African Ways


Valerie Poore - 2007
    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.

Bodyline Autopsy: The Full Story of the Most Sensational Test Cricket Series - England Vs. Australia 1932-3


David Frith - 2002
    The story of the most controversial Test series in cricket's history.

The Racist's Guide to the People of South Africa


Simon Kilpatrick - 2010
    After sorting out the labels Black, English Whites, Afrikaners, and Coloreds, the discussion pushes on to more difficult questions: Why should you never give a White woman a white-gold engagement ring? Why do Indian men always play sports in jeans? and How do Colored gangsters fare in the navy?

Where Am I?: My Autobiography


Phil Tufnell - 2015
    Cricket's dressing-room clown is now broadcasting's joker in the pack. Whether it's dining on mealworms on I'm a Celebrity, displaying his ballroom fleckle on Strictly Come Dancing or causing weekly mayhem for the long-suffering host Sue Barker on A Question of Sport, millions of us enjoy Tuffers' lust for life and endearing sense of humour.In Where Am I?, Phil gamely tries to make sense of the wonderful roller-coaster he has been riding these last dozen years, delighting fans with a treasure trove of wonderful stories about the places he has been, the people he has met, the 'things' he has been asked to do but - most of all - the sheer enormous joy he has had doing it all.

Under Our Skin: A White Family's Journey through South Africa's Darkest Years


Donald McRae - 2012
    The McRaes, like so many white people, seemed oblivious to the violent injustices of apartheid. As the author grew up, the political differences between father and son widened and when Don refused to join up for National Service, risking imprisonment or exile overseas, the two were torn apart. It wasn't until years later that the author discovered that the father with whom he had fought so bitterly had later in his life transformed himself into a political hero. Risking everything one dark and rainy night Ian McRae travelled secretly into the black township of Soweto to meet members of Nelson Mandela's then banned African National Congress to discuss ways to bring power to black South Africa. He had no political ambitions; he was just a man trying to replace the worst in himself with something better.Under Our Skin is a memoir of these tumultuous years in South Africa's history, as told through the author's family story. It offers an intimate and penetrating perspective on life under apartheid, and tells a story of courage and fear, hope and desolation and love and pain, especially between a father and his son.

The Prince George Diaries


Clare Bennett - 2015
    On the back of his successful domination of Australia, George and his PR team are busy plotting which country will go gaga next. But since Royal Baby 2.0 came along, George is struggling to retain his composure and remind himself that he is the heir, this new pretender is the spare.This diary takes us through a year in the life of the world's most influential toddler, and is rumoured to include: the lowdown on the country's biggest specialist taskforce - Team Catherine's Hair; how George took the news that he was about to be usurped by the arrival of the new baby; and his frantic attempts to find Uncle Harry a wife.

The Insider's Guide to the Peace Corps: What to Know Before You Go


Dillion Banerjee - 2009
    . .  If you are interested in joining the Peace Corps, you probably have questions that run the gamut from "What is the application process like?" to "Is the Peace Corps effective as a development agency?" In this updated second edition, former Peace Corps volunteer Dillon Banerjee shares candid facts and insights about the experience in a practical question-and-answer format. With input from recently returned volunteers who served across the globe, this thorough guide presents valuable information including: •   What Peace Corps recruiters look for in your application•   Items you should--and shouldn't---pack for your two-year trip•   Useful gadgets and technology that help volunteers stay connected from far away•   Real answers to personal questions about culture shock, safety, dating, homesickness, and more Whether you're thinking of joining or have already been accepted and are preparing to leave, The Insider's Guide to the Peace Corps will help equip you for the unique challenges and rewards of the volunteer experience, regardless of your program area or country assignment. It's essential reading for anyone interested in "the toughest job you'll ever love."

Some of My Best Friends are White: Subversive Thoughts from an Urban Zulu Warrior


Ndumiso Ngcobo - 2007
    Crossing various controversial, amusing and downright confusing racial divides, the title delivers a healthy dose of black – and white – humour as it explores some of the rainbow nation's defining characteristics, its many colourful characters and its myriad mysterious idiosyncrasies.

Lost Ground


Michiel Heyns - 2010
    The murder of a beautiful woman shatters the rural village peace of Alfredville, and her husband, the police station commander, is jailed as chief suspect. Her cousin Peter, a freelance writer in London, returns to South Africa for the first time in decades – unsettled, curious, but also in search of a career-defining story. On checking into the Queen’s Hotel he finds that things are not as straightforward as he imagined, and South Africa is not as he left it. His carefully ordered world is thrown into turmoil as his trip dredges up a long-abandoned past, forcing him to question the assumptions so easily held from the comfort of his London flat. He meets a mixture of locals, visitors, vagrants and migrants, but most momentously, Peter discovers that his bosom friend from school, Bennie Nienaber, is still in Alfredville – and is in fact now, acting station commander at the local police station. Peter re-establishes an awkward friendship with his erstwhile friend and the two warily circle each other, sharing reminiscences that hint at a bond much deeper than nostalgia. As Peter abandons the neatly patterned story he had planned and is forced to participate in a community that he once despised, he begins to reconsider his place in the world. In search of Desirée’s story, he now starts to rewrite his own – till events take an even more shocking turn….Lost Ground explores questions of xenophobia and prejudice, of national, sexual and personal identity, and what it means to be a foreigner wherever you go.Michiel Heyns is the author of four previous novels: The Children’s Day, The Reluctant Passenger, The Typewriter’s Tale and Bodies Politic. He is a translator and was professor of English at the University of Stellenbosch.

Start the Car: The World According to Bumble


David Lloyd - 2010
    David "Bumble" Lloyd is a legend in the living room—a genuine "good bloke" all cricket fans feel they know inside out because of his infectious, larger-than-life personality and that distinctive Lancashire burr. Bumble has become the one constant for passionate English fans in cricket's rapidly changing landscape. He has earned cult status as a commentator and pundit, with viewers loving his unerring dedication to the game's great fables. This account revels in the quirkier and humorous side of cricket while offering behind-the-scenes action of Lloyd's years spent following the sport around the globe, from Accrington to Lahore. Bumble waxes lyrical on everything from the genius of Shane Warne to the merits of a Lancashire hotpot and the delights of finishing the day with a couple of pints and a curry. Enjoy the camaraderie that exists among the SkySports team—including former England captains Sir Ian Botham, Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, and David Gower—and laugh out loud at the stories and anecdotes which have forged Bumble's character. Whether he is holding up play to retrieve lost balls from the top of sight-screens or enacting mock pitch reports from car parks, Bumble is capable of stealing the limelight at all times.

A Bantu in my Bathroom


Eusebius McKaiser - 2012
    Nobody writes like this.’ - Jonathan Jansen Why are South Africans so uncomfortable with deep disagreement? Why do we lash out at people with opposing views without taking the time to engage logically with their arguments? Eusebius McKaiser is on a mission to raise the level of debate in South Africa. He provokes us from our comfort zones and lures us into the debates that shape our opinions and our society. With surprising candour and intensely personal examples, McKaiser examines our deepest-felt prejudices and ingrained assumptions. Don’t expect to read this book and escape with your defences intact. Immensely readable and completely engaging, McKaiser tackles deeply South African questions of race, sexuality and culture, including: •Can blacks be racist? •Why is our society so violent? •Is it morally okay to be prejudiced against skinny lovers? •Why is the presidential penis so problematic? •Is unconditional love ever a good thing? •Is it necessary to search for a national identity?

The Young Lions


Tony Maxwell - 2013
    Her long dark auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders and her pale, attractive face, wide set eyes and full sensuous lips took his breath away. Robert could not help staring at her in frank amazement. He found it difficult to equate this alluring woman with the tall, awkward girl he vaguely remembered while a young boy at Fairlee Manor in Scotland.* * *Action, adventure and erotic entanglements loom large in young Robert Hamilton’s future as he seeks to make his fortune in the rough and tumble world of the Johannesburg goldfields in the closing years of the nineteenth century.Robert’s business interests and adventures in the wilds of South Africa, bring him into close contact with the Boer peoples of the Transvaal Republic. As the threat of a British invasion looms large over the country, his support for the Boer cause finds him on the opposing side to his fellow uitlanders – foreigners. He is dismayed to discover that both of his brothers have enlisted in Canadian regiments ready to fight on the side of Britain in the Anglo-Boer War.

Pale Native: Memories of a Renegade Reporter


Max Du Preez - 2003
    Sometimes wacky, sometimes profound, the title is always entertaining, with the odd bit of sleaze.

The Impending Sausage Sandwich of Doom


Kirk St Moritz - 2017
    After being fired from his job as the clandestine stooge on hit TV show Ghostbusters UK, Elliott returns home to find his girlfriend missing. To make matters worse, Hapkido Valentine, the legendary 1980s wrestler, has returned from the dead and taken up residency in Elliott’s flat. Despite a voracious appetite for sausage sandwiches, Hapkido is convinced he has finally become the mystical Japanese warrior he once portrayed in the ring.Together they must undertake a dangerous journey to find out why the Universe created this most unlikely of partnerships. All that stands in their way is a medallion wearing TV psychic, a train-spotting assassin and the murderous intentions of the local over 75’s women’s group. If Elliott thought the day started badly, things are about to get a whole lot worse.

Bitches' Brew


Fred Khumalo - 2007
    Focusing on the epic love affair between a former amateur musician—who happens to be a bootlegger, mercenary, and killer—and a shebeen queen, this South African love story traces the couple's lives and loves through the interweaving of history and memory in the tradition of village storytellers.