Recce: Small Team Missions Behind Enemy Lines


Koos Stadler - 2015
    Now one of these elite soldiers has written a tell-all book about the extraordinary missions he embarked on and the nail-biting action he experienced in the Border War. Shortly after passing the infamously gruelling Special Forces selection course in the early 1980s, Koos Stadler joined the so-called Small Teams group at 5 Reconnaissance Regiment. This subunit was made up of two-man teams and was responsible for numerous secret and highly dangerous missions deep behind enemy lines. With only one teammate, Stadler was sent to blow up railway lines and enemy fighter jets in the south of Angola. As he crawled in and out of enemy-infested territory, he stared death in the face many times. A gripping, first-hand account that reveals the near superhuman physical and psychological powers these Special Forces operators have to display.

The Rainwater Secret


Monica Shaw - 2017
    Single and feeling there is nothing left for her in small-town England, Anna embarks on an adventure as a volunteer with the Medical Missionaries of Mary to teach the leper children in Africa. Life as Anna has known it, is forever changed as she learns the culture that would banish its sick, disfigured, and crippled to the jungles. Babies are left to die on roadsides, children are chased away to live by whatever means they can find. The aged are abandoned. Anna’s daily life is an adventure as she travels from one village to another across a hostile land with few passable roads, rickety bridges threatening to fall apart and cast its occupants on the jagged rocks far below, and weather that turns a calm river into a roiling death trap. In spite of the trials, Anna also manages to find love and family in this godforsaken land. Follow this adventure through disease, weather, strife, death and determination to turn a few acres of land into a loving home for the outcast lepers of Nigeria.

Dog Eat Dog


Niq Mhlongo - 2005
    Dingz -- a bright, articulate student -- and his circle of friends like to sit around drinking and discussing AIDS, racism, history and South African politics.They also have some hair-raising adventures; like being kidnapped by taxi-drivers, contracting gonorrhea and trying to fake a death certificate. The novel's constant backdrop is the subtle but institutionalized racism at Dingz's university; which threatens to deny him financial aid. Dingz is an intelligent and likable character -- but he is certainly no saint. His anger at the racism around him is sometimes over-the-top but certainly not hard to understand, and his self-aware, cynical usage of the 'race card' is at times incredibly amusing. This is an authentic, witty, slice-of-life piece of fiction set at the time of the first South African democratic elections.

The Hanging Tree


David Lambkin - 1995
    She becomes intrigued by a 1908 safari and the British nobleman who died mysteriously. The further she probes, the more deeply she is drawn into past lives and ancient, mysterious forces of violence.

Coveted


Mychea - 2010
    Coveted has them all. Naima Ari Fairchild has a life that dreams are made of - a handsome, NFL husband of eight years (Kaden), two beautiful children and a glamorous lifestyle, with a big house, fancy clothes, and lots of money - or so everyone thinks. No one can begin to understand what it's like for Naima, living with a husband that can't embrace reality. Will she be forced to find a new love in Damir? Naima's best friend Haven, doesn't know the meaning of the word loyalty and truly tests their friendship. Emeri is a mysterious stranger who threatens to shake up Naima's life in more ways than one. How much can one woman take? Follow the stories of five characters, whose lives are intertwined by lurking secrets that should have been buried a long time ago. Read as the lines between lovers and friends, and right and wrong become crossed. This book might have you thinking twice before trusting someone that you call your "friend". Come explore what it is like to be...Coveted

Child Abuse True Stories: DOCTOR'S ORDERS (The child abuse scandal they tried to cover up!)


Hannah Wingfield - 2015
     It doesn't make for "easy" reading, but since when did ignoring an issue make it disappear? After all, this is the world we all live in. Isn't it time we did something about it? DISCLAIMER: This book is based upon a true story of child abuse, and as such contains passages that some readers may find disturbing.

Onion Tears


Shubnum Khan - 2011
    Khadeejah Bibi Ballim is a hard-working and stubborn first generation Indian who longs for her beloved homeland and often questions what she is doing on the tip of Africa. At thirty-seven, her daughter Summaya is struggling to reconcile her South African and Indian identities, while Summaya's own daughter, eleven-year old Aneesa, is a girl who has some difficult questions of her own. Is her mother lying to her about her father's death? Why won't she tell her what really happened? Gradually, the past merges with the present as the novel meanders through their lives, uncovering the secrets people keep, the words they swallow and the emotions they elect to mute. For this family, faintly detectable through the sharp spicy aromas that find their way out of Khadeejah's kitchen, the scent of tragedy is always threatening. Eventually it will bring this family together. If not, it will tear them apart.

The Persistence of Memory


Tony Eprile - 2004
    The Baltimore Sun declared Eprile's "horrifying yet heartrendingly beautiful" prose to be "comparable to his fellow authors of Apartheid Andre Brink and Nadine Gordimer." As the novel builds to a harrowing conclusion, the protagonist, a veteran of the secret war in Angola and Namibia, is forced to appear before the Truth and Reconciliation Committee with astonishing results. Nobel Prize-winning author J. M. Coetzee calls The Persistence of Memory "a story of coming to maturity in South Africa in the bad old days. Always warm-hearted, sometimes comic, ultimately damning."

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg -- Review


Expert Book Reviews - 2014
    The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion compares the contrasting worlds of present-day Southern life and Midwestern immigrant cities during World War II. After learning that she was adopted, Sookie is filled with questions of self-doubt and becomes determined to learn the truth behind her roots. Fannie Flagg depicts adventurous and courageous women as WASPs during WWII as she tells the story of the Jurdabralinski sisters. These roles contradict Sookie's upbringing in Alabama where society is ruled by social norms and status. The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion offers an inspirational tale with accurate historical details that are presented through an engaging plot. This review of Flagg's novel gives you a broader view of the author and her writing style. Read quotes from literary critics to discover the book's appeal, or lack thereof. Sookie counters a cast of larger-than-life characters as she finds adventure and realizes her underlying identity. The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion captures a journey of self-discovery mixed with realism and humor to delight all readers.

The Forgiving Quilt


Ann Hazelwood - 2016
    She vows to restore the property he left her in Borna, Missouri, and sell it, but the longer Kate stays in town, the harder she finds it to leave. Her life becomes even more embroiled in Borna when she discovers a mysterious quilt in her new home. Haunted by the quilt’s past, Kate is also troubled by several terrifying occurrences. Somebody wants to take the property from her. Will Kate let their horrifying tactics run her out, or will she stand her ground? Find out in this novel of self-discovery, forgiveness, and courage. Electronic Book (e-Book) Policy: Purchaser of this e-Book may not sell, rent, lease, transfer, lend or share the e-Book. Digital download of this e-book is offered in PDF, Mobi, and epub formats.

The Last Maasai Warriors: An Autobiography


Wilson Meikuaya - 2012
    Wilson and Jackson are two brave warriors of the Maasai, an intensely proud culture built on countless generations steeped in the mystique of tradition, legend and prophecy. They represent the final generation to literally fight for their way of life, coming of age by proving their bravery in the slaying of a lion. They are the last of the great warriors.Yet, as the first generation to fully embrace the modern ways and teachings of Western civilization, the two warriors have adapted — at times seamlessly, at times with unimaginable difficulty — in order to help their people. They strive to preserve a disappearing culture, protecting the sanctity of their elders while paving the way for future generations.At this watershed moment in their history, the warriors carry the weight of their forbearers while embracing contemporary culture and technology. While their struggle to achieve this balance unfolds exquisitely in this story, their discoveries resonate well beyond the Maasai Mara.

Ghosts of the Past


Tony Park - 2019
    I love his work.' DEON MEYER Africa, 1906: A young Australian adventurer is condemned to death.Sydney, the present: journalist Nick Eatwell has just lost his job, but his day is brightened when a fellow reporter, South African Susan Vidler, comes into his life looking for help with a story.Susan is chasing information about Nick's great-great uncle, Cyril Blake, who fought in the Anglo-Boer War and later joined the struggle for independence across the border in the German colony of South West Africa, now Namibia.A long-lost manuscript proves Nick's forebear was a somewhat reluctant hero. Soldier, deserter, cattle rustler and freedom fighter, Blake was helping the lost cause before the Kaiser's forces ordered his assassination.In Germany, historian Anja Berghoff is researching the origins of the famed desert horses of Namibia. She's also interested in Blake and an Irish-German firebrand and spy, Claire Martin, with whom Cyril had an affair.Nick and Anja head to Africa on the trail of a legend, but someone else is delving into the past, looking for clues to the secret location of a missing horde of gold that's worth killing for. Spanning two centuries, Ghosts of the Past is based on a true story. PRAISE FOR GHOSTS OF THE PAST'Thrilling adventure based on a true story' Daily Telegraph'As with all Park's books, the pace is fast' Army News'Even more captivating because it is based on a true story' Weekly Times 'Park once again shows why he is one of Australia's preeminent thriller writers. Cleverly utilising multiple timelines to tell an outstanding story across Africa's history, this is an amazing novel. Highly recommended.' Canberra Weekly

A Time of Angels


Patricia Schonstein - 2004
    Brought up on a rich diet of astronomy, philosophy, and storytelling, Primo accurately reads the futures of the local community who pay him in honey cake, tiramisu, and other delicacies. Pasquale Benvenuto is the owner of a beloved wine bar and delicatessen whose culinary reputation rests on recipes for the fruited breads and salamis his father taught him to make.Together Primo and Pasquale form an easy friendship triangle with the beautiful Beatrice, Primo's wife and Pasquale's former girlfriend. But when Beatrice leaves her husband for her old love, Primo is devastated. He casts spells to spoil Pasquale's creations and to win back Beatrice -- but inadvertently conjures up an unexpected visitor.

The Girl On the Train: A Kidnapping


R. Jones - 2015
    Their designs are evil, and she has no idea about their intentions. They have devised a plan to kidnap her. What are their further plans in Eastern Europe? Who will help her get out of this trouble?

the wonderboy of the whistlestop cafe


Fannie Flagg