Africa Books

I encounter this book in a local library by chance. It is a highly enlightening read. The author merticulously depicts and explicates the cause and subsequent outcome of Spain's phatasmagoric expedition to the North Africa and blood common soldiers had to shed for this political fiasco. Also, how it shaped the mentality of Africanos whose military contribution was crucial for Franco. In addition to that , the author deals with Spanish foreign legion and its disturbing psyche that shaped through years of battle and hardship.

we can roughly paradigmatize the way a small amount of elite troops ,who shares disctictive culture and mores through years of hard fought battle,could topple the goverment and turn the tide of revolution. It happened in Germany by Freikorps and as did in Spain approximately 20 years later.
Was Franco capable to win the war without Africanos? Very doubtful.

Balfour's book advances a strange thesis which he makes compellingly believable by the middle of the text, and from that point afterward, you believe it the way you believe the earth is round. If I oversimplify his argument, it is to state that the Spanish Army of Franco was a rag-tag scatterbrained bunch who might well have lost to the Popular Front during the War of the later 1930s had not they had the chance to hone their martial skills during a horrifying campaign earlier in the century, directly after the First World War, in Northern Africa. As Bob Hope and Bing Crosby sang, "Just like Webster's Dictionary, we're Morocco-bound," and so might have sung the colonial army of 1919-20, when they invaded Morocco with every trick in the book, including mustard gas, itself a pretty new invention.

Africa was a-swarm with colonialization, and much of the continent had already been divided up by competing French and British interests, with a smattering of Dutch privatization and heaping helpings of German outposts. The Spanish may have felt themselves embarrassingly absent from Africa, and the Moroccoan incursion might have been a matter of national pride. However they came bump up against the cunning guerrilla fighters of the Rif, a loose organization of native tribes that, frustratingly for our hermanos, seemed to vanish into air as soon as you attached them, like smoke, only to re-amass under stronger conditions from a higher hill in the sand, the minute you had counted them out for the kill.

I haven't seen much press attention for this intriguing OUP title, which has by the way some very high quality maps that help us to visualize the scene of the crime with the precision of Patricia Cornwell. Maybe some critics have ignored DEADLY EMBRACE due to its pulp title, which might have been by Cornell Woolrich or James Hadley Chase rather than a serious work of history. Specialization is so prevalent in today's history that I expect Balfour has been ignored largely because his focus is on Africa, and confounding the specialists in the Spanish Civil War who have just about myopically concentrated their gaze on Europe, with perhaps a glance at related developments in the USA and Canada.

There are few books I've read recently that gave me the level of enjoyment of this novel.Gaude possesses a deep-seated gift for storytelling, as visceral as the myths that must have enraptured our ancestors around crowded fires.Buy this book and for the next few hours,be transported to a world made physical by the author's astonishing command of imagination.

In his youth King Tsongor inherited a small kingdom from his father. Through war and courage he built a vast empire. But now Tsongor is an old man. He is about to marry his only daughter to the prince of a neighboring land. The prince, at the head of a vast army, has arrived at the city gates loaded down with presents. At this moment of supreme happiness for Tsongor and his kingdom, another suitor shows up leading a second army. He is the childhood love of the princess who has been away building his fortune and power. He has rushed back to claim her based on her long-ago promise to be his bride.

Two men, each with an army outside his gates, have been promised his daughter. Tsongor is tired of war. He stays up the whole night to decide what to do.

What does Samilia, his daughter, do now that she has two men to decide between? What of these men who cannot lose face before their armies? And lastly, whose side does Samilia's father and brothers take?

This is the story of Tsongor's decision and the events that follow from it. It is an epic tale filled with tragedy, told in a sparse yet hypnotic style.

The translation from the French is excellent. This is Gaude's first work to be translated into English. I hope we will see more.

In a speech before the Organization of American Historians, scholar Jacquelyn Dowd Hall offered a window onto "the long civil rights movement" -- a struggle for human rights, economic and social citizenship, and human dignity that began long before Brown v. Board of Education and continued long after the assassination of Martin Luther King.

In her pathbreaking book, Defying Dixie, professor Glenda Gilmore gives texture and character to the long civil rights movement, using indigenous southern activists, black and white, to give her story shape. These activists, from the fearless and foolhardy Lovett Fort-Whiteman to the brilliant and indomitable Pauli Murray, all faced the demon of American white supremacy and did their best to slay it. They did not always prevail with strategies they dreamed up and pursued, but their vision and dedication bequeathed us a social movement, more expansive than the classic civil rights movement, that still informs drives for justice and equity.

Gilmore's book moves beyond the tired debates of Cold War historiography and the simple hagiography of civil rights heroes to give us a dynamic movement filled with complex characters. In giving these people their due, and rooting them in American soil, Defying Dixie helps us to understand the promise and possibilities of American politics, and to contend with the present in which we live.

Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore's DEFYING DIXIE: The Radical Roots of Civil Rights, 1919 - 1950 is the history of the civil rights movement from that time until the early 1950s. It gives inside history, interviews and information on how the Civil Rights movement that we are aware of today, came about. In the beginning, the Communist party was deeply involved. Their plan was to get the workers of America - black and white - to fight for better salaries from the companies they worked for. The only way to accomplish that was to get the two groups to work together. Naturally, the South, with its legacy of slavery, wasn't too happy with the mixing of the races. The companies, to keep their profits high, wanted to continue to pay blacks less than they paid whites and the only way to do that was to keep them separate. Many residents of the South didn't want blacks involved in the job market because they felt it would reduce their ability to have those jobs. There were, however, many people, of both races, who were determined that segregation/Jim Crow, would end. They were brave enough to defy the system and as a result, they frequently ended up in jail or worse.

During the Second World War, as Stalin took power, the involvement of the Communist party began to lose its appeal. The House Un-American Activities became concerned and the FBI spied on Communist and suspects. Any contact with a Communist could cause problems. It didn't stop those who were determined to force America to honor what it claimed it went to war for, from pushing their agenda for social and economic equality for all, even though many of them suffered for it.

Gilmore has written a heart rending account that covers history that is either missing or glossed over in our history books. So often we don't know the brutal history that brought us where we are today and Gilmore lets us know in no uncertain terms. Some of the unfair situations that blacks face will break your heart. It is a book every American should read in order to understand where we have come from and where we are going. It should be required reading for both high school and college students.

Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

A mellifluous rendering of lives stunted by isolation and despair is rare. Yet Anne Landsman deftly accomplishes this in her transfixing debut novel The Devil's Chimney. Set in turn of the century South Africa, Ms. Landsman's narrative shimmers with scenes of windswept agrarian beauty and sizzles with the erotic as she describes passion run amok during the days of apartheid when Coloureds and women were disposable.

Poignantly related by Connie, an older woman who has sought release in alcohol, this is the tale of two women from dissimilar backgrounds. Their commonality, as Ms. Landsman skillfully reveals, is found in the loss of an only child.

With her feckless and abusive husband, Jack, Connie now oversees a dog kennel not far from Canga Caves, the area's major tourist attraction and home of Devil's Chimney, an aperture so narrow that you have to crawl through it on your stomach. Pregnant and afraid of being sent to Magdalena Tehuis, where they give your baby away and "make the girls wear maids' dresses and scrub the floors," Connie married Jack when she was 18. Two months later their child was stillborn, then buried in the yard beneath a lemon tree.

As Connie reflects upon her life, she interweaves the story of Miss Beatrice and Mr. Henry, a well-to-do English couple who came to Oudtshoorn in 1910 to run an ostrich ranch. Although "An ostrich can split you in half with the nail on his big toe," at that time their exquisite feathers - prime whites, tipped whites, spadonas, blacks - brought a high price.

During Mr. Henry's mysterious disappearance into the mountains, Miss Beatrice determines to find out all she can about ostrich farms from Mr. Jacobs, the Jewish owner of a neighboring ranch who is successful enough to be known as the Ostrich King. Society's cruel divisions are underscored as she thinks of meeting him: "Was there garlic in his pockets and a black beard covering his whole face?.......Your neighbors aren't Jews. The Boers are bad enough, and so are the Poor Whites but the Jews."

As Miss Beatrice learns about the care and raising of the valuable birds, we, too, are privy to a lost skill practiced in a culture rife with superstition and medicinal potions. Herding the graceful birds into pens or kraals to be brutally plucked mirrors the narrowly circumscribed lives of Connie and Miss Beatrice, both bound to the veld by time and circumstance.

Eventually, Miss Beatrice and Mr. Jacobs become lovers, lying together in a cave's ebony darkness. She also has a physical relationship with September, her native servant. Thus, when Miss Beatrice discovers she is pregnant she is unsure of the baby's father, and is left to bear the child alone with only Nomsa, September's wife, to assist her.

As Connie recreates the final tragedy in Miss Beatrice's life she does, to a degree, come to terms with the adversity she has endured.

With scenes as clearly drawn as a stereoscope's slide, Ms. Landsman carries readers to the story's tragic culmination. It is perhaps the only finale for lives lost in unchecked physical desire and emotional deprivation.

A native of South Africa, Ms. Landsman writes of her homeland with fluid grace; she describes human foibles with perceptive compassion. The Devil's Chimney is a meritorious debut.

- Gail Cooke

Another impulse buy (despite the convenience of Amazon, the ability to browse the occassional page will forever more keep me loyal to old-fashioned bookshops). South Africa is the scene, and the story of two women gently unfolds, narrated by a middle-aged member of the boer white trash community. She tells the story of a local myth, of a certain english woman who once ran an ostrich farm, way back when whites were whites and blacks were trash, when ostrich feathers were in fashion, when africa was still the dark continent. Its a moving story about the schizoprenia of society, where racial lines were as strong as sexual ones, where women and men had clearly identifiable roles. Our turn-of-the century rule-breaker is a little like the female lead from'the god of small things'. Very much so. Our narrators story also evolves, and the mythical woman takes on a fantastic journey as the personalities of the narrator and narrated get all jumbled up into one raging ball of unspent emotion, frustration, alcoholic stupor, forsaken love, misplaced feelings and confused identities. I'd say this is a good book, although its similarities in many ways to Arundhati Roy's work prevents it from being a great book. There are some disadvantages of being a second, even though its a damn good read, and probably written in parrallel to Roy's.

I wonder why the english speaking world have suddenly fallen head over heels with books about the indian subcontinent - witness the irrational admiration for soap opera's extraordinaire such as 'a suitable boy' and 'a fine balance'. I think africa or latin america, (for that matter) could do with a little more attention, and are equally fascinating.

With over 300 pages, countless well-reproduced color illustrations mostly from historic prints (printed in Italy- no surprise)and oversized pages around 10 x 14 inches, this book is one of my favorite "coffee table" books. But it is more than that. It is engagingly written and filled with information on the discovery of the Nile and more. I especially like all the historic maps reprinted in it. There is so much more, too, including David Roberts' prints in very accurate color. If you are at all interested in this subject, you will love this book!

The plates in this LARGE volume are absolutely stunning! If you are at all interested in the history of Africa, it will be well worth your while to get this book before all of the cheaper copies are bought up.

I thought Elizabeth Hull's research was timely, thorough and informing.
For anyone interested in the effects of Felon Disenfranchisement on mondern day politics, this is a must-read.

HULL DOES IT AGAIN *****

Elizabeth Hull's books have always displayed her natural literary gifts and passion for her subjects (whose life wasn't changed by "Taking Liberties"), but her latest is a work of such scholarly brilliance that I strongly beleive every student interested in politics, government, or even journalism should be required to read it. With the startling statistics Hull uncovers about how many ordinary Americans have lost their constitutional right to vote it is amazing that this hugely relevant issue is given no attention in Congress! "The Disenfrachisement of Ex-Felons" is at times hilarious: (i.e. the Representative from Florida's feeble attempt to ratioanlize hypocritical state laws which ban voting rights for life for petty theft, but not for a single white-collar crime!) The book is at times frightening: ( millions of people, who pay taxes and obey the law, are left without the ability to participate in their governemnt because of minor infractions during their youth.) All in all, the text inspires such a catastrophic force of supreme emotion that readers will feel like they've experinced a mega-rollercoster ride in and out of the depths of modern political debate by the time it comes to its climactic, but magnificent, end. My opinion, the ride is well worth it. *****

As a published and award winning author, I take my hat off to this wonderful woman who has taken such a great film and adapted it so well for children.
However, there is a problem with this singular novelization.
Its short length does present a problem.
The Lion King is an epic film, and needs to be novelized in an epic novel, not some childrens storybook.
What I mean by novelized, is that the story is written down, expanded, and shown in the light that it was originally meant to be. A short childrens "novel" wont cut it unfortunately.
What needs to be done, is a full-length novel needs to be written, along the lines of say the length of Carrie or something of that nature. This would allow the author to expand the universe of the Lion King, explore subplots and motives, really flesh out the characters and have some fun with creating the history of some of our most cherished characters as well as new scenes, locales, and events, making it appeal not only to children, but to the adult and senior audiences as well.
Luckily, this is already in progress. I happen to be working on a manuscript for this novel, and it will be finished sometime in 2006-07. Hopefully, it will restore what the Lion King has lost ( or could not put into a childrens movie or book due to violence, and motivation) and reclaim this epic for a new literary age.

This book is great. When the Lion King came out, I loved it, so I got this book for Christmas. I had my mom read it over and over and when she couldn't, I'd read it myself! This is a terrific book so if you loved the movie, don't miss out on this beautiful adaptation

This book is really the story of a life in Africa - a foreigner's life, and the lives of those he meets and learns from. I couldn't put it down.

A collection of short stories should be like a good record album (okay, a CD; maybe I'm old). The individual stories (or songs) should be successful in their own right, and when you've experienced the whole thing you should feel that every one of them belonged and that the whole is, in itself, also a successful creation. Peter Chilson's first short fiction collection achieves this hoped-for quality and cohesiveness.

The stories themselves are compelling. Set in either West Africa or the northwestern U.S. (as the author's life has been for years), they traffic in culture clash and hard realities, and the prevailing mood is tense and often grim. ("American Food" provides a nicely modulated counterpoint as it serves up some nearly absurdist humor along with the familiar cultural tension.) Chilson's clear, unadorned narrative voice ties the collection together well, bringing to mind George Orwell's aesthetic preference for language that allows the reader to focus on the story rather than the way it is told. And these stories, tough and humane and probing in their exploration of human relationships across a cultural divide, do reward the reader's attention.

This book is a worthy complement to Coetzee's Disgrace. Breytenbach is a writer and poet with a fine delicate sensibility. Not an easy read, the book is nonetheless fascinating, beautiful and horrifying in turn. He meditates on his childhood in the Boland area of the Cape, and the history of his Afrikaans speaking family in the area. He describes the brutality that happened in SA in the past and that happens in present day SA frankly and bluntly. He tells it how it is and and sometimes as I read it my blood just ran cold. He also describes the beauty of the country, the land and its animals, plants and trees, the night sky, the clouds etc. The subject matter is very interesting and the quality of his writing is superb. I have never read anything by this writer before and I was surprised by the brilliance of it. I found it very moving and profound. It is a stunning book.

This book is a worthy complement to Coetzee's Disgrace. Breytenbach is a writer and poet with a fine delicate sensibility. Not an easy read, the book is nonetheless fascinating, beautiful and horrifying in turn. He meditates on his childhood in the Boland area of the Cape, and the history of his Afrikaans speaking family in the area. He describes the brutality that happened in SA in the past and that happens in present day SA frankly and bluntly. He tells it how it is and and sometimes as I read it my blood just ran cold. He also describes the beauty of the country, the land and its animals, plants and trees, the night sky, the clouds etc. The subject matter is very interesting and the quality of his writing is superb. I have never read anything by this writer before and I was surprised by the brilliance of it. I found it very moving and profound. It is a stunning book.

i possess already a important collection of africa books and i can say this is a collector's item very good Patrick dauwe Belgium

I ordered this blind, generally liking Don McC's work. I ordered a dozen used photo books and this was the one I was most indifferent to BEFORE it arrived. As a lover of fine art landscape, still life, street/reportage I doubted that this work would really hold me. WOW!!!! The book is beautifully made and the image reproduction absolutely spot on (better than the vast majority of quality photo books I own). The shots are first rate from cover to cover and the mood conveyed throughout truly captivating and constant. The cohesion is amazing, yet the images for me did not become repetitive. For those with experience of Africa or the desire to go and get beyond the tourist trail, this book will resonate strongly. I got mine for $29 used mint. That has to be a steal for a book that leaves a permanent mark. The image on the front cover in no way conveys the far better quality of the content. This sort of stuff has been done time an time again and i thought that it would be typical of the work done by a 'retired' reportage guy, ie lacking in purpose and true insight. I am blown away.....