Africa Books

True to the topic, it transports you right there. Historical and old, but still current.

Written about a South African farm. this book depicts the story of a family and how they interact throughout the book. The most striking dynamic in the book is the relationships of the women in it. It portrays female existence in a realistic light even for today. The story has a lot of character to it, and I would recommend it highly for teachers who want to teach about feminism.

Although I had to read this book for a college class, I would read it again in a second, I feel that I can only gain more and more from this book through rereadings. Its plot is at times disjointed to the style of the author and the message she is attempting to convey, so for those who are looking for a strongly Dickensian or "feel good" read, this is most likely not the book for you right now. But for me, from an analytical and heartfelt standpoint, the subtlety of the book and its beauty and its truth made me tear up a little bit. I'm currently writing a paper on Waldo and his artistic and personal growth throughout the novel, so maybe I'm a little biased, but although Lyndall is an incredibly interesting and advanced character, I think Waldo is often glossed over as merely suffering from a religious crisis of faith, and, being a man, not deserving of attention in this novel of the "New Woman". But Waldo ultimately reaches a place of amazing peace and understanding, and the lives of Waldo and Lyndall intertwined together is truly beautiful.

I thought this book was one of the best books Ive ever read it describes how people feel and view the world from inside themselves but can never express this externally or even realise they are thinking these things themselves.

For me It depicts how inadequate we all are men and women, when it comes to Love, and expressing it and sharing it. it flumoxes us all, Its too big for us, "the chickens had more sense"....pass the worms please.

"Story of an African Farm" is a difficult work to describe. It must be read several times, and carefully pondered before all of its secrets are unlocked.

Ostensibly, the book revolves around the lives of three children (and, later, adults) who live in the Karroo plains of South Africa. The main focus, however, is on two of the characters - Waldo, the earnest and deeply curious son of the German farmkeeper, and Lyndall, the beautiful, outspoken and rebellious orphan who suffers all her life for her ideals.

The book itself is semi-autobiographical. Waldo represents Schreiner's journey from fanatical, childlike faith to bitter skepticism, who reaches a watershed of sorts when he hisses to Lyndall 'There is no God - none!'. Lyndall, on the other hand, embodies Schreiner's frustation with her station as a woman - barred from the upper echelons of society, and her inability to find a mate who is both her intellectual match and willing to accept her as an equal. "I want to love", she whispers to the grave of Waldo's father, "I want something great and pure to lift me to itself."

There are many other themes that flesh out the subtext of this extraordinary book - the tragedy of solitude, that ultimately, all humans are alone in the cosmos. "Dear eyes", the dying Lyndall whispers to her mirror, "they will never part us."

Readers who expect a narrative will be dissapointed. What narrative there is serves only to undersore the book's many themes. Often, the flow of the story is out of sequence, or devoid of context, and deliberately so. Roughly, the book is divided into three sections - the first introduces us to the characters as children, and reveals their innermost thoughts. The second, and shortest section is entitled "Times and Seasons". It is somewhat of a summary of what has gone before, dealing mostly with Waldo's journey from Christian fanaticism to dispairing atheism, and foreshadows some of what is to come. The third, and longest section, covers the lives of the characters as adults, and is by far the most powerful, and moving piece of the book.

The reader who is looking for mindless action is advised to pick up the latest Tom Clancy novel, or whatever passes for literature these days. Those who are willing to put aside all preconceived notions, and have their cherished beliefs challenged are invited to read this book. The search for truth is endless. But this book is a perfect place to begin.

I am very pleased with the beautiful photography of this book. It gives you an up front & personal view of some of the most exclusive lodges in Africa. Safari Chic photograph's can help you find inspiration that will transform your home into a special Safari paradise of your own. There is even a list in the back that will direct you to stores that will carry exotic items to help with your decorating needs!

I would recommend this book to anyone that is into "Safari" or decorating in general. It has lot's of useful information & the layout is easy to navigate.

I also bought, "Simply Safari" by, Daryl & Sharna Balfour & fell in love with it! You can't go wrong with either book ... they are a must have!

Gorgeous coffee table book, which is actually great reading, too! Sumptuous photographs will inspire you to add a touch of Safari Chic to your own home! Exquisitely well done book...I hope there will be sequels!....

Libraries with strong sections on ethnic or modern architecture will want to include Bibi Jordan's Safari Chic as a unique presentation of over a hundred photos of exotic exteriors and interiors. African bush style goes modern in homes which profile decorating choices achieved through ethnic crafts and fabrics. The color photos are lavish and display many options and styles.

Upon first glance, Bibi Jordan's "Safari Chic" looks like a handsome, pretty-picture, coffee table, book that is ... just that; it looks good on an Ottoman in one's living room. Only, I have those types of books and was not prepared to buy another, hence my hesitation. But Africa is much more than an interest for me and so naturally I began to thumb through and shortly afterwards, lose myself in it.

The preface by Peter Beard - Mr. Africa himself - sets the tone for the unfolding of a modern day journey. Miss Jordan's safari takes us to those breathtaking sceneries where man is as much a part of nature as the elephants, hippo and lion. In doing so, she introduces us to the men and women who live in "the bush". These characters, some of whose families have been safari outfitters in Africa for 90 years, make up the real fabric of what Africa is about. In telling their story, we learn that safari is a way of life. Each camp has its own unique history. By understanding these people and how they live in harmony with their fellow Africans and wildlife, we are able to grasp the complete picture.

Miss Jordan weaves these fascinating personalities together into a wonderful narrative. Inspirational quotes from Karen Blixen, Ernest Hemingway, and others, and - yes, great pictures, make for an enticing read.

This book makes Africa real and for me, timeless. It makes you want to go there, and bring a piece of it back with you. The last chapter offers some excellent and affordable tips to decorating `safari chic'. Popular stores like Pier One and The Pottery Barn can bring Africa to your fingertips.

As mentioned, many other African safari books are dictated by form and fashion above substance. "Safari Chic" is more than a decorating style; it's a frame of mind. From all of the famous quotes Miss Jordan uses, this one perhaps, sums it up best.

"All things considered, there are two kinds of people in the world: Those who stay at home and those who do not. The second are most interesting."

- Rudyard Kipling

Bibi Jordan has managed to capture the true spirit of adventure in her new book Safari Chic. Not only do the wild exteriors and the mannered interiors inspire one to redecorate their physical surroundings but they resonate with the kindling spirit of rejuvenation and imagination. This is a traveler's delight as well. More books Bibi, more!

A good friend recommended this book to me when he found out I was goint on safari to Zimbabwe. The section on firearms and calibers is based on personal opinion and Ken's is as vaild as anyone's. The part of the book I found most helpfull was the sections on packing and what to pack. I arrived without some of my luggage but got by just fine for several days because of Ken's helpfull tips. The last section of the book has a timeline of what to get done and when to get it done. Very helpfull and kept me on schedule with no worry about "What did I forget to do?" My safari was a success. This book along with several others played a part in that success. When I go on my next African Safari I will reread this book and follow Ken's advice again. Ken, thanks for the help.

I just returned from hunting in So. Africa and I highly recommend this book. I used it from the planning stages all the way through to taxidermist selection. After reading it I had the feeling of almost having "been there" before. Also, it gives guidance on some potentially sticky subjects like hunters ethics and tipping. This book and "The Perfect Shot" are all you really need to make your safari dream a reality.

Lyle J. Hartman

Mr. Royce is an entertaining writer who knows how to use the language. But, Safari Dreams was clearly written more to inform than to entertain (although entertain it does). If you are seriously considering booking a safari, YOU NEED THIS BOOK. Royce tells us not only what he did and how he did it but also what he should (or should not) have done. His experience is invaluable. He pulls no punches.

Kenneth Royce does not hesitate either to go against conventional wisdom (bullets are more important than the firearms that fire them)or to explain the seemingly counterintuitive (binoculars are more important than telescope sights). There are hundreds of books on African safari, some good, many not so good. This may be the best one (of many) that I have read, and it is absolutely the most useful.

Growing up watching Tarzan, Daktari, Hatari and others on tv, I dreamt of someday making a trip to Africa. Later reading of adventure tales by Capstick, Hemingway, Kittenberger, Patterson, Teddy Roosevelt and Foran only made the desire greater. But the romantic adventure never actually seemed possible, and definitely out of financial reach.
I've read and own most if not all of Royce's books, so this was an easy sell. It's what I expected and more. This book isn't as much an action adventure story as much as "how to" for the common man. There is so much detailed information packed between the covers that it will provide a reference for years to come. Whether it's picking a proper cartridge, picking a guide, or how to get through the airport with the least hassle, the book has it all.
If you're even dreaming about a trip to Africa someday, buy the book, you won't regret it.

I never have been excited about going on a safari. That was before a Jeff Cooper reunion I attended 3 years ago in New Mexico. At that event, I met a man named Tom who told about his safari and for the first time ever I wanted to go.

At that SAME fateful event, I met a man I've respected ever so highly since: Kenneth Royce, the author of Safari Dreams. Although we keep up with Kenneth as best we can, always buying everything he writes because doing so is an investment in our freedom-loving futures, his new Safari Dreams was an absolute surprise... and a pleasant one, OH so pleasant!

Now, 3 years later, that spark of safari desire has returned, this time with a passion, due to Safari Dreams.

Please understand, this isn't just a story book about safaris as so many books are. They are often good books, but this is FAR MORE. Here, the absolute beginner gets an entire course, a how-to seminar on what to know before, during, and after a safari. If you aren't all that keen right now, you WILL BE once you get less than halfway through Safari Dreams!

And if you have already been on a safari, your knowledge will rocket up several levels. You will learn tips to help you be more effective and safer too. You will learn traps to avoid and you'll save far more than the cost of Safari Dreams too because this book saves you money by telling you what you will need and will NOT need on your future safaris.

This book is on par with another, Boston's Gun Bible, both of which now sit side-by-side on our shelves and which we refer to regularly. Safari Dreams, in addition to encouraging you to take an African trip, is also a reference book.

This book is one that you keep forever, one you get for your closest friends, one you get for ALL your shooting friends. It's one of those important works that comes along only every few years.

This is a great recipe book for both Indian and East African food, especially for the North American cook. Some of the recipes capitalize on available convenience foods such as frozen hash browns or frozen vegetables (in a good way). I have tried a variety of recipes from this book and they've been quite good, including fish, vegetable, lentil/bean, chicken, and bread recipes. The recipe for mkate wa sinia (kumimina) is excellent, and the method translated from cooking with charcoal to the gas/electric stove. The photos are clear and many in number, although often put in parts of the book far from the recipe.

I have a few complaints about this book. One, my copy is missing half of the index (which I assume is just an unfortunate but unique case). Two, the samaki wa kupaka is way off, as its downright frightening photo (a fish swimming in a yellow gravy) attests -- it should be a light tamarind marinade, not a gloppy turmeric sauce poured over the top. Three, the authors include a recipe for vitumbua that requires, according to their own notes, a pan found only in Zanzibar. Actually, an aebleskiver pan could make an acceptable substitute.

That being said, "Simply Indian" is a very useful resource.

Upbeat and user-friendly, this book uses simple cooking techniques and more often than not, calls for ingredients you can find anywhere. I've tried out four recipes so far and they've all been hits with my family. We really like the Sheesk Kebabs with Tomato Sauce, the Chicken Palak (spinach curry) and Masoor Daal Curry. The recipes often leave salt out of the picture and usually I have to add some, but otherwise the beauty of this book is the emphasis on the natural flavor of foods, not a dependency on oils and heavy creams like you'd find in restaurant versions of these dishes. Since all the readers are raving about the Butter Chicken, I can't wait to try that one next!

I always find recipes hard to follow and what to really accompany my meals with....and it is even harder when you have an Indian man in your life who likes curries everyday ...but Tahera makes this book soo easy to follow that I wonder where she has been.
Her recipes are so easy and like her title says 'simple'. No fuss, no drama to make it look like I need to be a pro because even an amature can cook like a pro...that is what Tahera's recipes tell me about myself..and I love it.
Thanks Tahera.

What a beautiful book! I'm so glad I have it.

The recipes are easy to understand and so much fun. I've wanted a book to teach me Indian cooking for a long time, and this book is all I needed, because it has soooooooo many recipes! (Actually, it has *every* Indian recipe I've ever wanted and more.) =)

I wish you could see the inside, because it's so pretty - it looks really authentic and the pictures are so vivid and glossy - I can't believe it's so cheap!!! Oh, and it's got lots of tips and there's a little blurb about each dish that is sometimes quite funny (and always helpful). :)

I took two of Tahera's cooking classes 3 years ago. I am pleased that she's finally published her book. I was quite surprised to see it mentioned in a 2003 Cosmopolitan article about enhancing your sensuality!

The chicken bhiryana is the best chicken dish I've put into my mouth. I like it better than butter chicken. The vegetarian samosas don't last long on any table. In general, all the dishes are tasty, and most can be easily prepared for a week-day supper. This is a great collection of recipes for a beginner in Indian cooking.

What a great read. I knew Hunter was considered one of the best, but I had no idea how exciting this book would be. Hunter and Mannix relate interviews and spin stories of colonial Africa; short, concise and thrilling. We get to share adventures with white hunters, native tribes, dangerous slave traders, gentlemen adventurers, ferocious animals, stalwart missionaries, poachers, scoundrels and headhunters. A fascinating portrait of a time and a land long lost.

John Hunter was a notable African White Hunter living in Kenya until the Mau Mau (c. 1960). He is generally considered a very successful hunter and a man of integrity. And without a doubt, he knows how to tell a story. Enough detail to engross one, without bogging the flow.

None of these stories are tales of his own deeds. His other books tell his own exploits. Most here are his own slant on well-known African figures, both European and native, from 1880-1950. There is no doubt this is a most interesting period in African history, or that Africa was and is a violent land with both animals and humans involved. While the adventure is stirring, I cannot long for that long past time, although interesting to read.

Perhaps the most important contribution the book made to me is to help me understand the background on why Africa is as it is today, and the enormous differences in the way Europeans view events and the very different view of the Africans. It seems characters from 100 years ago are little different from the events unfolding in many parts of Africa today.

The final tale in the book are the observations of Dr. L. S. B. Leakey, set in the 1920-1950 time frame. Dr. Leakey was the father of the famous African anthropologists. His explanation of the events leading to changes in African population, created by white domination, clearly reveal how well intentioned (and not so well) actions, rendered changes over a 100 year period of time leaving a vastly different land then that existing in Africa as European settlers moved in and superimposed a whole new set conditions. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book to me.

J.A. Hunter was one of a rare breed of men who moved to Africa in the late 1800's. He made the place his home, married, and raised a family whilst becoming one of the most sought-after big-game hunting guides in the world, in places like Kenya, Zaire, and Tanganyika.[be sure to read about clearing the railroad tracks of wild game] His style of writing is terse, but the first hand narrative is crisp and fresh, as if it happened yesterday.
The chapters are neatly tied into characters and events, which makes for a great book to take-along. There were many pretenders, like Ernest Hemingway and Robert Ruark who wanted to be in the same league as Mr. Hunter....but this is from the man himself. He is never self-promoting, and is quick to praise other hunters, a modesty that is very becoming.
I found the description of that world and it's realities irresistable: you can read all you like about the socioeconomic evolution of the Dark Continent, but this recounting has the immediacy of eyewitness truth, and from a man who made Africa his home the hard way. It is writing like this that brings history to life, and it has become too rare, in my humble opinion.
It's exciting reading, and well worth the price. Don't forget to check out his other book, Hunter, which has excellent stories and makes a good Part One to this book, which could be read as Part Two.
--->For those of you who have read Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen's books, Out of Africa and Shadows in the Grass, you will recognize some of the people mentioned. The time framework is similar (Mr. Hunter was in Africa before the Baroness, and remained long after she'd gone) --so in all a good read to 'round out a mental picture of the region at the turn of the century.

If there are any men who wouldn't enjoy this superb book, I wouldn't want to know them. The early days of East Africa as told in many instances by the men who lived them and in others, by the men who knew the men.

The story of the man who ran the crew that laid the first railroad across Africa(the "lunatic line"). The opening of Kenya. The British East African Police.The early missionaries, pioneers, white hunters. Story after story of well-written excitement will keep you reading, and bring you back for repeat readings for years to come.

Buy this book for yourself,and another for a friend. And if your friend doesn't like it...well, is he really the right kind of guy?

I have never read a book quite like this before. It is completely devoid of political correctness so often associated with revisionist history. The narrative is sharp and cuts like a knife. This book was copyright in 1954 which affords it two advantages: 1) it pre-dates political correctness and 2) The stories are told as first hand accounts told by the old timers when they were still alive. I can't begin to tell you how exciting it is to read African history when it's told by those who were actually there when the history was the present and not the past. Whew! What a ride!

Great Book! Highly recommended. I read it in once sitting. Great pics as well. Would I do it... no way!!! I agree with the author... he definitely has determination (and guts)!!!

Very interesting description of his adventures through the heart of Africa. It encourages me to strike out for the wilds.

I read this book in-flight on my way to Africa. It kept me entertained for much of the trip. The text is well written, informative with a touch of humour (as is evident from the title). There are many photos which bring life to the adventure. I highly recommend it.

Traveling by car through Europe to Africa is something that would be difficult to do today, but it is interesting to read what the author experienced and how the people lived. It encourages me to travel in challenging places.

I have always been interested in Africa, and I found the day-to-day journal account of the journey to be really interesting. I would recommend it highly.

Captain Macwhirr has a lack of imagination that both imperils the crew and may provide their salvation. He sails his ship the Nan-Shan directly into a typhoon because he is unable to envision weather worse than he has seen in the past. Macwhirr must find a way to hold his ship and crew together to weather the storm.

This book is so compelling because of the actions of the colorful and intelligent characters who swirl around Macwhirr. While critical of the captain when becalmed, they hold firmly to his unchanging, stolid figure when things look hopeless. In an uncertain situation, people will follow certainty -- even if its source is dubious. I think this nugget of truth and the reflections of it we see in real-life lend this novel its power. Macwhirr is certainty itself, more from mindlessness than steadfastness, and others follow.

Beyond the fascinating story and character-study is Conrad's stunning writing. He says so much with so little without the hard edges of Hemingway's prose. Conrad uses adjectives, but with a diamond cutter's precision.

Joseph Conrad was a master of language. In a brief but classic book, you will experience the incredible power of a typhoon while on a steamer as if you were there. Especially real is the scene in the chart room after the initial damage. It is very dark, and Captain MacWhirr lights matches to see his surroundings. Conrad's concise descriptions make you feel even the flame of the match as it burns down. If only this book were longer! I would have loved to know more about Captain MacWhirr's adventures. I HIGHLY recommend this book, as well as Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."

Taking maximum advantage from his long years at sea, and from his innate insight into the human soul, Conrad tells an outright and direct story about a huge typhoon in the midst of the Yellow Sea. But the book is not so much about the storm in itself, but about the human character and how it reacts to disaster.

Captain MacWhirr is famous for being an efficient, calm, dull and silent man, someone you would trust but not like. He seems to be rather unbrilliant, though, never understanding why people talk so much. The other characters are also interesting, especially Jukes, the "young Turk", vivid and dynamic; Solomon the head engineer, another wise man from the sea, and the disgusting and repugnant "second officer", the type of coward you don't want to be with in this kind of drama.

Human character, then, is revealed by limit-situations much more than at any other time, as war literature fans know, and this tale will leave you wondering how YOU would react if you had to make decisions in the midst of a horrible, and wonderfully depicted, typhoon.

This novel is unforgettable. Conrad creates a sense of terror regarding the forces of nature that will stand up to any special effects that Hollywood can produce. The scene describing the panic below deck of the Chinese workers is one of the most powerful in literature. Not to be missed.

Great narration on the audio book captures the British and Scottish dialects, but it's so smooth that it's easy to be lulled into dreamland. I had to go back to the excerpts on Amazon and replay parts of the tape to catch the true impact of Conrad's words.

Captain Mac Whirr, a short, fat, dull but dependable seaman, commands the Nan-Shan for a Siamese merchant firm. He writes twelve letter a year to his uncaring wife and has two children who barely know him. During typhoon season in the China Sea Jukes the first mate tells the Captain to change course to avoid the looming storm, but Mac Whirr will think of nothing but forging straight ahead. The Captain and Jukes as well as Solomon Rout the chief engineer (Long Sol, Old Sol or father Rout to his shipmates and Solomon Sez to his wife who quotes pearls of wisdom from his letters to anyone who'll listen) and the Bosun are at the center of the crisis that follows.

During a storm like no other the actions of everyman are almost predetermined by their biases, intrenched beliefs and in some cases ability to react. In six short chapters Conrad develops a great story of how different men behave in a fight for survival.

The tale of the last leg is told in pieces from letters home. The Captain's letter is barely read by his wife who has no idea what happened. Solomon's is sentimental and cherished by his beloved. Jukes reveals the most. Unsurprisingly we find that Captain Mac Whirr wasn't so dumb after all.

It would probably be better read than listened to and deserves at least four stars for the classic it is.

I loved this book. It opens our eyes to the world at large and the needs in it. The pictures were beautiful and very informative.

You would be hard pressed to find somebody who has ever heard David speak and still is not doing anything to support his efforts or the efforts of others involved in the fight for Sudan. Those of us who are lucky enough to know him and hear him on a regular basis know of his passion and heart, but those who are not lucky enough to have seen him, buy this book and gain understanding about the situation in Sudan.

Please know that the cheaper you buy this book, however, the less money actually goes back to helping the people of Sudan. Do your research to find out how you can do more to support Silent Images or other causes dedicated to Sudan.

I found this book in the photography section of our local bookstore. It was hard to sit and look at the photos, read the stories and not cry. I really enjoyed how he ended the book with the children having fun. What an eye opener to what's going on in Sudan. Thank you!

Really enjoyed this book, it's photographs and stories, but most of all knowing that 100% of the proceeds go to the charity!

I went to college with David and this book shows all the passion for life and warmth he shared with all of us. It is hard to find a book that can move my students as much as it moved me, but this one did. His pictures tell a story and it is one worth telling.

Precisely detailed and imminently readable; the authors do an excellent job of injecting personal and fascinating stories into what might otherwise be a droll recitation of tactics in the desert. A fine read.

Well, maybe not THE BEST but a damn fine read. I've been reading about the Desert War since 1962 when i bought Donald Crisp's classic "Brazen Chariots" so if i like this book its worth reading. Even the maps are OK, better certainly than most "real" histories. The chosen anecdotes and award citations all move the action in a comphrensible account. They even have the possible origin of the Monty Python Classic: "I'm not dead yet!"
--"Turner had been touring his perimeter, helping a short-handed gun crew or tending the wounded when he could, exhorting when he could not. Bird sometimes wished he could find a happier choice of words. 'Come on, you're not dead yet,' he growled at the shaken occupants of a slit-trench who had been almost buried alive by a near-miss." pp. 304-305.
And the title seems to come from Rommel's prospective but never written book on the war: War without Hate.
pete saussy

War Without Hate tells the tale of the war in North Africa from the opening days in 1940 between the British and Italian soldiers, till it's conclusion in Tunis. In this book, the authors look at the soldiers from all levels (particularly the generals, but good attention is paid to the officers and other ranks) and describes what they did for their side. Most of the attention is paid to German and British soldiers who fought (the Italians are talked about lightly, while French and American soldiers get only a passing nod), their heroic actions, and the sense of camaraderie between the two of them. About half of the book deals with the pre-Alamein battles (from the Italian push past the wire, thru the first battle for Alamein) while the other half deal with Monty taking over thru the 8th Army's march to Tunis. This book does bring out many different interesting facts, including the cracking of the Americans Black Code (this was the American Diplomatic code) and it's contribution to the Germans, the LRDG (also known as the Libyan Desert Taxi Service), and the story of the English Patient. The photographs are excellent and there are a number of good area maps of the strategic battlefields.

Having written all of this I'll say that this book is a solid 4.5 stars on the Amazon scale of 1-5. However, since I can't rate in half stars on Amazon, I'm giving the book the nod to 5 stars because the authors did a very good job of presenting the material and that made reading the book a pleasure. I will say though that I did prefer the first half of the book to the back half, partially because I feel that An Army at Dawn did a much better job of wrapping up the end in Tunis.

Interesting and well written book with a fair description of men and events of those days

Ive always been interested in the Africa War of World War II and this was a great book on ihe German Side and the British side of the war, from Rommels and Monty's HQs all the way down to the squad level where the the action is. It starts out with the British just beating the heck out of the Italians, and then Rommel coming and being the greatest Genearl ever. But it shows how Monty made great decisions to lead to the British victory and the German evacutation. If you like World War II books, this is one for u.

I loved this book; and I cannot tell why. For me it was one of those disturbing reads that I could not put down. The imagery is pointed; the themes uniquely universal. I say uniquely because this story grows out of its setting, but is imaginable in Durban, Gaza, Burma, or Sarajevo (of the last century).

WAYS OF DYING is one of the most fascinating novels that I have read in years. The book is set in South Africa during a period that seems to span the end of the apartheid regime and focuses exclusively on the lives (and deaths) of poor South African Blacks in rural villages and urban shanty towns near what I suspect is Durban. Fans of Marquez will feel very much at home here in a world of "magical realism", yet while Mda may have been influenced by novels like 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE he has a voice that is uniquely his own, and one that I sense is profoundly rooted in Africa. Mda's "hero" is a self-declared Professional Mourner, who ekes out an existence at the edge of society. Some aspects of his life are almost grotesque in form, and the deaths that surround him are often truly horrifying, yet somehow I found this a profoundly optimistic and human book. In spite of the worst that the world can throw at him the Professional Mourner is able to transcend mere existence & by the end I was shamelessly rooting for him. I should add that I used this book in a course on the Turn of the Century, and one of my toughest-case students, whom I had failed to excite with anything else, came into my office today saying "I just LOVE Mda" You will too,

This book is simply great, it was a lot more than i had expected...i recomend it very much to anyone who is looking for an intersting piece that explores what the end of of one of the darkest times in south africa

Recently i had the pleasure of reading material from one of South Africa's most celebrated black authors, Zakes Mda. An Oxford University Press published book titled "Ways of Dying", this is a South African fiction selection. Being a fiction, it is wtitten in a very creative manner that i could hardly associate with any of the books i had read before.

This is a story of love written with expectation of one's imagination to take over. The wording, grouping, style and context of this book make it so. It is mainly based on two characters and the way they live their lives. Toloki is a man consumed with the profession of mourning the dead whilst his love Noria has lost immensely through life, still has the ability to show Toloki how to live.

There are various different characters in this novel, which make it as interesting. Even with their differences, they jell well together making the story line easily readable and understandably creative enough to follow. The vast lines go from Toloki who grew up as the ugliest boy in the village and people taking no note of him to the same character turning into a man who is widely respected for his chosen profession in the city outskirts where it was the only place he found recognition. In the village where he grew up Toloki had a friend who had the identity he wanted. Her name was Noria. Toloki hated and loved her with the same heart. Noria was everyone's favorite in the villafe; she had her mother's beauty and brought all the boys and towns' man attention and had the most amazing laugh that made all the village people happy whenever they heard it. When she was sad, everyone was too.

The writing style used in this book is that which is very easy to follow. There are no bombastic (big) words used nor are there times where you could lose the story. Every word flows into a paragraph that combines to others that make this a brilliantly written story.

One of the other things that make this an interesting read is the humor infused.

This is a brilliant written book that everyone with a sense of adventure and imagination will enjoy.

I am an avid reader of African literature, both fiction and non-fiction (especially memoirs). I am always searching for contemporary non-white writers (the white writers are good, but it is not unreasonable to want other perspectives), so I was happy to learn about Zakes Mda from a recent New York Times book review column, and I ordered his two books immediately.

'Ways of Dying' is not about post-apartheid South Africa, though the blurb suggests that. I estimate it to be set in the late 1980s, shortly before the end of the old regime was drawing near.

It's a short book, but it's well written, and paints a vivid picture of life in South Africa. And yes, the 'black perspective' is different, and very interesting, and most welcome.