles you know exactly what the chapter is going to be about. For example Chapter three is titled, "The Child is Burning!" This chapter tells about the time Mpho caught on fire in her grandmother's house and could not get any help from her grandmother to put the fire out. Once she tells you the story, the chapter ends, and you move on to another chapter in her life.
There are very few difficult aspects to this book. Keeping the characters situated was the most difficult. Mpho's name changes in the book. In southern Africa, where she is from, the women change their first name when they get married. I did not realize this at first so it was difficult to grasp who the story was about. She has many children throughout the book that pass away, and several who live, and it is hard to tell which ones are alive and which ones have passed. There are many people that she talks about in the story, and their names are hard to remember because they are hard to pronounce, like Valeria `M'amahlaku Sekobi Lillane (p.3). Some times, Mpho creates suspense in one chapter and does not tell you what happens until many chapters later. This leaves you wondering, but at the same time makes you not want to put the book down until you learn what happened. For example, in Chapter 11, "Khotso, Pula, Nala," she mentions, "My husband was still alive..." (p.63), but she does not tell you until many chapters later what happened to him. Also, in Chapter 15, page 86 she talks about Joseph killing her children, but you don't know how he did that, or which children he killed, until Chapter 18, "Joseph Kills My Three Boys" (p.107).
Many people in the United States of America think that they have it bad, but until you read about a different culture you never realize that you have such a comfortable life. For example, we take reading and leisure time for granted, but Mpho says, "I'm telling stories for children and grown people in other places, because I want people who know how to read and have time to read, to know something about the Basotho - how we used to live and how we live now, how poor we are, and how we are living together in this place called Lesotho." We are not sold or taken into a marriage when we turn eighteen years of age, but for Mpho, that is what happens in her culture. She was lucky to fall in love with the boy she married, even though she was technically bought from her father by her husband's family. They did take her without her family knowing, but they sent word to her family that same day that she was not kidnapped, that they had taken her to get married. No matter how bad you have had it in your life, you soon realize that your worst day was one of Mpho's best. She leaves you with a sense that you can do anything and overcome any obstacles that might cross the path of your life. When you are having a bad day you can think back to something you read in the story and it some how gives you the strength to go on.
Mpho states: "I'm telling stories for Basotho like my grandchildren, who read books but don't know the old ways of their own people. If they can read these stories, maybe it will teach them where they come from. And maybe I can help them to learn English, and they can find work." I recommend this book to anyone who wants to travel to a different place but doesn't have the time or money to. The way the story is told, you feel as if you are there, looking Mpho in her big round marble-like eyes, listening to the stories she tells. If you cannot quite picture the places she is talking about, there are eight pages of pictures to help you visualize what she is talking about. This special touch makes the book more personal than the ordinary autobiography. It makes you feel like Mpho is really speaking to you personally and wants you to feel the pain and joy that she felt. If you can't grasp the meaning of the African words described in the text, there is a glossary at the very end with every African word listed in alphabetical order with the definition. You do not have to have a lot of time to read this book. I am a full time student with a job and I had the time to read it.

I've never been much of a reader, but out of the few books I have read, this one has to be the most inspirational and touching to me. Singing Away the Hunger is about the real life events and struggles of an African woman who encounters many terrible and sad things: wearing a sack and eating weeds, being beaten by a teacher, the deaths of some of her children, and many other challenges. There are also some joys she shares, such as being in love. Her struggles though, are what were inspirational to me. The way she stays strong and positive through it all is very admirable, because the things that happen to her are unimaginable to me and don't happen in the U.S.A.
The form of her writing is proficient, because it gives me a sense as if she is telling her story directly to me. Besides the story being told in first person, I really experienced this when she threw in sentences such as "When we arrive at his house, we find rice with meat. We didn't know what is rice." I was able to sense her fifth grade education, and I could almost imagine her speaking to me in an accent, with her fragments and the African words she uses often such as `M'e (mother) and ntate (father). I got a sense of closeness to her as well as compassion for her. The stories she tells, and the knowledge she gives me about the different people in Lesotho and Benoni, in South Africa, and their cultural styles helped me to understand that there are different cultures in southern Africa. For instance, I learned that Lesotho is much poorer than South Africa, and that there is one language spoken in Lesotho, but twelve different languages in South Africa.
Another thing that I really enjoyed about this book is that it is very easy to read and understand. It is also fairly short, and it kept me wondering what type of event she would have to endure next. The titles of each chapter, such as "Death by Novena" or "The Child is Burning" hooked me. The titles alone drew me into each chapter.
One downfall, in my opinion, is the lack of descriptiveness. There are things and places that she talks about and includes in her stories that I would have enjoyed more if she could have taken me there with more detailed images. I would have liked to know more about the scenery where she was. For example she doesn't describe the area that surrounds her or where she lived as much as she could have. For the most part, in my opinion, that is all that I feel the book lacked.

I enjoyed this book very much because it was inspirational, touching, and at the same time educational. I couldn't have read this book at a better time, because just when I felt things were so bad in my life, I read it and realized that it could be worse, and is worse, somewhere in the world. I would recommend this book to any one interested African cultures or anyone who has had hard times, because along with all the information, this book is sure to give you an appreciation of life itself.

Don't mistake the Courtney series for a history lesson, but it's a close second for an interesting overview. Just returned from a trip to Africa and this author was recommended by people we met in South Africa. The characters are engaging and the descriptions of the bush and the camps are wonderful. Smith has a reputation for diligent research wrapped into a good story.

What a super series! You just dive into the book and experience vicariously all the rugged passion of AFrica. Wilbur Smith, keep writing!

I read a lot and came across Wilbur Smith when my next door neighbor kept speaking of him. My ideas of African adventure were far removed from what Smith writes about. If you like DeMille, Flynn, Shaara, and the like you will love Smith. The back cover of his books says it the best. "Wilbur Smith is one of those benchmarks against whom others are compared." Just make sure you read these in order or you will be lost, only sad when the set comes to end.

This book is not as gripping as the usual Wilbur Smith novel. It is the story of a dysfunctional branch of the Courteney family living in South Africa around 1900. Somehow the blood and guts of civil war isn't as interesting as other Smith narratives. Other books have lots of fascinating and well-researched context material that make them interesting and separate them from other "pot boilers." But "The Sound of Thunder" is mainly just about people hating and harming each other in irrational ways. The characters are all improbable, the coincidences that bring them together stretch credibility beyond the breaking point, and the action is often senseless and leads nowhere. One interesting dimension of Smith -- exploring the essence of Africa -- is trivialized in this book. In summary, it's not Wilbur Smiths best book by a long shot.

An iconic action/thriller writer in the popular format of a family epic series, tracing ordeals and triumphs over generations, in this case against the exotic African background during the Boer war.

This was one of the first `grown-up' (`adult' has the wrong connotations) books I read as a teenager, and I was surprised getting back to it something like twenty-five years later just how much I remembered. I don't know how much of this to attribute to the skills of the writer or to the relative impressionability of my younger self, but I could still vividly recall several of the major incidents - which isn't usually the case with me: I have really enjoyed rereading many books that I only read a decade ago, with far less recollection.

There's much to find offensive and laughable in this book, perhaps mostly in what Smith presents as heroic, although his rigid goodie or baddie characters are also pretty hard to take. Sean Courtney, sure, is meant to be larger than life, but I don't even think being a demigod justifies him bedding both his brother's and his best friend's wives - and somehow being supposed to maintain his unimpeachable integrity. We're supposed to indulgently shake our heads at that rascal. Actually, more than that, we're supposed to respect Courtney's right to any woman who catches his eye because of the purported strength and depth of his passion, and because he's such a manly stud. Otherwise it's your standard shallow hero fare: tougher, smarter, winner financially, militarily, physically etc. Meanwhile, apart from his brother's eleventh hour redemption, people are simply born good or bad - hence Courtney's contrasting two sons: nurture is irrelevant.

Admittedly Smith has the maturity to present admirable and disreputable soldiers on either side, and his historical context is probably one of the strengths of the book. How would I know, but I get the impression he'd checked out some of the battle dates and details, and read some contemporary accounts. This is still, of course, a fantasy story, and we're aware that our hero will survive the hail of bullets, and that the major character's lives are worth considerably more than the cannon fodder around them. I won't begrudge Wilbur the pleasure of that convention. I found it harder to be excited by Courtney's growing prosperity: I don't have the same worship of wealth acquisition so many popular writers seem to assume.

So, in summary, this book worked well enough for me as an engaging historical fiction/action novel, but conflicted with my values of character formation and heroism.

Author Christina Lamb, foreign correspondent for London's Times, was on assignment in Zambia when she stumbled on a rich abandoned house deep in the bush: a house of forty rooms, rose gardens, and even a clock tower. Lamb's discovery of a chest crammed with thousands of letters, and journals, resulted in The Africa House : The True Story of an English Gentleman and His African Dream, an intriguing biographical sketch of English gentleman Stewart Gore Browne and his African dream. THE AFRICA HOUSE first appeared in the UK: this edition updates history to include the next generation of Browne's descendants, who are trying to rescue the decaying wonder of his former estate.

If this had been a novel, publishers would reject it as implausible. It astounds me that I had not heard of Stewart Gore-Brown while growing up in Zambia. He comes across as a fascinating, complex person, whose life story boggles the mind.

Ms Lamb is a pleasure to read. From the very 1st page, I was already in love with Shiwa House and the mysterious Lake of the Royal Crocodiles. Ive never imagined such a magical place could exist!!! Gore Brown's love for Africa, its lands and peoples, is clearly evident, but I found his sometimes patronizing attitude annoying: he despaired that his servants would never appreciate opera like the white man etc. In spite of this, I highly recommend this to everyone ... not just architects and travellers. Some day I must see Shiwa Ngandu for myself!!!

Christina Lamb writes like one possessed, and her latest book takes us deep into the inner life of one of nature's gentlemen, the 20th century adventurer and baronet Sir Stewart Gore Browne, who died in 1967. Gore Browne led an exciting life, yet like the man portrayed in Werner Herzog's film FITZCARRALDO, who tried to bring garnd opera to a little town on the wrong side of a Peruvian mountain, his obsessions are hard to separate from his derangement. In the case of Fitzcarraldo, he attempted to building a Western-style opera house in the jungles of Peru; Gore Browne had similar dreams of building an old fahsioned country manor a la Walter Scott's Waverley novels in the middle of what was then Rhodesia. In both cases everythinghad to be imported for thousands of miles--in Gore-Browne's case that included a wife. And what a wife! It seems that he only married her because he had once been in love with her mother--surely a strange story, and one that you don't hear that much of any more. You'd have to turn to the magnificent Snopes trilogy (by William Faulkner) to find this quasi-incestuous story told so delicately and with such perception.

Christina Lamb did a lot of homework before writing this book, even going to the tumbledown mansion where, as she writes, she would pull a book from the library shelves and it would crumble in her hands (due to Rhodesian humidity and the family's neglect of the old estate). Her descriptions of going to this haunted mansion are almost as romantic as the first pages of REBECCA by Daphne Du Maurier ("Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again") and understanding Gore Browne's character in the light of British romantic novels will help us understand this odd old duffer, a man who championed the cause of black freedom and yet kept a cast of servant as though they were slaves.

The bad thing about the book is Lamb's reliance on cliches and the fact that her writing resembles a Harlequin romance of the 1960s. There is little or no attempt to understand the politics that shaped Gore Browne's career. It is all about the inner man.

The descriptions and pictures of the English manor house set in Africa were interesting, but what I found fascinating was the complex character of Stewart Gore-Browne. He clearly loved the beauty of the land of Africa and its people, yet he was continually frustrated and angered by both. He treated his workers extremely well, loaned them money, helped with education, yet he also beat them.

Gore-Browne was ahead of his time in understanding that the white man should and could not be the rulers of Africa, that the governments should be run by the native people. He spent much of his life trying to achieve that goal. As others have said, it is a wonder that his name is not well known. Christina Lamb shone light on a story that should be told.

I had purchased this same title through Amazon last year and was thrilled with the quality. However, this time the book was terrible. All the photos were obviously very poorly reproduced, as if they had been made on a black and white copier. I needed this book for our Missions Department at the church where I work, and I was embarrassed to hand this book over to the Director of Missions. The product description should have stated something about the photos. The book I initially bought had color photos on slick paper. Thank you for your time.

Great book, i've read most of the bio/autobio's about the old guys, Bob Capa, HCB ect and this is a whole new game. These guys were in my opinion, better than their older counterparts, the risks seem higher and with less payoff.

Much more than simply a book about photojournalists, The Bang Bang Club tells a haunting tale about several young men growing up in a rapidly changing and often hostile world. The friendships that form and are later ripped apart by bullets and suicide comprise the bulk of this well-told history. That South Africa's most important history is taking place as a background only mkaes it that much more of an interesting and enjoyable read. Yes, there is some violence, but that violence defines the world these photographers live and work in.

This is a disturbing book. After the first three chapters I put it down and only picked it up again two months later. Perhaps I was just emotionally at low ebb the first time, but the brutal honesty of the descriptions in those first chapters got to me. Even though I am a South African and lived through that eventful period, I was unprepared for the honesty of the authors. At the second attempt I finished the book and am glad that I did as it is really well worth the read.

The book describes the experiences of four well-known South African press photographers, at the peak of the political transition period of the country. Of the four, only two survived. Most South Africans as well as international readers interested in photojournalism, will remember the killing of Ken Oosterbroek by a stray bullet while covering an unrest situation in the townships. And the whole world was shocked by the brilliant photograph of a starving Sudanese child with a vulture patiently waiting in the background. Kevin Carter committed suicide not long after winning a Pulitzer Prize for that image. Although the book deals mainly with their work experiences, it also provides insight in the personal lives of photojournalists. It focuses mainly on events in South Africa, especially during those eventful years in the early nineties. However, there are also references to other African countries. A few months before I read this book, I also read Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa by Keith Richburg. This was another excellent and very honest book by a black American journalist who was assigned to the African Desk of the Washington Post. The combination of these two books gives an excellent perspective on the Dark Continent and scares the hell out of you.

I can strongly recommend both these books. It is a must-read for anyone interested in photojournalism and for people interested in the political transition period of SA. People who enjoy biographies will also appreciate the book.

This is an exciting account of South Africa, as observed through the lenses of four "conflict photojournalists", roughly between the time of Mandela's release to South Africa's first non-racial elections. There is a gripping, raw and ultimately, compassionate, quality about the writing, and the photos powerfully convey the horrors that this country went through. Equally enlightening are the insights into conflict photography, and the moral issues that arise by being a witness (and recorder) of human suffering. This book would interest anyone who's ever wondered how conflict photographers get into those crazy situations, the risks they took (sometimes fatal), and the adrenaline-laced thoughts that rush through their minds.

I have read much of the material published over the years on this battle and the Ango Zulu war in general. All accounts of this military disaster have left me unsatisfied with many questions remaining. They often just didnt make much sense. I consider Mike Snooks account of Isandlwana and his volume on Rorkes Drift "Like Wolves on the Fold" to be the best written on the subject. The application of years of research added to the crucial application of "military common sense" result in completely believable account that answers many outstanding questions and is also, by the way, a cracking good read. I have since also read Mikes book on British military blunders (cant remember the title) and found it equally authoritative. If you are looking to really understand what happened under the shadow of the 'sphinx' you can't do better than 'How Can Man Die Better'. Looking forward to his next book!

This would appear to be the only critical review of this admired book. I bought it as I was interested in reading about Islandhwana and any new insights that may come from this analysis.
There is no new insight - the author unashamedly is a serving officer with the 24th Regt of which he writes glowingly about. Nothing really wrong with that except that the bias is there.
This book lacks good clear maps to really follow the text appropriately - there is only one general map in small scale!
Thus unfamilarity with place names mentioned in the text but not shown on the one map makes for very hard reading.
Not for the general reader.

Been reading about this battle since the 70s. Starting with Morris and moving through Knight, we have evolved to this highly detailed and scholarly analysis based on evidence and professional insight. I was sorry when the book ended! Savor every word. This will be hard to top.

This is the best battle analysis of Isandlwana I have ever read! I have been a long time student of the Zulu War, in particular Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana. I was lucky enough last year to visit both battlefields and spent hours walking the field. I am a West Point graduate and former armor officer, so I do understand the nuiances of terrain and the disposition of troops. Lt Col Snook gets it right. Many of the histories I have read fall apart when you're on the battlefield. Why did Pulleine push his companies so far out, because he had to in order to see over the intervisibility lines present. Otherwise, he couldn't see into or shoot into the dead space on the other sides. I've always questioned the theories that the camp was simply overrun by sheer force of numbers. Men, no matter how aggressive, simply cannot charge into the face of disciplined fire and survive. Lt Col Snook's narrative agrees well with my own and follows a basic understanding of human bahavior, terrain analysis, and 19th century British doctrine. The British failed to laager the camp; that is known. If all #3 Column was in camp during the time of the battle, I believe, as Snook does, that the battle would have turned out differently. As it was, the camp had only half the numbers it needed to defend the frontages it had and was ultimately defeated in a double envelopement.

Based on this book, I am now looking forward to read Snook's book on Rorke's Drift.

Col. Snook provides an in depth view of the battle at Isandlwana largely from a British/European perspective and does it masterfully. I am adding my review to others on Amazon and will not belabor the points well made by other reviewers. If you are interested in the Zulu wars from a tactical perspective (thus from a soldier's perspective), THIS IS THE BOOK TO BUY. I know Donald Morris and respect his work, THE WASHING OF THE SPEARS. Donald is not perfect and he made mistakes in his account of the battle and his drum has been beaten by others in their accounts. Col. Snook sets things straight. I attribute this to Col. Snook's soldier's eye for terrain and logical battlefield progressions. Col. Snook was a soldier and Donald Morris was a member of the American Intelligence Community. It's telling in their writings. ---oh, just buy the book!

What facts untold and blind to the American population is that Nelson Mandela needed not to turn to the United States for aid in the battle for the spread of white supremacy because the leaders of the United States had already taken a side in this battle.
The side of inhumanity.

What is often not known is the truth in whom supported South Africa and funded South Africa in its spread of Apartheid, The United States of America. Knowingly, under the Presidency/Administration of Ronald Reagan.

There is a reason as to why Fidel Castro opposes Capitalism and United States methods:

1.Capitalism is a system unfit for humanity and is impossible to succeed globally as many people blindly and ignorantly believe. If this was truth, then why do we witness United States presence in so many countries world-wide, yet their economy and way of life has yet to improve under United States authority and rule? It is up to you to stand on the side of human beings, analyze communism, and stay on a base of neutrality until you begin to find out the truth of how this world has been functioning in all time leading to now.

2.The support for Apartheid is among the many inhumane acts the United States has participated in, in the last 200 years, both within the nation and outside the nation.

3.It was under United States aid to former dictator of Cuba Fulgencio Batista that all of Cuba was run by a corrupt mob-authority that constantly brutalized the Cuban population. All wealth from Cuba was directed to the United States and not enough to the people of Cuba whom it belonged to. Cuba was a third world nation before the start of the Cuban Revolution and is still one today, but the improvements and continued improvements are remarkable. Cuba would be ever more successful...well tremendously more succesful if the United States dropped its 40[I believe] year illegal economic blockade on Cuba which is against the Geneva conventions and which has been voted several times in the United Nations as a cruel policy which is genocidal. Most recently, in the U.N., 173 countries voted against it while 3 voted for it. This economic blockade is no way to bring THE PRESIDENT OF CUBA to his knees. It affects entirely the citizens of Cuba. The United States does this so that in hopes to crush the Cuban Revolution because it inspires other third world nations to rid themselves of cruel rule and imperial control and because it wants Cuba to become once again, a slave to the interest of the United States.

Here are the results of whom voted opposing the economic blockade: Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde Islands, Cameroon, Chad, Comoro Islands, Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Equatorial, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Central African Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Dominica, Ecuador, Granada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, The Grenadines, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Fiji, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PDR Korea, South Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, East Timor, Tonga, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Kiribati, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakstan, Kyrgystan, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Macedonia, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Poland, United Kingdom, San Marino, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Moldavia, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine.

And countries that voted for the economic blockade: The United States, Israel, and the Marshall Islands.

If you do not believe all that I have said, look it up for yourself. I urge you to do so.

I myself choose the side of truth. And a system that promotes humanity. The immense majority of the world, not the few.

Speeches by Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro, given in Cuba in 1991, discuss the role that Cuba played in the movement against apartheid. Mandela gives tribute, not only to Cuba?s military action, in defending Angola from South African invasion, but also its example of successful resistance to the oppressors. Castro, for his part, hails the contribution the South African people mad to the worldwide fight for justice, and his growing confidence in the capacities of the exploited.

Interesting pamphlet from a joint appearance of Nelson mandela and Fidel Castro in Cuba in 1991. Mandela's purpose is clear, to thank the Cubans for their support in African freedom struggles and this he does, educating people of the Cuban role in support of the ANC, Angola, and the Congo (via Che Guevara, all sides conveniently forgetting how Castro double-crossed Che).

Then we hear from Fidel. Same old stuff about US Imperialism, Cuba will never surrender to capitalism, etc. etc. If you hear/read one Fidel speech, you've heard 'em all. Read that aspect of it just to see for yourself.

Did you know that Cuba played a crucial role in the successful battle to end racist apartheid in South Africa? Probably not. In the United States, this is a non-fact. "How Far We Slaves Have Come" breaks the curtain of silence about these dramatic events. And it does so in the words of two of the principal figures involved -- Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro. They describe how combined Cuban and Angolan military forces defeated the South African army, which had invaded Angola, at the battle of Cuito Cuanavale. An army of Blacks and mestizos crushing the army of South Africa -- the supposed all-powerful bastion of white supremacy? This was not supposed to happen!

Coming after years of resistance and struggle by Blacks in South Africa, their defeat at Cuito Cuanavale demoralized the apartheid regime. As Nelson Mandela says in the book, "The defeat of the apartheid army was an inspiration to the struggling people inside South Africa! Without Cuito Cuanavale our organizations would not have been unbanned!...Cuito Cuanavale has been a turning point in the struggle to free the continent and our country from the scourge of apartheid!"

If you're interested in South Africa, Cuba, or just in history you're not supposed to know, you should read this book.

Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela together in Cuba, not simply celebrating the victory of the South African Freedom struggle, not simply celebrating the continued life of the Cuban revolution, but speaking the truth about how the oppressed of the world can fight,can struggle, can win.

Just the idea that this little book exists, let alone its stirring, intelligent words, reminds me that though the battles have been tough, working people fighting like these two fighters can win.


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