Best of
Africa

1982

Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Storyteller


Judith Thurman - 1982
    Her magnificent memoir, Out of Africa, established Isak Dinesen as a major twentieth-century author, who was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize.With exceptional grace, Judith Thurman's classic work explores Dinesen's life. Until the appearance of this book, the life and art of Isak Dinesen have been--as Dinesen herself wrote of two lovers in a tale-- "a pair of locked caskets, each containing the key to the other." Judith Thurman has provided the master key to them both.Winner of the National Book Award

A Chain of Voices


André P. Brink - 1982
    Galant, the van der Merwe family's chief hand, is held leader of the murderous band. Raised with the two sons of the house, it was not until adulthood and rivalry over Hester, orphaned daughter of a tenant farmer, that he realised their different roles, their unequal futures and opposed stations in life. A CHAIN OF VOICES stands as a prophetic lesson—when hopes of freedom from slavery are dashed, and when promises of equal treatment are broken, an escalating spiral of bitterness, resentment, and finally, explosive violence is inevitable.

Time Changes Yesterday


Nyengi Koin - 1982
    Her fiancé had died in a crash a week before their wedding and for six years she had brought up their son single-handed. Tayo Browne was a widower with two daughters. Enitan, the younger girl, thought they would make an ideal family and all the other relatives were in full support. No one had expected such relentless hostility from Joy, Tayo's teenage daughter.

Lightning Bird: The Story of One Man's Journey Into Africa's Past


Lyall Watson - 1982
    

Selous Scouts: Top Secret War


R.F. Reid-Daly - 1982
    Unconventional in many ways, disregardful of parade ground discipline, unorthodox in their dress, yet a force so tightly knit in the face of danger that those who knew anything about them could only marvel.

The Real Facts about Ethiopia


J.A. Rogers - 1982
    A very interesting read about the history of Ethiopia and its wars.

Tell Freedom


Peter Abrahams - 1982
    A Black South African recalls his childhood and adolescence in the slums of Johannesburg and his ultimate escape to England.

Animals, Nature and Albert Schweitzer


Albert Schweitzer - 1982
    Schweitzer's own words - how his philosophy of "reverence for life" developed, from childhood, as his long life unfolded. It demonstrates how the philosopher-physician-musician carried out his philosophy at his African hospital, in Europe and the U.S.A and how he inspired the animal protection and environmental awakening. It describes his bond with individual animals and how he coped with the paradox of the "will-to-live" vs. "the will-to-live." His memorable words, the sensitive commentary and the appealing photographs combine to present forcefully and gracefully Dr. Schweitzer's guidance to all persons troubled by disrespect of the natural word and all that dwell therein. This book, which was originally published in 1982, has gone into eight printings.

Ignorance Is the Enemy of Love


Faarax M.J. Cawl - 1982
    

Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagination in Africa


James W. Fernandez - 1982
    The book description for the previously published Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagination in Africa is not yet available.

The Ochre People


Noni Jabavu - 1982
    In 1955 she returned to South Africa for a three-month stay. She visited her father, Professor D.D.T. Jabavu, of Fort Hare, as well as relatives in the Eastern Cape and Johannesburg. The Ochre People, first published in 1963, is a poignant account of her trip, and contains vivid and perceptive memories of the country she loved and of the people she met.

The Wild Hunter in the Bush of the Ghosts


Amos Tutuola - 1982
    Through wit, cunning, and the help of a magic charm, the protagonist escapes their tortures.

Political Awakening in the Belgian Congo.


René Lemarchand - 1982
    This work examines the factors that contributed to Congolese political fragmentation encompassing the colonial administrative framework, the impact of western political and economic forces, and the transformations brought about by Christianity and western education.

Mountains of the Moon


William Neal Harrison - 1982
    Their mission: to discover the true source of the Nile. They had the daring to brave the ravages of nature, vicious attacks by the Somali, and life-threatening illness. Their sheer courage and raw determination would be tested in a way civilization never could. Their story is an epic of triumph and tragedy, betrayal and mystery. It has fascinated the world for over one hundred years.

Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism: The Case of Sayid Mahammad 'Abdille Hasan


Said S. Samatar - 1982
    By reconstructing the history of the Somali nationalist resistance movement, mainly through the use of political oratory in verse form by its leader, Sayyid Mahammad 'Abdille Hasan', the 'Mad Mullah' of British history, Said Samater shows how an indigenous resource can be harnessed in a non-literate society, not only as a medium of mass communication but also as a tool for acquiring political power. He traces the intimate correlation between language, politics and oral poetry and seeks to suggest to students of African societies ways of examining indigenous forms of communication used by traditional African creators of large-scale organisations in the absence of writing, to influence public opinion. The book is an important contribution to the history of the Horn of Africa and its new material on the role of oral literature in a non-literate society will interest linguists, sociologists and anthropologists, as well as students of folklore and comparative literature.