It is essential reading for our times.In 28, Stephanie Nolen, the Globe and Mail’s Africa Bureau Chief, puts a human face to the crisis created by HIV-AIDS in Africa. She has achieved, in this amazing book, something extraordinary: she writes with a power, understanding and simplicity that makes us listen, makes us understand and care. Through riveting anecdotal stories – one for each of the million people living with HIV-AIDS in Africa – Nolen explores the effects of an epidemic that well exceeds the Black Plague in magnitude. It is a calamity that is unfolding just a 747-flight away, and one that will take the lives of these 28 million without the help of massive, immediate intervention on an unprecedented scale. 28 is a timely, transformative, thoroughly accessible book that shows us definitively why we continue to ignore the growth of HIV-AIDS in Africa only at our peril and at an intolerable moral cost.28’s stories are much more than a record of the suffering and loss in 28 emblematic lives. Here we meet women and men fighting vigorously on the frontlines of disease: Tigist Haile Michael, a smart, shy 14-year-old Ethiopian orphan fending for herself and her baby brother on the slum streets of Addis Ababa; Alice Kadzanja, an HIV-positive nurse in Malawi, where one in six adults has the virus, and where the average adult’s life expectancy is 36; and Zackie Achmat, the hero of South Africa’s politically fragmented battle against HIV-AIDS. 28 also tells us how the virus works, spreads and, ultimately, kills. It explains the connection of HIV-AIDS to conflict, famine and the collapse of states; shows us how easily treatment works for those lucky enough to get it and details the struggles of those who fight to stay alive with little support. It makes vivid the strong, desperate people doing all they can, and maintaining courage, dignity and hope against insurmountable odds. It is – in its humanity, beauty and sorrow – a call to action for all who read it.

    Beah tells how, at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and became a soldier.My new friends have begun to suspect I haven’t told them the full story of my life.“Why did you leave Sierra Leone?”“Because there is a war.”“You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?”“Yes, all the time.”“Cool.”I smile a little.“You should tell us about it sometime.”“Yes, sometime.” This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived.In A Long Way Gone, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.

    Join her as she splashes in the sea, prepares for a party, sells oranges, and hopes to see sweet, sweet snow.

    A tale of suffering, tragedy, and sorrow redeemed by indomitable resolve and a stubborn refusal to despair, it's set in a Sudan shadowed by unrelenting war and ruthless violence, yet illuminated by faith, generosity, and steadfast commitment to the human spirit's finest instincts. It's also the eloquently plain-spoken self-portrait of a young man who has looked death in the face many times and come away with an inner strength as impressive as it is modest and a wisdom as inspiring as it is matter of fact.One of the uprooted youngsters known as the Lost Boys of Sudan, John Bul Dau was 12 years old when civil war ravaged his village and shattered its age-old society, a life of herding and agriculture marked by dignity, respect, and the simple virtues of Dinka tribal tradition. As tracer bullets split the night and mortar shells exploded around him, John fled into the darkness--the first terrified moments of a journey that would lead him thousands of miles into an exile that was to last many years.John's memoir of his Dinka childhood shows African life and values at their best, while his searing account of hardship, famine, and war also testifies to human resilience and kindness. In an era of cultural clashes, his often humorous stories of adapting to life in the United States offer proof that we can bridge our differences peacefully. John Bul Dau's quiet pride, true humility, deep seriousness, compassionate courage, and remarkable achievements will take every reader's breath away.

    In captivating prose, Dowden spins tales of cults and commerce in Senegal and traditional spirituality in Sierra Leone; analyzes the impact of oil and the internet on Nigeria and aid on Sudan; and examines what has gone so badly wrong in Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Congo. From the individual stories of failure and success comes a surprising portrait of a new Africa emerging--an Africa that, Dowden argues, can only be developed by its own people. Dowden's master work is an attempt to explain why Africa is the way it is and calls for a re-examination of the perception of Africa as "the dark continent." He reveals it as a place of inspiration and tremendous humanity.

    Now Shah takes us deeper into the heart of this exotic and magical land to uncover mysteries that have been hidden from Western eyes for centuries.…In this entertaining and penetrating book, Tahir sets out on a bold new journey across Morocco that becomes an adventure worthy of the mythical Arabian Nights.As he wends his way through the labyrinthine medinas of Fez and Marrakesh, traverses the Sahara sands, and tastes the hospitality of ordinary Moroccans, Tahir collects a dazzling treasury of traditional stories, gleaned from the heritage of A Thousand and One Nights. The tales, recounted by a vivid cast of characters, reveal fragments of wisdom and an oriental way of thinking that is both enthralling and fresh. A link in the chain of scholars and teachers who have passed these stories down for centuries like a baton in a relay race, Shah reaches layers of culture that most visitors hardly realize exist, and eventually discovers the story living in his own heart.Along the way he describes the colors, characters, and the passion of Morocco, and comes to understand why it is such an enchanting land. From master masons who labor only at night to Sufi wise men who write for soap operas, and Tuareg guides afflicted by reality TV, In Arabian Nights takes us on an unforgettable journey, shining a light on facets of a society that are normally left in darkness.

     An homage to Africa's people and wildlife   Sebastião Salgado is one the most respected photojournalists working today, his reputation forged by decades of dedication and powerful black-and-white images of dispossessed and distressed people taken in places where most wouldn’t dare to go. Although he has photographed throughout South America and around the globe, his work most heavily concentrates on Africa, where he has shot more than 40 reportage works over a period of 30 years. From the Dinka tribes in Sudan and the Himba in Namibia to gorillas and volcanoes in the lakes region to displaced peoples throughout the continent, Salgado shows us all facets of African life today. Whether he’s documenting refugees or vast landscapes, Salgado knows exactly how to grab the essence of a moment so that when one sees his images one is involuntarily drawn into them. His images artfully teach us the disastrous effects of war, poverty, disease, and hostile climatic conditions.  This book brings together Salgado’s photos of Africa in three parts. The first concentrates on the southern part of the continent (Mozambique, Malawi, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia), the second on the Great Lakes region (Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya), and the third on the Sub-Saharan region (Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Mauritania, Senegal, Ethiopia). Texts are provided by renowned Mozambique novelist Mia Couto, who describes how today’s Africa reflects the effects of colonization as well as the consequences of economic, social, and environmental crises.This stunning book is not only a sweeping document of Africa but an homage to the continent’s history, people, and natural phenomena.   *Salgado’s Africa was awarded the M2-El Mundo People’s Choice Award for best exhibition at PhotoEspaña 2007!*

    Now, in her unsparing and illuminating account of this global disease, she describes how international health experts, governments, and ordinary Africans have struggled to understand the rapid and devastating spread of the disease in Africa, and traces the changes wrought by new medical developments and emerging political realities. It is an account of scientific discovery and intrigue with implications far beyond the fight against one tragic disease. The AIDS epidemic is partly a consequence of the rapid transition of African societies from an agrarian past to an impoverished present. Millions of African people have yet to find a place in an increasingly globalized world, and their poverty and social dislocation have generated an earthquake in gender relations that deeply affects the spread of HIV. But Epstein argues that there are solutions to this crisis, and some of the most effective ones may be simpler than many people assume. Written with conviction, knowledge, and insight, Why Don't They Listen? will change how we think about the worst health crisis of the past century, and our strategies for improving global public health.

    This collection of photographs captures these accoutrements.

    He also conducted the most legendary celebrity interview in history, opening with, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” But these perceptions are not quite true, as Tim Jeal shows in this biography. With unprecedented access to previously closed Stanley family archives, Jeal reveals the extent to which Stanley’s public career and intimate life have been misunderstood and undervalued.Few have started life as disadvantaged as Stanley. Rejected by both parents and consigned to a Welsh workhouse, he emigrated to America as a penniless eighteen-year-old. Jeal vividly re-creates Stanley’s rise to success, his friendships and romantic relationships, and his  life-changing decision to assume an American identity. Stanley’s epic but  unfairly forgotten African journeys are thrillingly described.

    Coming from the all-mod-cons society of Britain at the beginning of the 1980’s, the author is literally transplanted to a farm in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains in what is now Kwazulu Natal.Once there, she finds her feet in the ways of Africawith the help of a charming, elderly Dutch couple, an appealing but wily African farm hand, his practical and motherly daughter and a wise and fascinating neighbour who has a fund of local knowledge.These are tales of a different kind of life, whichinclude living without electricity, hand-milking cows, drought, veld fires and mad-cap adventures into the unknown.They are stories told with deep affection and respect, and above all a liberal dose of tongue-in-cheek humour.

    Peter Allison gives us the guide’s-eye view of living in the bush, confronting the world’s fiercest terrain of wild animals and, most challenging of all, managing herds of gaping tourists. Passionate for the animals of the Kalahari, Allison works as a top safari guide in the wildlife-rich Okavango Delta. As he serves the whims of his wealthy clients, he often has to stop the impulse to run as far away from them as he can, as these tourists are sometimes more dangerous than a pride of lions. No one could make up these outrageous-but-true tales: the young woman who rejected the recommended safari-friendly khaki to wear a more “fashionable” hot pink ensemble; the lost tourist who happened to be drunk, half-naked, and a member of the British royal family; establishing a real friendship with the continent’s most vicious animal; the Japanese tourist who requested a repeat performance of Allison’s being charged by a lion so he could videotape it; and spending a crazy night in the wild after blowing a tire on a tour bus, revealing that Allison has as much good-natured scorn for himself. The author’s humor is exceeded only by his love and respect for the animals, and his goal is to limit any negative exposure to humans by planning trips that are minimally invasive—unfortunately it doesn’t always work out that way! Peter Allison is originally from Sydney, Australia. His safaris have been featured in National Geographic, Conde Nast Traveler, and on television programs such as Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures. He travels frequently to speaking appearances, and splits most of his time between Botswana, Sydney, and San Francisco.

    Beginning in Cape Town, Erik, his brother, and his two best friends covered 9,000 miles north by dirt bike, experiencing the poverty, beauty, and dangers of the African continent.Then in Cairo, having safely reached the end of their perilous journey, a terrorist’s bomb ripped Erik’s world and faith apart. The four travelers were now desperately wounded and on the brink of death.Erik’s struggle along his journey of faith is as gripping as his trek across Africa. The Only Road North takes readers to corners of the world and depths of the human heart they will never forget.

    But by August 2002, Marondera, in eastern Zimbabwe, had been turned into a bloody battleground, the center of a violent campaign. One bright morning, Nigel Hough, one of the few remaining white farmers, received the news he had been dreading. A crowd of war veterans was at his gates, demanding he hand over his homestead. The mob started a fire and dragged him to an outhouse. To his shock, the leader of the invaders was his family’s much-loved nanny Aqui. “Get out or we’ll kill you,” she said. “There is no place for whites in this country.”            Christina Lamb uncovered the astonishing saga she tells in House of Stone while traveling back and forth to report clandestinely on Zimbabwe. Her powerful narrative traces the history of the brutal civil war, independence, and the Mugabe years, all through the lives of two people on opposing sides. Although born within a few miles of each other, their experience growing up could not have been more different. While Nigel played cricket and piloted his own plane, Aqui grew up in a mud hut, sleeping on the floor with her brothers and sisters. “They had cars and went shopping in South Africa. We didn’t have food and had to walk an hour each way to fetch water,” she remembers.            House of Stone (“dzimba dza mabwe” or “Zimbabwe” in Shona) is based on a remarkable series of interviews with this white farmer and black nanny, set against the backdrop of the last British colony to become independent, and the descent into madness of Robert Mugabe, one of Africa’s most respected nationalist leaders.

    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz becomes their guidebook as they journey alone across the United States. The trio one with HIV, one blind amputee, and one who hasn t spoken for years after watching her family slaughtered find themselves embroiled in a situation beyond their imaginations as they get close to meeting their goal. This book was written with the hope of raising awareness of the millions of people in Africa who suffer the effects of malnutrition, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and the unspeakable atrocities associated with armed conflicts.You can help by doing whatever you re able to do: send a donation,learn what s going on, offer a home, visit the continent, buy an extra copy of The Leopard Tree. Profits from the sale of The Leopard Tree will be used to support projects that help those who need assistance in Africa.

    It is a story, too, of political intrigue; of a revolutionary movement struggling first to defeat and then to seduce a powerful and callous enemy, of the battle between unity and discord, and the dogged rise to power of a quiet, clever, diligent but unpopular man who seemed to take little joy in power but have much need for it. By the time he retires in 2009, Thabo Mbeki will have ruled South Africa, in effect, for the full fifteen years of its post-apartheid democracy: the first five as Nelson Mandela's 'prime minister' and the next ten as Mandela's successor. No African leader since the uhuru generation of Nkrumah and Nyerere has been as influential. The author's long-awaited biography is a profound psycho-political examination of this brilliant but deeply-flawed leader, who has attempted to forge an identity for himself as the symbol of modern Africa in the long shadow of Mandela. It is also a gripping journey into the turbulent history and troubled contemporary soul of the country; one that tries to make sense of the violence of the past and confusion of the present. As Mbeki battles, in the current day, with demons ranging from AIDS to Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and finds his legacy challenged by the ever-growing candidacy of his would-be successor Jacob Zuma, The Dream Deferred tracks us back along the path that brought him here, and helps us understand the meaning of South Africa, post-apartheid and post-Mandela.

    But then prospectors chanced first upon the world's richest deposits of diamonds, and then upon its richest deposits of gold. What followed was a titanic struggle between the British and the Boers for control of the land, culminating in the costliest, bloodiest, and most humiliating war that Britain had waged in nearly a century, and in the devastation of the Boer republics. Martin Meredith's magisterial account of those years portrays the great wealth and raw power, the deceit, corruption, and racism that lay behind Britain's empire-building in southern Africa. Based on significant new research and filled with atmospheric detail, it focuses on the fascinating rivalry between diamond titan Cecil Rhodes and Paul Kruger, the Boer leader whose only education was the Bible, who believed the earth was flat, yet who defied Britain's prime ministers and generals for nearly a quarter of a century. Diamonds, Gold and War makes palpable the cost of western greed to Africa's native peoples, and explains the rise of the virulent Afrikaner nationalism that eventually took hold in South Africa, with repercussions lasting nearly a century.

    That Chris Abani is able to find humanity, mercy, and even, yes, forgiveness, amid such devastation is something of a miracle.”—Rebecca Brown, author of The End of Youth"The moment you enter these pages, you step into a beautiful and terrifying dream. You are in the hands of a master, a literary shaman. Abani casts his spell so completely—so devastatingly—you emerge cleansed, redeemed, and utterly haunted."—Brad Kessler, author of Birds in FallPart Inferno, part Paradise Lost, and part Sunjiata epic, Song for Night is the story of a West African boy soldier’s lyrical, terrifying, yet beautiful journey through the nightmare landscape of a brutal war in search of his lost platoon. The reader is led by the voiceless protagonist who, as part of a land mine-clearing platoon, had his vocal chords cut, a move to keep these children from screaming when blown up, and thereby distracting the other minesweepers. The book is written in a ghostly voice, with each chapter headed by a line of the unique sign language these children invented. This book is unlike anything else ever written about an African war.Chris Abani is a Nigerian poet and novelist and the author of The Virgin of Flames, Becoming Abigail (a New York Times Editor’s Choice), and GraceLand (a selection of the Today Show Book Club and winner of the 2005 PEN/Hemingway Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award). His other prizes include a PEN Freedom to Write Award, a Prince Claus Award, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship. He lives and teaches in California.

    Now available in paperback, this beautiful volume presents nearly 250 of the finest African masks from the incomparable Barbier-Mueller Collection, which is unique in its vast number of artifacts and wide geographic scope.The book includes one hundred color plates accompanied by in-depth descriptions, as well as numerous black-and-white photographs of the masks as they are used in religious and secular celebrations. Introductory texts from renowned scholars describe how the masks are constructed, examine their significance in African culture, and offer insight into the universal practice of masquerading. A unique contribution to literature on African art, this book is also a wonderful introduction to countless fascinating, ages-old spiritual traditions still being practiced today.

    But for six long years from 1950, Seretse had been forced into exile in England, banned from his own country. His crime? To fall in love and marry a young, white English girl, Ruth Williams. Delving into newly released records, Susan Williams tells Seretse and Ruth's story - a shocking account of how the British Government conspired with apartheid South Africa to prevent the mixed-race royal couple returning home. But it is also an inspiring, triumphant tale of hope, courage and true love as with tenacity and great dignity Seretse and Ruth and the Bangwato people ovecome prejudice in their fight for justice.

    . .A volatile Zimbabwe and the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo are the battlefields for a deadly game of cat and mouse in Africa's wildlife wars.Canadian researcher Michelle Parker jumps at the chance to visit the famed mountain gorillas, but she is wary of the man offering it - professional big-game hunter, Fletcher Reynolds.Fletcher represents all Michelle's fought against - the slaughter of animals for material gain - but she is reassured by his apparent support for the stamping out of poaching.Ex-SAS officer Shane Castle has been recruited by Fletcher to spearhead the anti-poaching campaign. Shane has seen what bullets can do - to both human and animal - and makes Michelle start to doubt the choices she has made . . ."

    It was a ferocious guerrilla warfare campaign between the regular and elite units of the Rhodesian Army doing battle against Communist-backed terrorist groups in the valleys, jungles and bush country of Rhodesia, Mozambique and Zambia. Warrant Officer Dennis Croukamp fought in the conflict from its beginnings in the 1960s to the very end in 1979, and his combat memoir is an extraordinary chronicle of that bitter struggle from inside some of the most highly regarded elite combat units to ever take the field. In The Bush War in Rhodesia, Croukamp chronicles his eventful service with the Rhodesian Regular Army, the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI) and the Selous Scouts Reconnaisance Troop as he took part in cross-border reconnaissance operations, HALO jumps behind enemy lines, urban ops in the townships of Salisbury, raids, ambushes, demolition missions, prisoner snatches and more. And through it all, Croukamp brought along a camera, providing a remarkable visual documentation of this little-known war. This searingly honest, action-packed memoir is sure to become a classic, ground-level account of the bloody "bush wars" of Africa.

    Jericho Becton's mesmerizing blue-greengaze, she knew he was unlike any other man she'd ever met.Running into him a few weeks later only confirmed the sparkbetween them wasn't imagined. But this time they were in a war-torn African nation, far from the safety of their Atlanta home....Working toward a common goal in a world where danger lurkedin every corner, Jericho and Talisa found themselves swept upin a wave of desire that left them both breathless and wantingmore. But would they survive their mission with their love--andlives--intact?

    It also provides comprehensive information on where to stay and eat.

    The girls were raped and tortured before being forced to become child soldiers and sex slaves.This was only one out of thousands of child kidnappings by merciless madman and rebel leader Joseph Kony. But for the battered civilians terrorized by rebel warfare and neglected by corrupt government, this was the breaking point. Something had to be done�the world needed to know and their girls needed to be brought home.Kathy Cook�s one-on-one interviews with the surviving girls and their mothers make their fear, frustration, and suffering overwhelmingly real. With exceptional insight gained from on-location research, Cook gives us an authoritative account of how concerned parents, interfaith groups, politicians from Canada and the United States, and NGOs banded together in a struggle to rescue the girls and to mobilize a people, their country, and a global community.An emotionally charged retelling of a heartbreaking true story, Stolen Angels reminds us of the importance of faith, strength, and determination in the face of adversity.

    Amazingly, in the midst of the traumas Frida found Christ. Her story is for all those who have gone through life shattering experiences and are unable to forgive.

    Together with the already imprisoned Nelson Mandela, they were put on trial and charged with conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government by violent revolution. Their expected punishment was death. In The State vs. Nelson Mandela their defence attorney, Joel Joffe, gives a blow-by-blow account of the most important trial in South Africa’s history, vividly portraying the characters of those involved, and exposing the astonishing bigotry and rampant discrimination faced by the accused, as well as showing their courage under fire. Lord Joel Joffe CBE is a crossbench peer in the House of Lords. He has previously served as Chairperson of Oxfam and worked as a human-rights lawyer.

    This former PH in Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe writes tales of hapless figures and derring-do gone wrong that will make you laugh out loud-a rarity in the cut-and-dry genre of big-game hunting. There is the story about a PH who wanted to impress the beautiful daughter of a client and landed up in the emergency room with a rifle barrel stuck up his posterior, and the story of a game warden who fell into a hollowed-out baobab tree on top of a sleeping leopard. This same unfortunate warden in a further misadventure is deprived of some of his very sensitive private parts during an elephant cull-probably just to prove that a run of bad luck does not necessarily have to end. Wessels also weighs in on his own experience when he tells of being seriously gored by a buffalo. Whether telling the story of rafting down an uncharted river to set up a new safari camp or highlighting the experiences of a PH such as Lew Games, you will find Wessels's stories so entertaining that you'll be sorry when the book ends. All of Hannes Wessels's stories are great reading, as attested by the number of his articles published in Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, and

    Author Luke Hunter looks into the history, evolution, behavior and day-to-day survival of one of the most fascinating of the big cats. He discusses the ancestry of the cheetah, its hunting strategies, reproduction, social behavior and status throughout Africa and Iran - the last remaining pocket of the species in Asia. Hunter also focuses on the tenuous future of the cheetah, its decreasing habitat and declining numbers, and deals with the immediate and long-term conservation issues facing the species. His authoritative text highlights the latest research on cheetahs, dispelling the myths and providing a comprehensive overview of the cheetah in the wild. Throughout the book, his first-hand field observations supplement data on the latest ecological discoveries from cheetah researchers across Africa. Powerful, full-color photographs by Dave Hamman make this book a visual feast and reveal a world that is both intensely private and highly dramatic. Hamman's portrayal of the many modes and activities of this elusive animal presents a sumptuous gallery of photographs, while at the same time serving to broaden our knowledge - and help ensure the survival - of this remarkable and beautiful cat.

    Through the various and complex lives of Onai Moyo - a market woman and responsible mother of three children, and her best friend Katy Nguni - a vendor and black-market currency dealer - we are given an insight into the challenges that face those who only survive by their wits, their labour and their mutual support. In doing so Tagwira aptly captures how precarious the future is for the inhabitants of Mbare, Zimbabwe in 2005. The story of these two close friends is situated in a high-density suburb. However, the author also introduces a much wider cross-section of Zimbabwean society: Tom Sibanda, a young business man and farmer, his girlfriend, Faith, a law student, Tom's sister Emily, a health professional, and Mawaya, the ostensible beggar. With depth and sensitivity, Tagwira pulls these many threads into a densely woven novel that provides us with of some of the many faces of contemporary Zimbabwe.

    Herds of wild animals crossing acacia-dotted plains, remote cultures that time seems to have forgotten, the monumental vestiges of crumbled empires, as well ast he dire realities of war, disease and famine - Africa is all this and much more. From Cape Town's gleaming shopping arcades to the remote tribal settlements on Lake Turkana's shores, The Africa Book draws together a definitive collection of the sights, sounds and tastes of this spellbinding continent.Here's how to start - open at any page and begin your own journey. Float down the Nile in a felucca, visit the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, catch mbalax fever on Dakar's glittering dance floors, relax under the palms on Zanzibar's powdery white beaches. Let Lonely Planet's photographers, authors and travelers lead you through five regions, 54 countries and inspire you to embark on the journey of your life.

    Silvester was essentially adopted by his subjects during his travels, and his stunning color photographs present a rare, intimate view of their world. The first volume of this deluxe two-volume set presents the everyday lives of the Omo people, their rituals, parades, childrens games, and even their battles. In the second volume, each photograph becomes a masterpiece of abstract art, revealing close-ups of the tribes traditional body paintings. Silvesters accompanying text traces his journey to the Horn of Africa, revealing the fascinating beauty of a world now in danger of extinction.

    This was the unit that brought the 'Fireforce' concept to the world's attention - the devastatingly ruthless airborne envelopment and annihilation of a guerrilla enemy. This title presents the history of the RLI.

    Discover AlgeriaShiver as the sun rises over Assekrem, the mountains at the 'End of the World.'Rock the Casbah in Algiers, one of the finest coastal sites on the Mediterranean.Explore the best Roman ruins in Africa, and the oldest rock art in the world.Tie your turban like a Yuareg and be swept up in the magic of the world's greatest desert. In This Guide: The only English-language guidebook to the Sahara's most beautiful nation.Special chapter on Traveling in the Sahara, taking you into the depths of the desert.Visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-the-minute reviews, updates and traveler suggestions.

    Humane, evocative and magical, The Cobra's Heart makes the case for Kapuscinski as a great writer as well as a great journalist.

    It is compensatory, for example, rather than punitive. Instead of being imprisoned or otherwise punished, law breakers are required to compensate their victims. A victim seldom fails to receive compensation, moreover, because every Somali is insured by near kin against his or her liabilities under the law. Being based on custom, Somali law has no need of legislation or legislators, hence is happily free of political influences. Even so, the author points out areas in the law that are in need of change. These do not require legislation, however; many desirable changes, such as ending restrictions on the sale of land and enhancing the status of women, are implicit in economic development. As for the Somali political system, not only is there no need to set up a democracy, the author clearly shows why any attempt to do so must inevitably produce chaos. This book by a trained and sympathetic observer shows how, viewed in global perspective, Somali law stands with the Latin and Medieval laws and the English common law against the statutory law that originated in continental Europe with the modern nation state. It explains many seeming anomalies about present-day Somalia and describes its prospects as well as the dangers facing it. Born in Zeist, the Netherlands, in 1933, Michael van Notten graduated from Leiden University in Law and was admitted into practice in Rotterdam. He later served with a New York law firm and directed the Institution Europaeum, a Belgium-based policy research organization. In the early 1990s, he became interested in the prospect of Somalia developing in the modern world of a stateless society, and for the next twelve years, he studied Somali customary law. A keen analyst of the intricacies of clan politics, he traveled fearlessly in war-torn Somalia. He died in Nimes, France, on June 5th, 2002

    Each of these areas has their own specific designs, and their own specific uses and symbolism attached to jewellery. Materials used include gold, silver and many types of gemstones, but also archaic materials such as leather, coral, beads, bone, teeth, and shells. In this lavishly illustrated book, more than 500 magnificent pieces are presented in color, together with detailed descriptions. Authoritative texts are included about jewellery making, and the history, uses, and designs from the various areas. These chapters are further illustrated with historical and contemporary photographs of jewellery being worn.

    But with the price of Middle Eastern crude oil skyrocketing and advancing technology making reserves easier to tap, the region has become the scene of a competition between major powers that recalls the nineteenth-century scramble for colonization there. Already the United States imports more of its oil from Africa than from Saudi Arabia, and China, too, looks to the continent for its energy security. What does this giddy new oil boom mean—for America, for the world, for Africans themselves? To find out, John Ghazvinian traveled through twelve African countries—from Sudan to Congo to Angola—talking to warlords, industry executives, bandits, activists, priests, missionaries, oil-rig workers, scientists, and ordinary people whose lives have been transformed—not necessarily for the better—by the riches beneath their feet. The result is a high-octane narrative that reveals the challenges, obstacles, reasons for despair, and reasons for hope emerging from the world’s newest energy hot spot.

    Professor Asante identifies and clarifies the key components, concerns and evolutionary contours in Diopian thought, and weaves them into a richly textured pattern and composite portrait of this distinguished scholar of astounding erudition and extraordinary insight. Asante traces Diop's intellectual and political evolution, opens critical vistas into his multidisciplinary competence and approach. The book focuses on Diop's constant concern with putting knowledge and science in the service of the dignity and development of Africa. Moreover, Asante reaffirms Diop's towering position as a founding figure in African-centered scholarship and his expansive and enduring influence in the world African community.

    This desire to commemorate the Middle Passage contrasts sharply with the silence that normally cloaks the subject within Ghana. Why do Ghanaians suppress the history of enslavement? And why is this history expressed so differently on the other side of the Atlantic?Routes of Remembrance tackles these questions by analyzing the slave trade’s absence from public versions of coastal Ghanaian family and community histories, its troubled presentation in the country’s classrooms and nationalist narratives, and its elaboration by the transnational tourism industry. Bayo Holsey discovers that in the past, African involvement in the slave trade was used by Europeans to denigrate local residents, and this stigma continues to shape the way Ghanaians imagine their historical past. Today, however, due to international attention and the curiosity of young Ghanaians, the slave trade has at last entered the public sphere, transforming it from a stigmatizing history to one that holds the potential to contest global inequalities.Holsey’s study will be crucial to anyone involved in the global debate over how the slave trade endures in history and in memory.

    More than a chronicle of dates and death tolls, it gives a personal history of victims, perpetrators and consequences. With introductory texts by Archbisop Aram of Lebanon, Terry George, Richard Holbrooke and others.

    Accompanied by hyenas, rock pythons and baboons, these men earn a living by performing before crowds and selling traditional medicines. Pieter Hugo's extraordinary portraits of their liminal existence reveal an uncanny world of complex, codependent relationships, where familiar distinctions between dominance and submission, wildness and domesticity, tradition and modernity are constantly subverted. Nigerian journalist Adetokunbo Abiola introduces readers to the "Hyena Men," explaining the traditions and mystique behind their practices. Presented in thirty-five full-color plates, these intense portraits reveal why Hugo is one of the most exciting young photographers at work today.

    Also, The Several Races Of White Men, Considered As The Involuntary And Predestined Supplanters Of The Black Races.

    Spurred on by the dry season, which usually begins in April/May, the herds of more than 1.5 million wildebeests leave their breeding and birthing grounds in search of greener plains and then, as the dry season turns back to wet later in the year, they travel full circle back to the plains they left at the beginning of the year. Governed by the wet and dry seasons, this cycle repeats itself year after year. This book follows the calendar year, with each spread representing a day in the life of the wildebeests from January to December. Great travellers that they are, the wildebeests encounter every predator and type of creature of the Serengeti along the way, all of which are featured and examined, displaying the full spectacular variety of this Nature's Paradise.

    In the first part, the image of the city's marketplace functions to address questions of Christian identity in the public sphere. The second part features a man called Sotas, bishop of Oxyrhynchus in the third century, as he is busy networking with other Christian communities, involved in teaching, book production, and fund-raising. The third part, focusing on evidence of the persecution of Christians, reveals the far-reaching power and pervasiveness of Roman bureaucracy. We learn that Christians negotiated their identity through small acts of resistance against the imperial decrees.The papyrus letters and documents discussed in this book offer sometimes surprising insights into the everyday lives of Christians in the third and early fourth century and nuance our understanding of Christianity in this period. It is the mundane aspects of everyday life that make these papyrus documents so fascinating.

    These cooks create new recipes by fusing together traditional Arab and Mediterranean food, with a chapter dedicated to each cook.

    She shares her personal struggles as a wife, mother and member of a society that still rejects people living with HIV.

    36-year-old Paul du Toit, a covert army operative in the twilight years of white-ruled South Africa, believes he has buried his violent past, until events force him to apply for amnesty from the TRC for the deaths of two anti-apartheid activists.

    This relationship explains many aspects of African societies. The connection between the natural and the supernatural, the visible and the invisible, and the human and the divine, is maintained in a state of equilibrium through prayer and ritual. These representations of the divine forces on Earth occupy a central place in African society. Juju priests, shamans, and healers are not only the guardians of tradition, but also the pillars of African civilizations. They serve as doctors, priests, performers, and teachers. As mediums between the spiritual and the earthly worlds, they embody the soul of Africa itself. Daniel Laine presents a vivid photographic portrayal of these men and women as they perform exorcisms, dances, and other rituals of African mysticism. Detailed captions elucidate the vivid photographs and an introduction places these traditions into context. A spiritual journey through twelve African countries (Nigeria, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, Guinea, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Congo, Gabon and Uganda), African Gods is as visually stunning as it is enlightening.

    In this gloriously illustrated book, world traveler and style expert Bibi Jordan introduces Swahili shule--the Swahili school of design, architecture, and graceful living that instills a sense of simplicity, sensuality, and spirituality to any interior. Travel from the coral atoll islands of East Africa to the warm trade winds of the Indian Ocean and discover the land where African kings, Arabian sultans, Chinese sailors, American whalers, and French pirates met to trade jewels,spices, and colorful fabrics. Swahili Chic features the sensual coral palaces and historic traveler's inns of UNESCO world heritage sites Lamu and Zanzibar, as well as the romantic seaside cottages and eco-adventure resorts of Mombasa and Malindii. Individual chapters detail each region's rich culture and history, and highlight the most intriguing and inspirational aspects of the region's decor, making this an ideal book for the decorator, the armchair traveler, and the globetrotting adventurer. The final section features Bibi Jordan's expert guidance to integrating aspects of Swahili Chic into any decor, bringing the beauty, color, and grace of this timeless culture to the modern home, wherever in the world it may be.

    The little girl named Mulukan is shadowed with terrors, uncertainty and extreme poverty as she starts the long walk. She is only six years old when she is orphaned, not one known blood relative. Her future appears bleak, a devastatingly hard life impossible to turnaround. But, her faith, her inspiration, her spirit to believe, rises up for reckoning.Long Walk Up takes an honest look at tragedy, unexpected life events, striking coincidences that become the deciding threads in the fabric of an orphan child's life. Mulukan's story strikes a perfect balance between devastating struggle and boundless triumph. Mulukan's remarkable orphan child story searches the heart. It demands faith, real belief and profound trust.Readers who loved The Alchemist, The Prophet and The Audacity of Hope may fall in love with Long Walk Up. Mulukan's inspiring story is reflected in the eyes, hearts and souls of orphan children who refuse to give up, despite how daunting and heart wrenching the long walk path. It's time that you started to believe in life's best again! Get your copy of Long Walk Up now, so you can start reading this inspirational story today! Isn't it time that you started to believe in YOU again!

    Here are the proud, majestic warriors of the Maasai and Samburu, the Mursi with their jutting lip-plates, the guinea-fowl-painted faces of the Karo, the bull jumpers of the Hamar, and the honey seekers of the forests, the Batwa, among many other tribes. These fascinating peoples of the Rift Valley are remarkably diverse, yet sadly, nearly all of these communities face extinction in the near future due to Western influence. Elizabeth Gilbert's glorious black-and-white photography, accompanied by her thoughtful, engaging text, offers sweeping views of this magnificent and sometimes harsh landscape and its peoples. Thought-provoking and remarkable, "Tribes of the Great Rift Valley" is a time capsule, perhaps even the last record, of age-old traditions and a way of life that will almost certainly soon vanish from our planet.

    The book exposes the strategy and tactics of AIDS denialists and focuses on the struggle for antiretrovirals to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and to extend the lives of people living with AIDS. *** "AIDS denialism has resulted in the deaths of at least hundreds of thousands of people. Nattrass's book provides an important service to the world and will save lives." - Mark Wainberg, Director of the McGill U. AIDS Centre, past President of the International AIDS Society, and co-chair of the Toronto 2006 AIDS Conference

    Experimental in several ways, the book is set up as a bizarre and disturbing scrapbook belonging to Ace and Rem, two South African brothers. The reader of the scrapbook is a war correspondent who has traveled from Amsterdam to South Africa to talk to the boys, hoping to find their connection to events across two continents that have left a trail of shattered lives. Deft characterization shows the growing ties between the boys and the journalist, and, despite the horrors, the result is an engrossing story that is both cynical and tenderly hilarious.

    The disease, also known as Human African trypanosomiasis, is transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly which holds captive a third of the entire African continent. Peter Kennedy's story aims to raise awareness of a disease that has so far been largely neglected by the industrialised Western nations, yet is a major killer in Africa. Peter Kennedy has spent much of his like devoted to the study of sleeping sickness in Africa and gives a intense portrait of the African Portrait. Part of the income raised by sales of this book will go towards research on treating diseases like sleeping sickness.

    Lindiwe must learn to get along with her hardened older cousin if they are going to work together for their family.

    Disbanded and later reformed, the regiment was to distinguish itself during World War II in the Burma campaign. Using the counter-insurgency experience gleaned from the Malayan Campaign of the 1950s, the RAR provided the frontline troops in the battle for Rhodesia in that country 's bittercivil war of the 1960s and 1970s. Commissioned by the RAR Association (UK).Contents include: * The formation of the Rhodesia Native Regiment* RNR operations in East Africa during WWI* Armistice and the disbandment of the RNR* The formation of the RAR* The RAR in the Burma campaign* The RAR in the Malayan Emergency* The Nyasaland Emergency* The RAR in the Rhodesian bush war

    Illuminée existed for 100 days in the living hell of Kigali, Rwandas capital, after watching her husband being dragged away to be killed by friends who had celebrated their wedding with them a month earlier. Then she embarked on a horrific journey through the Genocide with Roger strapped to her back. At any moment a wrong move would have seen them join the 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus who were slaughtered in the space of just three months. Illuminée Nganemariya has spent the last decade living in Norwich, England, dealing with the trauma of her 100-day nightmare.

    A scholar whose work dramatically influenced the world of academia but whose personal story--until now--has remained an enigma, Turner (1890-1972) emerges from behind the shadow of his germinal 1949 study Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect as a man devoted to family, social responsibility, and intellectual contribution.

    In 1957, he became the first Prime Minister of Ghana. By the time he was overthrown in a coup in 1966 most African countries, outside the settler-dominated South, had also achieved independence. ' As a visionary Nkrumah was ahead of his times, with an astute understanding of colonialism that made the twin goals of socialism at home (Ghana) and African unity the abiding principles of his work and life.... Nkrumah's monumental role and place in modern Ghana's history mystifies him as a national hero; 'Black Star' humanizes Nkrumah in important ways, and the reader gains a new understanding of a great man, but still a man.' - From the new Foreword by Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong, Professor of History, Harvard University

    Their journey frames this exploration of the extraordinary history of the Gullah culture-characterized by strong African cultural retention and a direct influence on American culture, particularly in the South-described in this fascinating book. Since long before the Revolution, America has had hidden pockets of a bygone African culture with a language of its own, and long endowed with traditions, language, design, medicine, agriculture, fishing, hunting, weaving, and the arts. This book explores the Gullah culture's direct link to Africa, via the sea islands of the American southeast.The first published evidence of Gullah went almost unrecorded until the 1860s, when missionaries from Philadelphia made their way, even as the Civil War was at its height, to St. Helena Island, South Carolina, to establish a small institution called Penn School to help freed slaves learn how to read and write and make a living in a world of upheaval and distress. There they noticed that most of the islanders spoke a language that was only part English, tempered with expressions and idioms, often spoken in a melodious, euphonic manner, accompanied by distinctive practices in religion, work, dancing, greetings, and the arts. The homogeneity, richness, and consistency of this culture was possible because the sea-islanders were isolated. Even today, there are more than 300,000 Gullah people, many of whom speak little or no English, living in the remoter areas of the sea islands of St. Helena, Edisto, Coosay, Ossabaw, Sapelo, Daufuskie, and Cumberland. Gullah Culture in America explores not only the history of Gullah, but takes the reader behind the scenes of Gullah culture today to show what it's like to grow up, live, and celebrate in this remarkable and uniquely American community.

    In the 1960s, the five countries represented—Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia—achieved independence. Women made historic contributions in the resistance struggles and later during the process of development, as entries from activists and eloquent members of parliament attest.The volume boasts entries of uncommon historical interest including two rare texts by former slave women; a 1711 letter written by a woman who ruled a large Muslim domain; a mid-19th-century Muslim epic poem, freshly translated; a Christian hymn dating to 1890; and a memoir by a Mau Mau general. The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture by Wangari Maathai, the first environmentalist and the first African woman named a Nobel laureate, concludes the volume.While Kiswahili is the dominant language of the region, along with English, thierty-one other languages have been translated for the volume. Motherhood, education, religion, workforce participation, widows’ rights, prostitution, polygamy, circumcision, rebellion, and HIV/AIDS are some of the subjects examined in fiction, poetry, letters, journalism, oral histories, speeches, and historical documents spanning three centuries.

    It enabled France to establish Saint-Domingue, the single richest colony on earth, and it connected France, Africa, and the Caribbean permanently. Yet the impact of the slave trade on the cultures of France and its colonies has received surprisingly little attention. Until recently, France had not publicly acknowledged its history as a major slave-trading power. The distinguished scholar Christopher L. Miller proposes a thorough assessment of the French slave trade and its cultural ramifications, in a broad, circum-Atlantic inquiry. This magisterial work is the first comprehensive examination of the French Atlantic slave trade and its consequences as represented in the history, literature, and film of France and its former colonies in Africa and the Caribbean.Miller offers a historical introduction to the cultural and economic dynamics of the French slave trade, and he shows how Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu and Voltaire mused about the enslavement of Africans, while Rousseau ignored it. He follows the twists and turns of attitude regarding the slave trade through the works of late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century French writers, including Olympe de Gouges, Madame de Staël, Madame de Duras, Prosper Mérimée, and Eugène Sue. For these authors, the slave trade was variously an object of sentiment, a moral conundrum, or an entertaining high-seas “adventure.” Turning to twentieth-century literature and film, Miller describes how artists from Africa and the Caribbean—including the writers Aimé Césaire, Maryse Condé, and Edouard Glissant, and the filmmakers Ousmane Sembene, Guy Deslauriers, and Roger Gnoan M’Bala—have confronted the aftermath of France’s slave trade, attempting to bridge the gaps between silence and disclosure, forgetfulness and memory.

    The poems look back on slavery and individual experiences of hardship and trying to make a living.

    Publication of such an important book, at this critical moment in the Darfur genocide, offers to government officials, academics, humanitarian aid groups, human rights organizations, as well as to the broader public an in-depth critical assessment of the current situation in Darfur.

    The guide is leading safari chef Josie Stow, who takes us through a day in the life of her bush kitchen. Today's most popular ingredients are used in exciting combinations with recipes for all occasions. Whether you are looking for a quick lunch or supper, breakfast and snack dishes, new ideas for the barbecue or recipes for a lavish dinner party, The African Kitchen will provide inspiration and enjoyment.

    It is packed with history, advice, instructions and inspiration.

    What is less well known is the fact that these anti-fascist views led her in later life to campaign on behalf of one of Africa's most conservative and autocratic monarchs, the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie.

    The objects within include sculpture, textiles and musical instruments--some of which were collected in the field, others of which passed through hubs of the international art trade like Paris and Brussels, and still others of which arrived with African runners, who helped locate objects for sale. As the market expanded, an increasing number of object types joined the canon of what constituted art, and artists in Africa and the Pacific began producing replicas and new types--opening a whole new debate about the objects' authenticity. This valuable tome explores this debate and the social, political and commercial forces underlying it.

    Award-winning photographer Gil Garcetti has created an important visual document intended to show the world why Water is Key. The book contains eighty compelling black-and-white photographs that illustrate the immediate need for safe water and the dramatic results that can be achieved through the help of world leaders, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and involved citizens. Short essays by leaders such as President Jimmy Carter and outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan are accompanied by quotes from NGO staff and West African villagers themselves. A foreword by Steve Hilton, president of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, describes the foundation's important safewater relief efforts in Niger, Ghana, Mali, and Burkina Faso. A directory of NGOs and safe water projects in West Africa is included. Gil Garcetti intends Water is Key to be a call to action and plans to spend a substantial part of his energies in the next two years to making his campaign a successful one. All of his royalties from bookstore sales of this book will be donated to a safe-water NGO.

    Probes with characteristic insight and empathy, the schisms, ironies and anomalies that continue to plague South African society.

    In 2005, the Walt Disney Company donated its Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. Considered one of the world's finest collections of African art, the Disney-Tishman Collection contains iconic pieces dating from the fifteenth to twentieth centuries and showcases art that represents seventy-five peoples and twenty countries. This book explores the many ways that the collection reflects Africa's rich history and culture and focuses particularly on objects used in performance, rituals, and as emblems of power. Figures carved in stone, wood, and ivory; stools, masks, crowns, jewelry, and hunting tools--each object is presented in vivid color plates and accompanied by texts providing information about the objects' history, uses, and materials. This beautiful book accompanies the first public presentation of the collection in the past twenty years, permitting a new generation to experience one of America's national treasures.

    Covering a span of 18 years (from 1987–2006), they cover a range of topics: from apartheid’s dying 'fireworks display' to the often heated debate surrounding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the loss of innocence in achieving a new South Africa, Thabo Mbeki and the AIDS question, the place of English in modern South Africa, that modern icon Brenda Fassie, higher education and the liberal tradition and – most recently – the writer's 'struggle' with Jacob Zuma and the ANC Youth League. Written with insight and compassion, these pieces provide a sane history of South Africa’s recent past and explain much about what often seems a baffling present.

    However, there are many countries where politicians win elections by giving money, jobs, and services in direct exchange for votes. This is not just true in the developing world, but also in economically developed countries - such as Japan and Austria - that clearly meet the definition of stable, modern democracies. This book offers explanations for why politicians engage in clientelistic behaviours and why voters respond. Using newly collected data on national and sub-national patterns of patronage and electoral competition, the contributors demonstrate why explanations based on economic modernization or electoral institutions cannot account for international variation in patron-client and programmatic competition. Instead, they show how the interaction of economic development, party competition, governance of the economy, and ethnic heterogeneity may work together to determine the choices of patrons, clients and policies.

    But it is also home to people who inspire hope through their courage, their determination, their enduring optimism, and their sense of fun. Brazzaville Charms is a unique portrait of a country long ignored by the rest of the world. This first-person account, based on original research and interviews, tells the story of militiamen who are led by a dreadlocked reincarnation of Christ, of exorcisms and sorcery, of pygmies who are owned by their masters, of timber companies exploiting the rain forest, and of the wars that have been caused by oil.