South Africa Books

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.

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 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.


While this book may not be directly available from Amazon at times, they are available from the booksfrompathfinder on Amazon that you can find by clicking on the new and used books on this page.

This book was really good and an eyeopener in many ways. Sometimes it is hard to believe the bad things that really go on in the world.

...about my life, my educational opportunities, my social status. Miriam's Song should be required reading for all spoiled brats who think their lives are difficult. Shame on me for ever taking education for granted! Shame on me for ever complaining that my opportunities in the US are limited because of my gender! This book left an indelible mark on my social consciousness. Not just a touching and eye-opening memoir, but also a story of fierce determination and strength, Miriam's Song ranks among my must-reads. Her story is inspiring and her candid writing makes the reader feel as if she is sitting right there in the room, like an new friend telling you about her life. The text does not attempt to justify or rationalize or otherwise explain the social structure, and is remarkably pure in its telling of Miriam's story. Because this book is free from philisophy and pontification about wrong and right, fair and unfair, here-and-there comparisons, the reader is left to come to these realizations on his/her own and thus the story becomes most poignant. I find myself wondering how Miriam is doing now, and would welcome another book including the rest of her story and her observations of the US. Whole-heartedly recommended. Finished it yesterday and loaned it to a friend today.

How nice it is to sit in our American homes and vaguely read of the troubles of South Africa. I am ashamed to have never paid more attention to this subject. This is a riveting book that takes you past the superficial headlines and into the lives of the blacks who suffered under apartheid.

The Mathabane family lives in a suburb of Johannesburg, in a one-square mile ghetto that is home to over 200,000 people (400,000 by the end of the book). Employment is hard to come by--for one to work, one must have a permit. But to get a permit, one must have a job.

Their home is a two room shack, where four of the children sleep on the kitchen floor. There is a communal tap outside. Raw sewage runs in the street outside their door. Black children are only allowed to be taught certain subjects in a certain manner, and Miriam and her classmates are routinely beaten for any infraction--mistakes in schoolwork, uncombed hair, nails that are dirty/too long, wearing dirty bloomers, or not wearing bloomers at all. (These people live in complete poverty, and it was not uncommon for children to not have underwear.) The young teenage girls are easy targets of sexual abuse. Many become pregnant, single mothers, unable to finish school.

While the story is unbelievably horrifying, their outlook is one of constant hope and faith. I am unable to get this family out of my mind, and I will be reading Mark Mathabane's autobiographical books as soon as I get my hands on them...This is an amazing story of how people in other parts of the world live. I strongly recommend this book.

The book Miriam's Song, by Mark Mathabane, opened my eyes to the hardships and terrifying stories of Alexandria's slums and poverty. Told through the eyes of Miriam Mathabane, a poor black girl in Alexandria, South Africa, the story is inspirational and heart braking at the same time. From the beginning of the book, I was enthralled by the vivid details of Miriam's Bantu Education and poor living conditions. By the end of the book I felt as if I was inside Miriam's head, dealing with her emotions as if they were mine and following her story with a devout interest. This is the story of her struggle to overcome the difficulties of living in South Africa during the apartheid to achieve the power women and blacks were starved of.
Miriam lived in a dysfunctional family consisting of an abusive father, smart but illiterate mother, and enough brothers and sisters to lose track of. The family lived in a shack they called a house, in an over crowded slum full of disease and mal-hygiene. On top of all of her hardships at home, Miriam had to deal with the Bantu (black) Educational system, which was staffed by cruel teachers and based on tough discipline. The teachers were more interested in clean hands and fingernails than the quality of education in the over crowded classes. In the book Miriam describes one experience with the strange education system saying, "Mama forgot to borrow a fingernail clipper... to trim my long and dirty finger nails... the mistress finally class my name... I gingerly step forward. I never take my eyes off the thick ruler in the mistress's right hand... `They are long and dirty'... the mistress slowly raises the thick ruler... high up in the air and prepares to rap my fingers." (24). It is clear that the mistress, or teacher, is worrying more than she should be on how long each students nails are and is disciplining in a harsh way. The only encouraging force keeping Miriam in the awful school was her brave mother who was continually encouraging.
This book taught me more about how women are treated in superiorly in other places of the world and how differently I live from many other people. It was clear through out the story that physical and sexual abuse was accepted in the ghetto of Alexandria and was quite common. The discrimination of blacks was also very surprising. Even when the vast majority of the population was black, they were still treated like animals, and squeezed into small towns around the country. It was inspiring to read about the struggles for equality and the great measures many people went through to overcome the all-white government.
After reading Miriam's Song I have gained a new respect for black women all over the world. The story showed me a new side of inequality not just judged by the color of skin but by gender. Miriam taught me to stand up for what I believe in and "fight the system." This is a great book for girls throughout the country to read because it is encouraging and a great read.

I strongly encourage everyone to buy and read this book. This book tells the story of what it is like to be female in apartheid South Africa. Do not pass up this opportunity to learn more about the legendary Mathabane family!

"Mongo" is a slang term--new to me--that refers to an object that has been reclaimed from the trash. According to The Cassell Dictionary of Slang, quoted at the beginning of Ted Botha's book, it's a term specific to New York, which is fitting because Botha's exploration of mongo is likewise based in New York. In each of his ten chapters Botha discusses different types of trash reclamation by profiling some of the "collectors" he's met. He writes about freegans and "canners" and artists who work with found objects, about "black baggers," about people who trade in discarded books. (I had no idea so many people were throwing away books.) He profiles a pair of friends who dig up old privies in search of antiques. He writes about men who sift through old landfill when it's dug up during construction. Unless you've thought about the subject matter before, you'll probably be very surprised by the variety of mongo that exists.

Botha's book is uneven. It includes a few too many passages in which the author rattles off long lists of items reclaimed from the trash. And it ends with an unfortunately dull chapter about a man who collects large chunks of demolished buildings. But the book is also fascinating in parts, particularly when Botha discusses the sociology of trash picking. He writes about the lifestyle of people who specialize in can collection, for example, and about the hierarchy among trash pickers. (Who knew there was a hierarchy? Who knew there was specialization?) But I would have liked more detail, both because the subject is interesting and because I was left with some questions. Botha writes, for example, that "black baggers" are on the lowest rung of the dumpster diving hierarchy. Apparently, opening up a black bag is an act of desperation, presumably because one can't be sure ahead of time what will be in it. But it's not as if most trash bags are transparent. Why are black bags singled out for demonization?

Botha's book isn't perfect, but it's worth the read. He's hit on one of those wonderful topics that's right at your feet but which only the blessedly curious think to explore. Kind of like mongo itself.

-- Debra Hamel

I loved this book. As a life-long dumpster diver I know the
thrill of finding something really great that's been thrown out.
Ted Botha does a wonderful job of conveying the excitement as well as the downside of collecting. He portrays real people on the hunt and their resourcefulness is truly amazing.

Ted Botha is not completely unbiased in his report on the garbage collecting phenomenon; he tends to show an affinity for the activity and the collectors he describes, but this is forgivable because many people reading the book will feel the same way he does about trash. That said, the overview of the craft and its followers is quite organized and flows naturally from one topic to the next.

I have to say that this book is going to mislead readers and wannabe collectors who do not live in New York City. It is overly idealistic to read of the great finds this book and think you can find some of these things in the garbage on your street or anywhere else in America - I'm not sure it's that easy. But it's interesting to read this book as a sociological study.

One last thing of note. I found the sentence structure Botha uses to be a little trying. The sentences in the book aren't very easy to follow. For instance, after describing some large mongo items in one collector's apartment, he writes: "Small by comparison, but a special favorite of Iver's nevertheless, is a strangely colored door that serves as an entryway to the firewood storage area" (Page 210). Reading the book, I kept thinking to myself, 'Isn't there an easier way to say that?' and mentally rewriting sentences. The writing style required me to be a more attentive reader than usual. Other than that, it's a fascinating book that will make you think differently about garbage.

This book contains lots (and lots) of details, some of them interesting, but the narrative is so poorly tied together, and so packed with inane and pointless analysis, "Mongo" is mostly discardable. Why do people collect things? This question is posed every other paragraph, apparently to fill space. At one point, a psychologist and psychiatrist are enlisted to answer it, whereupon ye olde theme of addiction is recycled: people collect things because of the temporary "gratifying physical sensation" it gives them. "It's like a fetish, or sexual arousal," clarifies the psychiatrist. Equally clueless theories are introduced elsewhere: a fear of death, a desire to snoop, a desire to preserve the past, and/or a need to feel immortal. Never entertained is the possibility that people collect things because they find them interesting.

And the book, while ostensibly about items found in the trash (or on the street, or under the ground), is very much about collecting in general. In fact, many of the items discussed are antiques or collectibles, not ketchup-soaked hot dog wrappers or used, ant-covered yogurt containers, or even soda cans worth a nickel ("Adventures in items retrieved from the trash" does lack the proper ring, though). And so the entire, cliched range of collecting is covered--from the first few pages, we know it's only a matter of time before the crazy-lady-with-400-cats motif shows up, for example. When it does, it's almost a relief. In fact, we get two cliches in one bag: the crazy-lady-with-cats theme combined with the house-piled-high-with-garbage motif. Something else we've never heard before: some street people are mentally ill. (No! Can that possibly be true?) As proof for this radical and controversial thesis, an interview with a psychotic bag lady is included. Her assertions and theories are carefully considered and, ultimately, discarded as too down-to-earth for a volume such as this.

I truly enjoyed Ted Botha's story of the characters he encountered in search of Mongo,As any dumpster diver knows there are treasures to be found in dumpsters everywhere. Ted Botha does an excellent job of giving us insight into the world of the amazing and gifted people involved in dumpster diving in the streets of New York. The only thing I would have liked to have seen in this book is pictures of some of the incredible things rescued others considered trash. The individual & group efforts that were undertaken on the streets to perserve the wonderful history & culture of New York are incredible. Thank you Ted for showing the world that Dumpster Divers can be intelligent,resourceful,caring, creative & artistic human beings.

Just received Power Lines and am excited to read it. I glanced at the Introduction written by the author's grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter, in which he describes how his own mother joined the Peace Corps at 70. She was based in India; her grandson spent his time in Africa. Looking forward to reading!

I loaned this book out from the library hoping to find something relating to travel, to the Peace Corps, and something relating to new ideas and places. I got this and a great story from a very successful teller. Carter's experiences are exactly what many dream of while working in the Peace Corps. But this book is full of history and even more personal experience. I enjoyed it immensly.

Read this book to learn about Ubuntu which is a philosophy of life that Jason Carter found to be thriving in the Swazi. This approach to people and thus community is held out as a core strong hope for the South African native culture. This book is well worth reading. I have not stopped thinking whether Ubuntu is possible in our country or not. Let's hope it is not too late...we need it!

Jason Carter's account of his two years in the Peace Corps was an easy, comfortable read. I was captivated. Thanks to Jason Carter and National Geographic for sharing this important experience about a nation in transition. Few have commented on the poignant introduction of Jason Carter's grandfather which concentrates on President Carter's own mother, Lillian Carter, and her own experience in an Indian village in the Peace Corp when she was in her 70's and at a very different time in the late 1960s.

A great book that gives rare insight into Swazi culture and life in rural South Africa. Having lived in the area as a school teacher and a researcher, I enjoyed the innocence with which Jason re-created and shared his impressions and experiences.

Jason's immersion in the language and culture of poor rural South Africans is admirable. He clearly "goes native:" identifying with "the Blacks" and uncomfortably, judgmentally, dealing with Westerners and South African Whites. The brilliant twist in the story comes when Jason struggles to come to terms with South Africa's Black elite. He's the rugged, White bushboy reaching out to victims of apartheid who are now more like American yuppies than real "Africans."

I also appreciated his attempts to reveal the differences in experiences that Black (like me) and White Americans often have in South Africa. Interestingly, Jason's feelings about race in America affected how he perceived South Africa, and his South African experienced revised his sense of US race relations.

Definitely worth reading, along with James Hall's Sangoma!

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.

In my lifetime I have read very few books that kept my attention from beginning to end. Singing Away the hunger is one of them. This book gives the reader an authentic insight into southern African culture and the struggles that some people endure. I guess I'm just a naturally nosy person, and I love hearing people's stories.
My favorite aspect of this book is its authenticity. It is almost as if I was actually sitting down face to face with Mpho 'M' Nthunya. It was different than reading reference materials on Africa or watching documentaries on National Geographic. This is not second-hand information. This is an actual person giving you information straight from the horse's mouth. Nthunya has lived a life filled with tragic events on top of the everyday struggle that she and her people must live with. To have her actually sitting down telling her story just makes the reader feel it that much more.
Now that the style of the book had my attention, I was ready to enjoy the content. This book is extremely entertaining and informative. As Nthunya is telling her life story, she also explains alot of African customs and traditions. I learned more about Africa from this book than I had ever learned in school. Not only did I learn about the customs and traditions, I also became familiar with the overall lifestyle and how hard it is for them to survive. Most of our basic necessities would be luxuries to this woman. For Americans, the dream is basically to be financially successful and be able to afford as many luxuries as one possibly can. For Nthunya and her people, they struggle just to eat and have clothes. To put this in perspective, on page 20 Nthunya explains how they were afraid to eat rice the first time they encountered it. "We didn't know what rice is. We have never seen it before. We think it is maggots....We eat the bread only because we are afraid of the rice....Finally we say 'Oh, ke hantle,OK, we didn't know.' And we eat. We find it tastes all right, but we still feel strange to put these round white things in our mouths." In addition to the struggles of her life, the customs of her culture were also interesting to read about. I especially found the way they approach healthcare interesting. In chapter nine Nthunya and her husbandseek medical help after she has yet another miscarriage. First they visit a Chinese doctor who gives her medicine. They then decide to go to a "traditional" doctor. The "traditional" doctor explains to them that Nthunya's dead grandmother is causing these miscarriages because she is angry. The "traditional" doctor tells her, "So you must go home, Mpho, to your mother's house, and tell your mother that she must take a goat, slit its neck, and remove the gall bladder. Your mother must put the gall bladder in a baisin of water and wash you with her hands and this water from head to toes. And after that the meat of the goat can be eaten by everybody." It surprised me that this was coming from a "traditional" doctor. They visit more of these doctors for a variety of situations throughout the book. She also explains everything from how the school system works, to the different customs of marriage and pregnancy. It is very interesting.
There was one small aspect of the book that I did not like. This was that the names began to get a little confusing. I found it hard to keep up. She has several children, along with her family, plus her in-laws. Most of the names are African, and I found it hard to remember something that I was not familiar with in the first place. This did not take away from the stories; it was more of a pet peeve than a flaw. Although I did not like it, I understand that it is necessary. The thing that made it frustrating was that I was so interested that I wanted to remember the names and who these people were.
Overall, I would recommend this book to any and everybody. I would even recommend this book to people who do not like to read. You will not be reading a book. You will be sitting down listening to the life story of Mpho 'M' Nthunya. This book is also a good way to become familiar with the lifestyle and traditions of the African culture. As Americans, it is also a good way to put our life into perspective. It made me realize how many things we take for granted. It also made me realize that happiness can be found in any situation. Mpho Nthunya is an extremely strong woman who has been through a lot. I finished this book with a newfound respect for her and her people. I think you will enjoy it.

I enjoyed the book very much. Really gave me a feel for Steven Biko and his brilliance. Also gained some insight into South Africa and its politics during his time. Many of his thoughts are universal and can be applied to the world today. Two thumbs up.

"I Write What I Like" was set on the backdrop of the thankfully defunct system of apartheid, but the parallels to our modern world remain both pertinent and poignant.

While activists such as Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela fought apartheid on the political and economic front, Steve Biko fought it on the most basic psychological level. He rejected the fundamental premise that made racism and subsequent apartheid possible. The premise he rejected was "that one kind of man was superior to another kind of man". The questions he posed and the answers he gave made him the most dangerous man alive to the white minority government of South Africa.

The movement Steve Biko helped found was called "Black Consciousness". Many decried it as a form of afro-centric racism. That characterization could not have been further from the truth. Black Consciousness differed sharply from other anti-apartheid movements in that it advocated the preservation and advancement of black culture from the individual level. Far from being reveres-apartheid, Biko called for blacks to have their own institutions, their own achievements, and preserve their own languages and cultural heritage - not to the exclusion of whites but with a clear assertion that their culture was valid, valuable and should be allowed to thrive and grow.

Biko asked the questions that were too hard to answer for their simplicity. "How can one prevent the lose of respect between child and parent when the child is taught by his know-all white tutors to disregard his family teachings? Who can resist losing respect for his tradition when in school his whole cultural background is summed up in one word - barbarism?"

Blacks struggling for equality in South Africa were labeled "terrorists" by the white minority government. This fact resonates ominous parallels with America today. As we rush to shred the rights enumerated in our constitution under the euphemistically titled "Patriot Act", we should be wary of this history. Surely people demanding equality for themselves by non-violent means were not terrorists. Yet this is how they were defined. Anti-terrorism laws, without an objective definition of "terrorism", can be turned against anyone the government finds... uncomfortable.

Torture is another concept that is being openly discussed these days. The question "would we torture of this reason or that reason?" assumes on some level that torture is effective. Steve Biko had some very important observations on torture, as he was often the subject of it; "If you want to make any progress, the best thing is for us to talk. Don't try any rough stuff, because it won't work." - "If you guys want to do this your way, you have to handcuff me and bind my feet together, so that I can't respond. If you allow me to respond, I'm certainly going to respond. And I'm afraid that you may have to kill me in the process even if it's not your intention."

Steve Biko died September 12, 1977. Authorities initially claimed that his death was the result of a hunger strike. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report, published March 1999 stated that: "On 7 September Biko sustained a head injury during interrogation, after which he acted strangely and was uncooperative. The doctors who examined him (naked, lying on a mat and manacled to a metal grille) initially disregarded overt signs of neurological injury." By 11 September Biko had slipped into a continual, semi-conscious state and the police physician recommended he be sent to hospital. Instead he was transported 1,200 km to Pretoria - a 12-hour journey which he made lying naked in the back of a Land Rover. A few hours later, on 12 September, lying on the floor of a cell in the Pretoria Central Prison, Biko died from brain damage. Yet he and his culture were the ones called barbarians.

Biko said, "The most potent weapon in the hand of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." As we look to our world today, we must be leery of those who seek to mold our impression and thus our beliefs. There are forces out there with much to gain by inciting division and reactionary strife. Divided we fall

Steve Biko's "I Write What I Like" is an excellent look at ta voice who tried to articulate the struggles of his people and to provide workable solutions. The "Frank Talk" articles and his testimony in the court are highlights, but it is also interesting to read the manifesto of the effects of Christianity on African Religion. Very raw stuff of the Malcolm X school. Overall a very moving and inspiring read. Like Ghandhi and his contemporary Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko's writings are those of a revolutionary with a heart.

It's good to see this book back in print. The apartheid era might seem like the distant past, but it wasn't so long ago that so many people were knee-deep in this issue - and so many South Africans were suffering and dying.

South Africa today could have used a leader like Steve Biko. His writings show him to be a man of great intelligence, and the accompanying essay by Father Stubbs shows Biko to be a leader of great charisma. Read this book and you'll see what the world lost when Biko was slain.

As a clear formulator of a useful, modern, Black Consciousness for South Africans, Biko is unimpeachable - his criticism of liberal whites is fundamentally sound, that a racist system, in its import, taints the actions of everyone who works within the system as racist. Biko is working out the nuts and bolts of his theory of African advancement and affirmation while working on the front lines of the struggle. The intensity of the struggle is captivating, because the risks are great and violence is imminent - but Biko should also be captivating because of what he represents as a modern, critical African intellectual.

Criticizing Biko is hard because he was clearly interested, above all, in changing his own people's view of themselves, and re-instilling their necessary sense of self worth. How important to Biko is the cynicism of liberal whites in the present political culture that blacks "may not be doing a good job leading" (xxii)? Is his preferred, future "non-racial" South Africa something that other black leaders sympathize with? I think that we can link his popularity among young blacks inthe apartheid state with a new will to participate in the struggle. Because Biko was so courageous, it is perhaps a hard to get a clear idea of what he saw as the possible end games to the struggle.

This book is non-rhetorical and pragmatic, and the fact that Biko's conception of, and motivation of countless blacks in South Africa around, the idea of Black Consciousness make what Biko is talking about here successfully revolutionary. At times blisteringly critical of black church leadrs who he beleive have acquiesced to apartheid, at times bravely courteous, as when he is being tried before a coutroom full of whites and white security officials and he maintains his awesome collectedness and cutting wit as he indites THEM for crimes. Biko is an exciting writer, and his influence on men like Mandela, as well as his model for grassroots political empoerment, make him an important theorist on what can and should happen to make a better future in Arica. His energy and creativity are still highly applicable, even in the new South Africa and beyond in 21st Century Africa.