Africa Books

In Left to Tell Imaculee Ilibagiza, a Rwandan holocaust survivor, recounts her story and attributes her survival to her strong faith in God. Most western Christian readers of this story are swept away in the miraculous aspects of Imaculee's nearly 100 days of survival, most of which were in a tiny bathroom in a Protestant pastor's house. What is overlooked is her very African emphasis on sacred objects for protection and an image of God which is more shaman than one who loves all humanity and grieves when we humans depart from his commandment to "Love on another." The imagine of her father with his rosary in one hand and his spear in the other is particularly striking. Thus, almost all Hutus in this story are depicted as untrustworthy or completely evil. Imaculee even portrays the pastor who at great risk to himself and his family saved her as jealous of her father and heartless when he cannot keep her brothers. Similarly, as she focuses on her survival as a proof of the power of faith, she fails to ask why so many many others who were likely just as faithful were killed. Imaculee does state that this is only her story and not an attempt to explain the causes of the Rwandan genocide, but certainly as a young university student she must have known more about the sources of the seething tensions between the Hutus and Tutsis. Imaculee gives her explanation of why she was left to tell the story of the 1994 genocide, but neglects to ask why 800,000 others, many of whom were Hutu, were not.

It is unbelievable that people could kill so many people in such a gruesome fashion. It is even more unbelievable that Immaculee could forgive those killers. This book is about more than just the genocide, it is about the power and absolute necessity of forgiveness. Ultimately, the only one Immaculee could really escape the genocide was through forgiveness. Wonderful book.

Amazing story. I strongly suggest everyone to read the story, it's profound and a real eye opener. As an American, the majority of us have no idea what it's like to be put into poverty and suffering as she and millions like her have experienced.

I love stories that tell how God works in the lives of His people. This story is among the best I've ever read.

Left to Tell is a powerful story of one womens tragedies and survival experienced during the Genocide in Rwanda. This book brought tears and joy to my heart; it inspired me to know that through any horrible and life threatening experience a belief and faith in God will transcend all atrocities man will commit. It is also about how forgiveness can calm and soothe the soul so life can move on with peace in your heart.

Some books are like the best of cats, they end up in your lap whenever you have a spare moment; they seek your company even as you desire theirs. Stealing Karma will be that book that one gives to a dozen friends - and they will all be grateful for it. Amazing.

Aneesha Capur's novel, Stealing Karma, is a story brimming with characters and situations that feel fresh, unexplored, and compelling. The dynamics here may mirror others in contemporary fiction concerned with domestic complexities, however, Stealing Karma spins them on their head and uses the cultural milieu to show us human interaction as we have never seen it before. I want to be here, in this world, and get to know its characters and how they will ultimately resolve the issues they face. The writing is clear, lyrical, steeped in place and feeling, and makes you thirst for more. Capur offers a delightful antidote to the kinds of fiction we have seen so much of in the past few years. This is a book that many readers of all backgrounds will be sure to find satisfying.

A pity that one can only read a few pages of what promises to be a most interesting story! Capur catches the reader's imagination and holds it with tantalizing imagery and dialogue, moving the plot forward, leaving one wanting for more. What happens to Mira? How does she cope? I look forward to reading the novel in its entirety.

In a world where so many of us have been driven by a sense of adventure or desperation or opportunity to seek our fortunes abroad, Stealing Karma weaves the story of the expatriate into the life of Mira who loses nearly all connection to India after she leaves for Africa. Mira is suddenly widowed and the precariousness of her adopted world, her erstwhile world of choice, is stark. In her excerpt, Aneesha Capur skillfully sets the plot for the reader: karma will transform the comfortable, even opulent, lives of Mira and her young child. But Mira now belongs to neither the world she left nor the world that has left her.......

After reading the manuscript review by Publishers Weekly provided in the Editorial Reviews concerning the novel `Stealing Karma' by Aneesha Capur I couldn't wait to read the nine pages submitted to Amazon's ABNA contest. Here is a book containing a plethora of subject matter near and dear to my heart; prophetic dreams, Hindu deities, astrological omens, African tribal beliefs and Jungian psychology and reincarnation. It was almost too much to ask for.

With such high hopes in place I must admit that I was extremely disappointed after reading the excerpt. Not because the writing is bad or the story uninteresting. To the contrary, both writing and storyline are excellent. The disappointment experienced was due to the discovery that none of those tantalizing spiritual/occult matters already mentioned were included within the available nine pages.

Moving beyond my initial dismay, I did enjoy this excerpt and look forward to reading the novel at some later date. The characters are well developed and I found Mira an intriguing, beautiful and incredibly sympathetic figure. To create such an alluring and complex character in a short nine pages is a credit to the author and makes the reader hungry for more pages to explore.

The book, In the Company of Heroes by Michael J. Durant, describes the life of a prisoner of war in Somalia. The fact that the officer actually was the prisoner, makes the book an autobiography. Durant wrote this book in hopes of bringing his life and death situations as a prisoner of war, to the real world. He wanted to explain how difficult life truly was and the experiences he went through on a day-to-day basis. He wanted everyone to see eye-to-eye on ideas such as war. By writing this book, those hopes can be expressed. This shows that there are many hardships but you have to persevere no matter how painful it may be.
Michael J. Durant was born on July 23, 1961 in Berlin, New Hampshire. He then went on to enter the U.S army in August 1979. Michael was Chief Warrant Officer 3 in the United States Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. In the war, he was captured and held prisoner on October 3, 1993. He was very high up on the list of positions in the army. The importance of his job also came with many responsibilities. For example, he had to learn and teach how to fly helicopters. Up until the war in Somalia, he led a pretty normal life. He has a wife named Lisa, and a son named Joey. Devastated to leave his family, he got prepared to fight for his country, which is something he was meant to do. His adventurous character has led him to do great things.
Michael J. Durant did a fantastic job writing this book. He tells the story with great detail. This true story implants extreme images in your head. Coming from a first hand source, the story is even more meaningful. It makes you feel like you were actually there.
Many positives were found throughout the story. One example would be how it shows Durant's life before and after he encounters his captivity. It was interesting to learn about the daily struggles he had to go through in order to survive and how different his survival instincts were before the war. The book is very suspenseful and keeps its interest throughout every chapter. The only negative would be that the book is long and at certain points, difficult to read for younger people.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves suspense, intensity, and life or death situations.

I recently purchased this book, and I wish there were words enough to relay just how great it is. In the Company of Heros illistrates brilliantly the account of Night Stalker pilot Mike Durant, and his experience in somolian captivity. Mr. Durant may be a pilot by trade, however his story and how he tells it are amazing. This book is a great buy for anyone, but it is a MUST READ for any Army aviation pilots or aircrewmen.

A riveting true story, well written. If you didn't already respect the skill and bravery of the US armed forces, you will after reading this book.

Excellent,excellent book. I'd recommend reading Black Hawk Down first for an overview of the battle, but even if you don't, either way, this is a great book. Mr Durant just tries to tell it like it is, how it happened, and tell the stories of his fallen comrades, who are the "heroes" from the title.

I was in the 101st, in fact I was at Campbell when Durant was flying non SOG missions, and I went to Panama, so his career flashbacks were cool to read as I could relate. But even for someone who may not have been there, the flashbacks provide a backdrop for who he is, who the Night Stalkers were, and the mentality of these SOG operators.

Fantastic read, highly recommend.

Durant's story takes us from Black Hawk Down and gives us a persalized look into his ordeal in Somalia. But he also gives an itimate look into the lives and beliefs of his captors. This is must read book for anyone interested in the survival of the human spirit.

A terrific book, especially for those going to Africa. A must for hunters especially those who will hunt in Africa. It was the book my Professional Hunter had me read the first time I visited southern africa. It was not only great reading but very sobering and helped me gain the proper respect for these magnificent and dangerous animals. Also a great book for those who may not go to africa but want to experience it, get closer to the dark continent and closer to the adventure and danger that lies there. Hightly recommendedThe Man-Eaters of Tsavo and Other East African Adventures (Webster's Spanish Thesaurus Edition)

i thoroughly enjoyed the chapter on lions and snakes , while elephant and leopard were a bit extravagant and lofty . At times it Appeared capstick was trigger happy and I couldn't help feeling for the animals . Sounded very exaggerated at times . But why kill antelopes and elephants when they are so harmless and non interfering .
the written script was a bit jargonic and slang difficult to comprehend at times , I would prefer Kenneth Anderson books any time .
All in all the death in the long grass was full of mixed feelings.

Hemingway, Ruark, and Sanchez are all pale imitators of the great Peter Hathaway Capstick. Try to imagine an American walking away from a Wall Street career to hunt as a professional guide in Africa. Now imagine that this guy could write WAY BETTER than Hemingway, and you're still not there.
A small snipet from the chapter on leopard.
"...the bark of the tree, when, suddenly, your gazing into two yellow-green eyes as evil as poison gas."
I'm not a hunter myself, but reading this book makes me wish I was.

"Death in the Long Grass" is my favorite of all Capstick's stories. Note, I didn't say "the most accurate or honest", but simply my favorite. He makes fearful episodes with wild beasts believable but, I suspect that Capstick put many second-hand stories into the first person.

I spoke to one long-time professional hunter in Zambia, old Rhodesia and Zimbabwe, "What do you know about Capstick?" At the time I was an avid reader and believed every word like scripture. He told me, "All I've heard of him is that he was a cook in a hunting camp in Zambia." Then again, my professional hunter friend may have had insufficient information. Another time, in one of his book, Capstick seems to quote me, personally. I will paraphrase, "I met a young African hunter who gave me his philosophy on hunting, 'It's better to spend small amounts of money and go on many safaris than to spend a great deal of money and go on only a few'." This is, in fact, an accurate quote...but...I never met Capstick. But this was and is my personal philosophy and, because of it, I have hunted all over the world and taken everything from doves to elephant.

Another friend, who reportedly knew Capstick in his later years, told me that Capstick said words to the effect, "Everybody believes that I am a liar." My friend responded, "It doesn't matter what people think. You are a great writer and you've done more for big-game hunting than any man alive." I quite agree with this, by the way.

In one of his books, Capstick tells the exciting story of hunting down a maneating leopard. It's truly a gripping tale. Late in his life, Capstick--for a fee--offered his company on African safaris. I read the account my one of the men who hired Capstick. Once again, I'll paraphrase, "It's a remarkable thing that Capstick, who had guided so many hunters in the killing of leopards, had never actually shot one himself. I therefore gave him my leopard permit and Capstick did the shooting."

Hey, Capstick was a fascinating writer, had a great ear and made the reader live the adventure. Were all his facts exactly straight? I don't know and doubt it really matters.

Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Conquest of Mexico.

I first read this book years ago, but that copy got lost and I was overjoyed to find it again. My siblings and I all wanted it when Dad gave away his library.

Mr Capstick is a wonderfully descriptive writer! Each one of the big eight African game animals has a chapter; and each is the very worst way to die. Capstick does not skimp on the gory details, but he is entertaining and real. He spent many years in the Africian bush and obviously knows each of these animals very, very well.

I worked with a gentleman who met Capstick while in Africia and he reported that the man in the book is the same man in real life. If you want a different view of Africa from the Disneyification of wildlife this is the book for you.

I'm only halfway through the book but I can already give it 5 stars. It's not really a tale where the ending matters, but more like a narrative of the day to day grind of being a homicide detective. The book has ruined my ability to watch Law and Order and similar shows as watching a show where murders are solved (seemingly one at a time) in a one hour show week after week seems silly now. David Simon is a great writer. I am also a big fan of "The Wire" television show.

I had seen the the Homicide: Life on the Streets TV series before. Also was a big fan of David Simon's "The Wire".

This is an excellent book and I am looking forward to reading his other book, The Corner.

Homicide is one of the better of the crime reporting novels I have read. Simon was definitely at the top of his game.

He manages to write the book with more of a novel feel then a biography of the people involved. Other similar books, such as 'Homicide Special' try for the same thing, but you still feel the writer in their presence. Simon makes the reader feel as if they are there without feeling that the writer is intruding on anything.

The cases the officers work on are all interesting, and not all are slam dunks or even solvable. Many authors would feel a need to make their book have cases with endings. I applaud Simon for not giving in to that temptation.

Baltimore definitely plays a role in this book, and you get a real feeling for the city. You can see in this book the seed that would eventually sprout the series 'Homicide'.

If you are interested in detective work this is an excellent read. I highly recommend this book.

great book - heard David Simon on NPR and he knows the streets of BMore

I read this book after watching - several times over - David Simon's most recent work, The Wire. I have always been interested in detectives and was drawn by this book because it is non-fiction. As well as being a highly enjoyable read, I would say there were three main takeaways. First, the detailed first-hand account of actual cases and methods of investigation (including related disciplines such as interrogation, medical examination, ballistics, trace evidence, etc. as well as the legal processes and challenges that lead to conviction) have made me much more familiar with the actual process of solving murders. Second, a basic understanding of the structure and organization of a homicide unit within the police department and how the system is incentivized to solve crimes. Third, an appreciation of how these detectives - through late-night drinking sessions and office humor - manage to make their lives livable when they are not dealing with the darker side of their profession. Simon's first book is really special, I look forward to reading it again someday.

I particularly enjoyed reading the story of these brave young men who miraculously found each other from time to time, after undergoing such terrible hardships trying to find help. My church offered our extra parsonage to six of the "Lost Boys" and they were a part of our congregation for almost two years. Several became members of our church, and still attend once in a while. Truly God was with these children during that time of horror. They were more resourceful than any American child would ever be, and we pray none will have to suffer as these kids did. We are so proud of "our" boys who learned to speak American English, who learned to get around the city on bicycles, and later in their cars. Most have finished college now. I'm sure the stories of our young men parallels that of the three who shared their stories in this book. Ann Luna, Nashville, TN

This book is on our UMW 2008 reading list. The book is very well written and takes you on this journey that these boys made. It is amazing that they survived and overcame all obstacles

My favorite little independent bookshop, Latitude 33, recommended I read this when they found out I was interested in African Affairs. Melanie, the manager, said that she and several of her book club customers read the book and loved it. That was encourgement enough for me.

I was completely caught off guard.

"They Poured Fire on us From the Sky" changed my life in a profound way.
After reading this book about the Civil War in Southern Sudan, I felt compelled to do something on behalf of Darfur. The story told by Benjamin and his brothers is now tragically repeating itself with devastating consequences to the Fur.

Thankfully, the editor used at light hand so that it retained the Dinka voice, which is the
heart and soul of the story tellers.
You will fall in love with these boys. You will pray for these boys, and you will thank the IRC for bringing them hope in the form of a mentor and friend, Judy Bernstein. READ THIS BOOK!

It is hard to believe that in this 21st century, the atrocities that take place in Sudan are still happening and the rest of the world is blind to them. My heart goes to these strong boys that survive. I cannot imagine my own small son having to endure even a fraction of what Benson, Ben, Alphonso and so many other children had to live during their perilous journey.
I hope many read this book and open their eyes to what goes on in other countries. Let's not be quiet about it... This is a must read for our own leaders in hopes they get some perspective of what international conflicts are really important to stop.

Harrowing. Intense. Disturbing. Raw. Emotional. True. Tragically hopeful. A must read among the well-to-do. This will put anyone's life and problems into proper perspective. It is a tale of survival in the midst of the worst affliction that any child could endure imaginable.

Monique's life story is inspirational. Her example shows what great things one can achieve even in humble circumstances. Author Kris Holloway gives readers an intimate view into the lives of women in West Africa--very eye-opening for me. I found myself cheering for their success!

This is a delightful book, made more special by the fact that it is a true story. Kris is a skilled writer who captures the sense of life in Mali and the personality of her beloved Monique. I am glad she decided to tell her story: I will never forget it, or Monique...

Outstanding!! This book will emmerse and transport you to Mali Africa where you'll experience the conditions and culture of the sweet people that live there. Told indearingly by Kris Holloway the writer and peace corp volunteer who lived this wonderful journey with a friend made in afar away place... as one who is just beginning to explore the possibility of traveling to Africa as a missionary I found this book to be informative & enlightening...

What if you lives in a country where, if you are a woman, you have a 1 in 12 chance of dying in childbirth? What if you are expected to have three, four, five children? What if a complication means being bundled on the back of a moped and being driven fast to the nearest larger village, where the nearest real medical care is?

The author of this fine book, Kris Holloway, spent 2 years with the Peace Corps living in a remote village in Mali. This story is the amazing tale of her friendship with Monique, a midwife who - although only 3 years her senior - was the only medical care most people in her village would ever see.

The story progresses from Kris' early moments being drawn in by Monique's personality and dedication, to an unexpected conclusion that is all too common in the world of Monique. A book I was prepared to not enjoy, I found myself drawn into it. With the plot structure a total shambles, with time jumping months in a matter of sentences with no warning, the book rather focuses in on Monique and her situation. A relatively short book at 200 pages, it successfully paints the picture of a woman who is fully aware of her situation as midwife in a sub-Saharan African village, and faces that with a striking combination of fatalistic acceptance and entrepreneurial will to change the fate of women in her village.

This story should be read by all Westerners, if only to contrast the sanitized birthing process we experience with the trials found in most of the rest of the world.

Monique and the Mango Rains is the moving account of Kris Holloway's experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, West Africa, assisting Monique Dembele, the area's local midwife and medical worker. In the crippling poverty of Mali, Monique and Kris work to help Mali's women and children in times of medical distress. From the birthing of babies to relationship counselling, fending off disease and infection to nutrition education, Monique labors ceaselessly and tirelessly. Her work builds a reputation far and wide that draws women from distant villages seeking her expert help. Kris, while adapting to her harsh environment, becomes more than just an assistant to Monique, experiencing with her the joy of her work and her relationships with the local women. She shares the anguish and disappointment of Monique's life outside the clinic and the close bond of her host family in Africa, becoming a friend to this inspiring woman. As Monique and Kris work to bring education and information to the women, they must broach sensitive topics like birth-control, AIDS, and abolishment of female circumcision. These topics, foreign to the local women, directly affect the survival of the community, and they work tirelessly to educate and inform the women while still dealing with the malnutrition, illness, and injury that besiege them every day.

The candid portrayal of life in the small village was very informative and interesting. I learned a great deal about the regions politics, the African society, and the general day to day existence of the small provincial village. The backbreaking work that the community must endure to prepare for the seasonal rains that fortify their village was explained in rich detail, making the story of the community's struggle for their survival come alive to the reader. Every hand is needed to plant and harvest the life giving crops that will sustain the villagers in the dry season. Monique's inexhaustible commitment to her patients and to her family was awe-inspiring. Her work to repair the birthing house, her bi-weekly weighing of babies, and her educational instruction to mothers for the care of their children was invaluable to the women of her community. Monique's story, though inspirational, was also fraught with sadness. The relationship between her and her husband, who she only calls le gars (the guy) is upsetting and one-sided. While Monique provides the money, care and stability, her husband takes and takes from her, never realizing the treasure that he is entrusted with. Monique works long and trying hours at the clinic, barely scraping by financially, with her young son tied to her back. Though at times the story was sad, there were real moments of joy and laughter throughout this book, from the triumphant birth of twins in an area where a double birth is almost unheard of, to Monique's musings on an airplane ride, I found myself smiling and laughing with Kris and Monique. Monique and Kris's friendship continued even after Kris's time in the peace corps ended, and straddled two different continents and many years.

This was a remarkable story of a remarkable woman. It encompassed the difficulties, differences and uniqueness of African culture that goes unnoticed by most Americans. I found Monique to be a fascinating woman who gave her heart and soul to the people who relied on her for their daily survival. This book was written in part to document the work that Kris did at Monique's side, but more than this, it was written as a homage to her great friend Monique. Monique truly touched Kris's life, and upon reading this book, I found she touched mine as well. Wonderful book, highly recommended.

This is a very moving book. It gives us a glimpse into the suffering around the world and motivation to help.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY ON ANGELINE JOLIE AND A LOG OF HER TRAVELS FOR THE UNITED NATION. VERY INTERESTING. JM

These extracts from Angelina's journal provide a unique insight into the plight of refugees all over the world. It is heart-wrenching to read about the terrible ordeals these people have faced during war & continue to face even after the fighting is over. The courage they show during such adversity is humbling & inspiring to the last page. A must-read book if you have any interest in the plight of your fellow man.

Angelina Jolie has a very personal connection with those who are in hard circumstances like the poor in Africa, one can speculate why but cannot realistically claim it is not sincere. She spends a lot of her time and money there and writes with warmth and humility. She expresses appreciation for those things in other areas that help keep poverty and related problems at bay. A good read as a eyewitness account of what people are going through but also a meaningful social commentary, most of all I find this book an inspiring example of how to bravely contribute whatever one can.

One of the most treasured books in my home library, Angie's courage and compassion for those less fortunate comes alive in every page of this book. This book is very inspiring and very humbling at the same time. My respect for Angelina has increased a thousand fold from reading this gem...plus she is donating all her proceeds to the UNHCR! I hope she writes more books!

The content of the book is a deeply moving story of a taugh girl who didn't lose her hope to be a free person. The most of the people in our world are not aware of a crude fact that slavery exists in 21 century. The highest toll pay children and women.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to ready true stories from someone's life.

I am was in shock throughout this entire book. I could not believe that this actually happen in the 21st century. Mende told her story so descriptively. I could not stop reading it. Excellent memoir.

Parts of this book were too graphic for me. I can't believe what women in some parts of the world have to endure. I couldn't finish it.

I just finished reading this book and wow. One of the things that really helped me was the references to modern things like cell phones and VCRs. It really helped reminding the reader that this happens today. The book will have a profound effect on whoever reads it. We live in what we consider a civilized society but who knows what goes on in the house next door. I wish the remaining years for Mende to be filled with health, love, and happiness.

When A Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa is an exceptionally well-written book of Africa telling three stories simultaneously ... a universal, heartwarming story of caring for aging parents, the stark tragedy of the rendering of Zimbabwe / Southern Rhodesia civilization, and the real-time unfolding history of a reluctant father's long distant past.

Peter is an adult white child of British Africa, a competent reporter, a good observer, a good son, and an excellent writer in a remarkable situation with (at least) three major facets. Imagine being a husband / father of a family in New York trying to take care of aging parents who don't want to leave a country whose functioning society is literally being taken apart daily while your father via email is at long last beginning to clear up the mystery of his own ancestry and experiences as a young Jewish (a surprise) boy in 1939 with a different name (also a surprise) from a different European country than you had always been led to believe (another surprise). All over a 10-year period from the mid-1990's to the early 2000's and, of course, the public part of the story continues today.

A very, very good book, very highly recommended from lots of different viewpoints ... !!

This was one of the most powerful, absorbing, moving and enlightening memoirs I've read in a long time. The way the author weaves his personal narrative in with an expose of the tragedy of life in zimbabwe under mugabe is masterful. His memoir is rich in details that reveal the complexities of his life, but he never loses the thread of his story. I can't read about southern Africa any more without conjuring up images from this book. I couldn't stop reading, and I didn't want the book to end.

Peter Godwin has written a very good follow-up to MUKIWA. His personal account of his family's history in Rhodesia-Zimbabwe is honest and absorbing for a genre that can be self-serving. I hope others will learn from this book that politics are never black or white,just human.

Peter Godwin was born in Rhodesia, and in 1996 he published 'Makiwa', a gripping account of how he grew up in that country. He was conscripted into the Rhodesian army to fight against the independence movement, by which time he felt that he was fighting in an unjust cause. He eventually got to England, became a journalist, and in 1981, now based in the United States, he returned to what in 1980 had become independent Zimbabwe, partly because his parents were still living there and partly because he loved the country and its people. But he now had to record that the new government of Robert Mugabe was more savage than the white government had been and was carrying out bloody suppression in Matabeleland - a sign of things to come. Godwin's reporting at that time made him persona non grata and he had to leave Zimbabwe again, though he was able to return after Mugabe had `stabilized' the country with the so-called Unity Accord in 1987.

This second volume, first published in 2006, is an account of several later visits, beginning with one in 1996. In the chapters relating to 1996, 1997 and 1998, Mugabe's dictatorship is not central to his account, though of course he is aware of it; but he is more concerned with the quite non-political aspects of his family's life. At this time Mugabe had not yet whipped up anti-white agitation. Indeed he had for years encouraged white people to stay and help the Zimbabwean economy. In fact, in the year 2000, "78% of white farmers were on property they had purchased after independence, only when that land had first been offered to -and turned down by - the government, as was required by law" (p.56).

Godwin's next visit was in 2000. That year Mugabe wanted to change the constitution to allow him another 12 years in power; and this change had to be ratified by a referendum. To get the new constitution accepted, he inserted in it a law allowing the seizure of white-owned farm land for redistribution to black peasants (though in fact most of it went to his cronies). His instrument for this were the so-called war veterans, and violence against whites now took off, under such thugs as those calling themselves `Hitler' Hunzvi and `Stalin Mau Mau'. When Mugabe lost the referendum, he unleashed violence also against Tsvangirai's newly created Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

In 2001 there was a total eclipse of the sun over Zimbabwe, and, unusually, there was another one in 2002. The folklore expression for this is that `a crocodile eats the sun', and it is considered the worst of omens. Godwin now chronicles in the most graphic manner the increasing horror of Mugabe's appalling regime and the descent of Zimbabwe into chaos and lawlessness: the ruin of agriculture; the displacement of millions of black farm workers; famine; the government's deliberate withholding of food supplies from areas where the opposition is strong; hyper-inflation; casual murders and robberies, with the police either unwilling to intervene or actually participating in them. Among the many grotesque vignettes: cemeteries plundered, patches of maize planted between the graves, and befouled with excrement; the RSPCA being given permission to evacuate tortured animals from farms - when their white owners are not allowed to leave their besieged homes. Godwin is there during the General Strike of 2003 and its brutal suppression.

But this is not only a journalist's book about Zimbabwe. It is also a touching story of a loving family. The scenes with his gallant and now impoverished, sick and aged parents - who, beleaguered as they are, refuse to leave Zimbabwe - are deeply moving. And there is an unexpected dimension. On a visit in 2001, when he is in his forties, Peter Godwin learns that his father, George, now 77, was not in fact the reserved Anglo-African he had always taken him to be, but was born a Polish Jew. Only now can George bring himself to talk and write about it. The revelation has an immense impact on his son, who inserts a couple of chapters to tell the story of George's Warsaw childhood, how, just before the war, he came to leave Poland as a teenager, without his family. George's mother and sister later perished in Treblinka. Peter Godwin had heard of Auschwitz and Belsen, but (somewhat surprisingly for a journalist) he had never heard of the other extermination camps, which he now researched and whose horrors he then describes.

This beautifully written book is a lament for Zimbabwe, but it is also a tribute to his parents, and it is dedicated to his father's memory.

Peter Godwin's book, titled above, is a very worth while read. In plain dialogue he lets the rest of the world know what is really going on in Zimbabwe in the most sensitive way possible through his own families lives. The book is beautifully written, I couldn't put it down once I started reading it, more especially after following the last fiasco of an election in June 2008. Why the other African nations let Mugabwe get away with what he is doing to his own people, is beyond me. Farms that were productive have now grown wild and uncultivated, and a country that was the bread basket of Africa is now one of the worlds poorest countries, except of course for the government fat cats. Well worth buying and reading