At the Crossroads by Rachel Isadora is a made-up story. It is about kids waiting for their fathers to come home. They waited a long time. I think that this story is really cool and that other kids will like it. I liked the pictures a lot, except the one where the moon was orange.

Wow! My family is from South Africa and we were thrilled when we found this book at our local bookstore. It is sooo true to life and so uplifting. It brought back all the memories we have of our home and even the colors brought back memories. I am sorry we had to leave S. Africa and I am happy that Rachel Isadora could bring back the sights, sounds and smells. I hope that by understanding the terrible situation of apartheid the country will become a better place and all the people can live together. I hope my children will understand all this someday! Thank you for such a wonderful book.....

A wonderful book telling of the warmth and love, not only in a family, but in a whole community. Eagerly awaiting the return of their fathers the children prepare a joyous welcome. Filled with rich, beautiful colors "At the Crossroads" tells a story of the love children have for their fathers, even though they may seldom see them. I felt that this really spoke of how those still at home kept the fathers 'alive' for the children. This is a wonderful book for children to see how other children live and how happy they can be with, what we would consider, so little. I use this book every year with our unit on Families.

Critique

The book I read was called Crocodile Hunter. I would probably rate this book a four star book. The reason I would rate this book at such a high rating is because this book was very hard to put down because there was never any boring parts. The author kept the story very interesting through out the whole story. Some of the words in the story were really big words and from time to time I had to look up some of the words. Right from the start the story got right to the point and that made it a lot better than some of the other books that I had read. One thing I thought that made this story stand out from the all the rest of them I have read because the setting in the story took place in two different kinds of worlds. Some of the activities that took place in the story were also very interesting. At the beginning Sakira is living in South Africa and in the middle of the story he is one Broadway singing with a group of very talentiewd singers. The story taught me a good lesson that Sakira did not ever forget his roots and what was happening back at his home town, where ware and politics were taking place. I would not really recommend this book to someone under the age of 11 or twelve because of some of the big words.

Crocodile Burning, by Michael Williams, is one of the most intense books that I have ever read. About a young man, Seraki, from a small, present day, troubled South African village and his small show, the book takes an unexpected turn when the musical is invited to Broadway in New York City. With Seraki's brother in jail, Seraki needs to earn money to get him out. When the cast find out that they are not getting paid properly by the evil producer, trouble starts brewing. Read the book to find out what happens! I would definitely recommend this book because the characters are excitingly unpredictable, and because the settings are interesting when changed. I really liked this book because the characters are so unpredictable. An example of this is that Mosake, the show's manager, seems to be a very nice person in the beginning of the book when the musical is stationed in the small village in South Africa. Then, when the show moves to Broadway, we see the evil man that Mosake really is. In the book, there is also a very unexpected change in settings. The small musical that is started in Seraki's poor South African town goes to New York City and is a huge star on Broadway. These are just two of the reasons why you will enjoy this novel. Even though the characters and the changes in settings are very exciting, some people might not recommend this book because it seems a little bit unrealistic. For example, someone might think that it is almost impossible for a musical, from a small South African town, would become a success on Broadway. I believe that this is not a good enough reason not to take my recommendation because thought the plot may e unrealistic, the story is told in a very believable way. You will not regret reading this South African novel!

Overall this was a fairly good book. The story at first is kind of slow, then picks up, but there is really never a climax. There was a lot of historical information in this book that I found very interesting. It really made me realize how tough conditions were in South Africa at the time that this book takes place.

The sub-title of this new children's picture book says it all. Everybody in South Africa remembers those astonishing days when the unbelievable happened and all South Africans went to vote. Today, when you go to a former township or homeland and ask anybody, "How was it when you voted?" you'll get a wonderful story about getting up early, walking a long, long way and then waiting, waiting, waiting. Outsiders are amazed at the patience and dignity of the often vast crowds waiting at polling stations in places like Soweto. But the people who sat or stood for most of the day with blankets and food, with their children or old parents, will tell you they could have waited peacefully for much longer. After all, they'd already waited all their lives! In The Day Gogo Went to Vote, this momentous time is seen through the eyes of little Thembi whose hundred-year-old great-grandmother, "Gogo", takes care of her every day while her parents are at work. Thembi's questions are answered in a way that explains election procedures to young readers but for Thembi the real impact of voting day was that Gogo was going out! Gogo had never "left the yard', even to go to church, since the long ago day when she had been humiliated and shouted at by a man at the pensions office. When the day comes, Thembi experiences one extraordinary event after another. Wearing their best clothes, she and Gogo ride in a rich store-owner's "Benz", a machine makes Gogo's hands look blue, press cameras flash, her parents cry and no-one remembers to send her to bed that night when friends and family feast and toyi-toyi through the night. Elinor Batezat Sisulu, a social worker in Cape Town, worked at a polling booth in April, 1994. Her book is a welcome addition to small but growing number of books about South African children. Bio of reviewer: Pam Sacks is owner of the Cheshire Cat book store for children in Washington, D.C. and reviewed the book in June 1996 for JULUKA Newsletter (301) 652-5754.

I ordered this book knowing my six year old daughter would love it. Having lived in South Africa for 20 years and now living in Australia, a black person voting in South Africa meant a great thing to our elders. I wanted to share a bit of joy with my daughter and she enjoyed the book. It is a spiritiual book for both young and old to relish.

Thembi's great-grandmother, Gogo decides that the 1994 election allowing black South Africans voting rights is too important to miss. Gogo is the township's oldest resident and Thembi is one of the youngest. With help from a wealthy neighbor, Gogo is able to go to the polling place to cast her vote, accompanied by Thembi and her parents. The Day Gogo Went to Vote is the winner of the Simon Wiesenthal Center Children's Book Award and clearly displays the themes of equality of people, dignity, and social justice. The excellent illustrations portray the beautiful relationship between Thembi and Gogo as well as the impact this 1994 election had on black South African's.

This one might take you a while to get through but it's well worth it. Not normally a history afficionado, I still found the 1000 or so pages easy to get through.

Provides a fascinating insight into the background for modern day South Africa, concentrating not on the Zulu but on the lesser known and more peaceful Xhosa. Interesting perspective on the Boers who don't come off near as badly as the good old Poms in this seemingly none-too-biased book.

This is a riveting, tautly written, "page-turner". And thank heavens, because it clocks in at a whopping 1300 pages. But do NOT let that deter you. If Africa is of interest to you then you NEED to, you MUST, read this book. The period under study dates from the earliest explorations of South Africa (late 1400s) to the late 1800s.

Mostert's approach is sensitive and balanced - as the subtitle conveys "The Epic of South Africa's Creation and the Tragedy of the Xhosa People". It is narrative in format and the experience (and indeed the pleasure) of reading this book is not dissimilar from that of reading Shelby Foote's monumental three volume "The Civil War: A Narrative". The flyleaf describes "Frontiers" as having a "Gibbonesque sweep" and this is extremely apt.

There are good maps, though too few of them. The style is fluid and compelling. The descriptions of the landscape are wonderfully evocative. This book provides everything that one needs to understand that tragedy that unfolded in modern day South Africa. One is left yearning for the paradise that was so clearly lost.

One of the best ways for me to recommend this book to you is by excerpting a passage:

"It was a battle that fell into complete obscurity.... It was, so to speak, an event without a name, a four-hour long retreat along a wagon road, an agonizing struggle, yard by yard, mile by mile. It was a severe humiliation....which may have helped dim its historic judgement. Yet not again until Rorke's Drift some eighteen years on would the British army again fight and die in such a brave, cruel and intimate scuffle on the African veld. There were to be no medals or recognition for the infantryman of the 91st on the road between Forts Hare and Cox on 29 December 1850. But as Robert Godlonton said, there had never been anything like it in frontier war. Maqoma paid the infantrymen high tribute. Describing the battle he was to say of the 91st that 'they died fighting and cursing to the last.'

The fighting was hand to hand, a brutal melee marked by the sort of acts of prompt individual heroism, and of miraculous survival that such ferocious close combat inevitably produced, a situation where every man was immediately for himself, with no certain idea of what was happening except directly in front of him, and yet with the fate of a companion often suddenly intrusive upon his own struggles."

This conveys the immediacy and the force with which Mostert writes. If you loved Pakenham's "Scramble for Africa", or Alan Moorehead's books on the Nile, you will not be disappointed.

Noel Mostert's 'Frontiers' explains the face of the new South Africa.

Having spent some time in the East Cape I came away with a keen sense of the history of the frontier wars so well described by the book.

Noel Mostert is the best voice of this exciting history.

I think this book was named the best book on tennis by some or other panel. Though I have not read all that many books on the sport, I cannot imagine a better book on tennis, or any other sport for that matter. Forbes is a delightful author, writing with gentle wit and charm about his childhood on a farm in the Eastern Cape, his tennis career and his life after tennis. Reading the book it is impossible not to mourn the passing of an era when sport was played for the enjoyment thereof, and sports star were friends.

A book that should be read by everybody, not only people interested in tennis or sport.

Gordon Forbes has captured the essence of what sport used to and should still be. From South African farmlands to the lawns of Wimbledon "Forbsie" paints a humorous picture of tennis in the fifties and sixtys. The cast of characters become personal friends and the author like a big brother. A Handful of Summers is among the classics on my bookshelf.

This is a journey through one man's life in an era so different from today. An insight into the world of 'amateur' tennis and its twists of professionalism. An era when tennis was played for the joy of the game, travelling, a varied existence, and a lack of anything better to do!

This traces the realities of life on the tennis tour in the 50s and 60s and the ups and downs which went with it, especially given that Gordon Forbes was from a culture as complex as that of South Africa.

This books gets you really involved in the lives of some of the greatest tennis legends of all time, and others who strove to reach their heady heights, but never quite made it to the top! This book contains so much passion and honesty that it draws you in. You can almost believe that you are right beside these tennis greats, treading in their every footstep, hearing their every breath. You feel as if you grew up with them, laughed their every laugh, and suffered their every defeat.

This is a must for every lover of tennis, and should not be written off by those who have no interest in the game. This is no ordinary tennis chronicle.

Thompson's "History" is very comprehensive for a book that is relatively short in length. His account of African and settler life before white hegemony gives readers fresh perspectives on 20th century issues. However, once Thompson finally addresses apartheid he totally neglects to address intraracial issues that make black South Africa the volitile place it is. Instead, Thompson oversimplifies all of the issues facing South Africa by making them 'white vs. black.' Regardless, Thompson's book is a good reference for early South African history.

"I did not think it was possible for a white person to write a history of South Africa which a black South African would find to be a fair and accurate account of a beautiful land and its people. Leonard Thompson has disabused me of that notion. His is a history that is both accurate and authentic, written in a delightful literary style." -- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

This truly is an incredible historical masterpiece. The account begins with two chapters dedicated to the early Africans before European intervention, and ends with the fall of apartheid and a new beginning for South Africa. It is a easy to read, and is a real page-turner.

The reason I picked this book up was I wanted to dig beneath the surface of the country's history. I learned about the two Afrikaner Republics - The Orange Free State, and the Transvaal Republic - and how they were incorporated, reluctantly, into the Union of South Africa at the beginning of the 20th century. The detail is incredible, and not boring in the least.

I highly recommend this book - especially for those who need to do research reports on apartheid, or South African history in general. Overall - and excellent, excellent history book!

This is a moving and thrilling text about the history of South Africa. The author focuses on a combination of forces and historical realities that helped to shape modern South Africa.

and while I may be accused of missing the point, I found the relationship between Ruben and Tessa extremely annoying. I bought the book thinking it would deal more with the South Africa of today, but even that was trite, with violence and corruption the two prevalent elements. As I read on, Ruben became a joke of an old man and Tessa a sadistic tease. I did enjoy A Dry White Season and why this author has decided to sink into the musings of an old man rather than explore more about South Africa and the myriad layers of its society after apartheid is a mystery to me. I must admit that I did read through it avidly and with some anticipation, assuming there would be some deeper meaning. If there is, I will have to have it explained to me because I didn't find it. It is well written and easy to read but certainly no more than that. One would be advised to read Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee instead.

It is a measure of Brink's genius that this compulsively readable novel seems so straightforward, at least at first, when one is deeply engrossed in the twists and turns of the main characters' changing relationship. Primarily a love story, it chronicles the complex, sometimes masochistic, interaction between Ruben Olivier, a lonely former librarian in his sixties, and Tessa Butler, an attractive free spirit, almost thirty, whom he has taken into his home and who claims to have deep feelings for him. But while Tessa enlivens his days with her attentions and conversations, she also toys with him, flaunting her numerous relationships with other men at night. As Tessa settles in, Ruben finds his once-orderly and peaceful world shattered, the memories with which he has consoled himself after his wife's death destroyed, and his view of himself and the world permanently changed.

The book is deceptively many-layered, for while Brink is exploring rights and desires in the relationship of Ruben and Tessa, he is also simultaneously exploring rights and desires in a political sense. In the newly independent South Africa, the formerly oppressed black majority is now in power and asserting itself. In the confusion of the power transfer, many young men, apparently feeling that "might makes right," have formed marauding gangs, attacking, raping, killing, and essentially doing whatever they desire, their only motivation being revenge for past injustices. No one is safe, and Ruben and Tessa, who had hitherto ignored the danger even when it struck close to home, find that they are not immune as they face a defining moment of terror.

The atmosphere of the novel is dark, the mood of violence is palpable, and a sense of foreboding lies heavily over all. The relationship of Ruben and Tessa is unsettling, strange, perhaps even clinically sick, but it is powerfully seductive in a Nabokovian way. The ghost of a slave, Antje of Bengal, 300-years-old, walks the house, haunts the inhabitants, and keeps them and the reader constantly on edge. Throughout the action, Brink's language is so fluid, his first-person narrative so smooth, and his sense of timing so keen that his style achieves an elegance few others could achieve, given the sometimes bizarre subject matter. This is a thematically complex tale of many interconnected relationships, and it's fascinating.

I recently read Coetzee's Disgrace, and while I do think it well written and worthwhile, I found it to be a cold, harsh book, with the protagonist quite disagreeable to the bitter end.

In The Rights of Desire, Brink weaves a world I loved to be part of, despite the violence. The house and its people -- the three living and the one a ghost -- became my welcome hangout as well. Despite all the hearbreak and the pervasive sense of unease, I also felt cradled by a world of sensuality, deep connection between human beings, and lust undivorced from loving.

Coetzee ends with love refused. Brink ends with love affirmed. I am filled with gratitude for having been there.

Ian Knight did an excellent job in presenting the famous battle of Rorke's Drift which pitted 150 British and Imperial Soldiers against over 3000 battle trained and tested Zulu warriors. Knight describes the circumstances that led to the battle beginning with the British having posts far within Zulu territory (present day South Africa) and having failed peace treaties between the British Crown and Zulu Kings. These treaties between the British Empire and Zulu Nation began with the great King Shaka Zulu and newly crowned Queen Victoria, and as such previous times the British Empire wanted more land subjegated under their influence. Thus began the trouble. This book describes the background of this and also tells about the British loss at Isandlwana which is considered one of the worst defeats in British History. The battle at Rorke's Drift was fought due to one of the Zulu nobility wanting his warriors to fight and taste blood without realizing the tremendous loss of warriors would take place. The British and its Imperial Forces (Boers, and non Zulu tribesmen) did an outstanding job by defending the Rorke's Drift Outpost and thus gaining immortal glory. This is an outstanding book that is highly recommended to those who want to read about overcoming tremendous odds and bravery at all levels of both the British and Zulu Warriors.

I enjoyed the book as it corrected some of the inconsistencies shown in the movie and fact from hollywood's license.

This book is highly recommended for anyone who wishes to acquaint themselves with battles of Isandlwana, and especially, Rorke's Drift. The author gives a brief history of the British presence in South Africa that led to the events of 22-23 January, 1879. Knight gives a detailed and accurate account of the battle at Rorke's Drift using battlefield drawings showing the movement of both troups, British and Zulu. The author also does a good job of disspelling many myths that have surrounded the battle for years. An added plus is the vast array of vintage photos of many of the key players in the Anglo-Zulu campaign. For anyone that wants to get a short(96 pages), concise, detailed history of Rorke's Drift, you will never need more than this book.

I originally bought this book because it was published about five years after Apartheid's official demise and promised to be about "the New South Africa." There aren't many stories that come out of that country these days and it is difficult finding real information about the transition to full democracy. Regretfully, this book adds little to the quest for answers about South Africa's future.

The author does a good job of interviewing various segments of South African society, but nearly 75% of the book focuses on Apartheid, which has been effectively dead since 1990. This book has the same feel as the many dozens of others that were written prior to Mandela's election. Technically the author is conducting the interviews post-Apartheid, but the reliance is on the old ghosts of the past to excuse tacit failure.

Perhaps most frustrating are the slight clues dropped along the way that hint at corruption and crime, two areas most indicative of national direction (especially in Africa), although the author never indulges us with detail. This is unfortunate because a lot of effort was spent to put together a book that gives precious little insight into whether South Africa will wind up as another Zimbabwe, or if the continent's last great hope will manage to retain its economy and pull up its neighbors as many of us were so hopeful of in 1990.

I first heard about this book on a radio talk show and immediately ordered it through Amazon.com. Listening to the author talk about his views on South Africa was quite interesting because he loves the country and its people and is cautiously enthusiastic about its future, but reading his book reveals that the vast problems South Africa faces are incredibly complex and that it may well take several generations to create an egalitarian society. One really wonders if South Africa will stand the test of time and not become another Rwanda or Yugoslavia.

The author intelligently divided the book into four parts: an introduction in which he talks about his early trips in South Africa under apartheid and the current social situation of the country, four portrait sections in which he includes a pair of interviews with people on opposite sides of the current post-apartheid experience, and a sensible personal conclusion. The reader should expect moving as well as harrowing personal accounts of apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. Many things throughout the book will bring hope to the reader; however, that hope will be checked by Goodman's well-informed statistics on criminality and unemployment in present-day South Africa. The book definitively deserves a wide readership.

Having visited South Africa in October, 1998, and seen the extensive squatters areas described by the author, I do not believe that readers of his book can adequately understand the extreme poverty he describes. It has to be seen and experienced to be appreciated. Mr. Goodman's portraits of the eight people in his book gives flesh and humanity to the otherwise dehumanizing nature of apartheid. I think his work is best appreciated if you have seen South Africa for yourself. For your readers who have not been to South Africa, they owe it to themselves to see it. I believe you can not remain unmoved by what you see and one must come away from that experience a better person.

GOLD MINE is about a stock market manipulation scheme affecting the stocks of South African gold mining companies by sabotaging the mines. Much of the action of the novel is set in a gold mine. The extensive descriptions of the mine, mining methods, and processing methods are clear and accurate-with one possible exception. Mr. Smith's use of the term "heavy media separation" seems to conflict with standard usage. I found the characters to be shallow-which really means that I could not identify nor empathize well with them. But this is, after all, an action novel, and it is quite entertaining as such. The plot is predictable, but not plodding.

Exiting - rough - but to much Africa.

"Gold Mine" is a great adventure book. Rod Ironsides becomes manager of the Sonder Ditch and must fulfill his duty the best he can. Rod becomes involved with Terry Steyner, the wife of Rod's manager. Eventually, Rod has to make a plan for the drilling of the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is full of water and any slight miscalculation could prove fatal.

From beginning to end, "Gold Mine" is one of the most exciting books I've ever read and I recommend anybody who likes adventure books to pick it up right away.