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Like many white South Africans of his generation, Rian Malan fled his country to dodge the draft. He felt incredibly guilty for this act, but would have felt equally guilty for not doing it: "I ran because I wouldn't carry a gun for apartheid, and because I wouldn't carry a gun against it." Malan, the product of a well-known Afrikaner family, returned to South Africa and produced My Traitor's Heart, which explores the literal and figurative brutalities of apartheid. Death is a constant presence on these pages, and the narrative is driven by Malan's criminal reportage. This acclaimed book intends to illuminate South Africa's poisonous race relations under apartheid, and few books do it this well.
Book Description
A classic of literary nonfiction, My Traitor's Heart has been acclaimed as a masterpiece by readers around the world. Rian Malan is an Afrikaner, scion of a centuries-old clan and relative of the architect of apartheid, who fled South Africa after coming face-to-face with the atrocities and terrors of an undeclared civil war between the races. This book is the searing account of his return after eight years of uneasy exile. Armed with new insight and clarity, Malan explores apartheid's legacy of hatred and suffering, bearing witness to the extensive physical and emotional damage it has caused to generations of South Africans on both sides of the color line. Plumbing the darkest recesses of the white and black South African psyches, Malan ultimately finds his way toward the light of redemption and healing. My Traitor's Heart is an astonishing book -- beautiful, horrifying, profound, and impossible to put down.
Customer Reviews:
An insight into the tortured soul of a typical liberal wooftah.........2007-02-28
White liberal draft-dodger hard at work. He's a good writer and the book's a painful look into the heart of a white liberal. My admiration goes rather to those who fought to defend their country.... but it's an insight into the tortured soul of a typical liberal wooftah. Why people put themselves thru all this inner torment I have no idea - have a beer and get over it, bloke! If you'd just done your time in the armed forces like pretty much every other south african had to do instead of taking the chicken run, you wouldn;t be going thru all this turmoil.
memoirs of an Africaaner-1970-1990.......2006-02-24
Before a recent visit to S. Africa, this book was recommended as an introduction to the political climate in S. Africa, especially after Apartheid. This very personal account told by Rian Malan, whose ancestors were directly responsible for the formation of the Apartheid society, traces his teenage rebellion against Apartheid, his career as a liberal newspaper reporter and his ultimate rejection of the violence that the new government has spawned. Be prepared for graphic descriptions of violence committed by both whites and blacks.
A good introduction to the complicated history of S. Africa and leaves the reader with questions regarding the future of that sad country.
A Rare Look into the Afrikaner Mind..........2006-01-27
I really enjoyed this book, although I do have some problems with it. First and foremost I will recommend it because I think it offers amazing insight into the psychology of Afrikaners and should be read-by any serious student of South African History. It is a valid historical document in that sense, because it is an honest and well-written, and sometimes deeply moving, biographical account of a "liberal" Afrikaner who has to struggle with his progressive ideals and his residual prejudices.
Rian Malan is a fascinating individual who fully accepts the humanity of all his fellow men and loves people of all colors-but in a way he has also rather unapologetically bought into the idea of some deep and maybe unsurpassable "cultural differences" between "us and them". This involves repeating a traditional refrain about how outsiders "don't understand" how "they" really are. While I agree that outside observers tended to see things in only one dimension, I also think that Malan is somewhat won over to the colonial discourse of "Darkest Africa", that place where savagery reigns.
What about white savagery? Although Malan talks about some white atrocities and even explicitly says they are savage-e.g., a white man forces a black man to castrate himself at gunpoint and then flicks the testicles away with a stick-and although he suggests the Afrikaner is also "savage", he never seems to make this part of "white" South African character. It is always that the whites are acting from fear, because they are "swamped". But clearly the countless cases of white human rights atrocities cannot be attributed to fear. Somehow the violence of "natives" becomes assimilated to their "culture" in his mind-some ancient "African" culture outside observers can't understand, but white inhumanity, no matter how many instances of it there are, and there are countless, is not portrayed the same way, as an offshoot of "culture" that is somehow independent of environment. Whites are always granted a context for their actions; Zulus are simply doing things the way Zulus "always have".
Still, I do think it's a beautiful book in a number of ways, despite these serious flaws, and if you want to know how some Afrikaners think, I think this is a book to look at. I recently talked to a white South African and found his discourse to be similar to Malan's-talk of fear, talk of "strange cultural rites", talk of profound differences that are unbridgeable, upsetting things I generally disagree with, but this discourse is part of the white South African self-understanding. And although poverty and crime are very real in South Africa, I still believe that white South Africans often have a self-justifying ideology that simply refuses to look at what they've done to bring about the problems of modern South Africa and prefers to look at the problems they are faced with, as if they emerged from a vacuum. (Obviously, I'm not excusing anyone's violence of any kind here, just making a point).
This is only human that people prefer to avoid examining their own consciences, and Malan has more humanity, kindness, compassion and insight than most people do anywhere, but you will see what I mean about his essentializing of difference if you read the book, and you should. He loves these "native" men and women, he jokes with them, he finds some brilliant, and at the end of the book he accepts that he has to let go of his fear if he wants to move forward. But he has somewhat convinced me prior to these last pages that he isn't really ready to make that leap, and that his faith in building a new nation could be easily shattered, as of course it will be, if you think in terms of black and white.
Magnificent, brooding work.......2004-12-24
This book came out when I was working in South Africa. It explores in an uncompromising way two rival phenomena: the hopes of 'white liberalism' and some harsh realities of South Africa's 'African-ness' which many urban liberals at that point seemed to pretend either were not there or were somehow only a function of apartheid.
The passages on Creina Alcock, a 'white' South African who stepped far away from her background to live as a Zulu are are especially poignant, even stunning. I visited Creina in her remote hut on the strength of this book and was astonished by her courage and wisdom. Rian captures this extraordinary story in a moving if (for the average reader?) pessimistic way
This book has universalist insights for anyone interested in whether Civilisations really do Clash. Rian Malan was on to something very profound in this book. It is vivid and appalling in places, and not always easy reading. So what? These issues are as difficult as anything we face. Read it, lots of times.
Disturbing.......2004-02-29
This book is an investigation into the attitudes of a liberal who was raised in South Africa. In the book, Malan tells us that his original charge was to write the history of his racist ancestors, who were among the first Boer settlers in the region. But when Malan began his project, he found he needed to first explore and develop his own perspective on race in South Africa before he could begin. And once he began doing this, he never really got around to the history project.
The book is divided into 3 sections. In the first, Malan describes his own childhood and adolescence, leading up to his forced flight from South Africa, with a major focus on his youthful love for Blacks (especially in the abstract). The second part of the book details a number of violent murders that Malan investigated upon his return to South Africa in 1986 to write this book. In this section, Malan describes the intense violence that was occurring in South Africa at the time, and how all Whites, even doctors providing humanitarian services in the townships, became targets for Black rage. He also explores violence between rival Black political groups. In the closing section, Malan visits a White woman named Creina Alcock, who lived on the border of Msanga, a tribal homeland, where she and her husband had struggled to build a sustainable rural development project with the local Blacks. The woman was widowed after her husband was killed while trying to negotiate peace talks during a tribal disturbance in Msanga.
The book doesn't have a strong narrative thread- -instead it seems that Malan was trying to communicate some of his own confusion and ambivalence about racial questions by presenting so many stories and sides of the picture, and flipping rapidly from one to the next. The loose organization is effective to some degree; the reader slowly comes to understand the enormity and complexity of South Africa's problems. Yes, many Whites provoked anger from Blacks by their abominable behavior and laws. Blacks in turn responded with violence that was so overwhelming that even those Whites who tried as hard as they could to do the right thing were in mortal danger. And the worst and most senseless violence seemed to occur in Black communities that had no White involvement at all. The entire society was so focused on violence that as one White living on a farm in a rural area told Malan "The guy with the bigger stick wins." In closing with Creina Alcock's story, Malan tries to leave us with a little hope. He argues that Alcock's and her late husband's love for their community has made a marginal difference in the social structure, despite the ongoing attacks on them and thefts of their property by children they had adopted and raised as their own, and even the murder of Alcock's husband. With the infinitesimally small improvements that the Alcocks managed to make in their community by giving their entire lives over to the project, how many millions more Alcocks would it take to turn such a country around, and where might they come from?
Average customer rating:
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The Major Operations Of The Navies In The War Of American Independence
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Manufacturer: Scholar's Bookshelf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Revolution & Founding
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Naval
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| France
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
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Revolution
| France
| Europe
| History
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ASIN: 0945726333 |
Product Description
2005 Scholar's Bookshelf reprint edition. Mahan's uniquely informed perspectives pioneered the study of the naval aspects of the American Revolution, and presented detailed and carefully organized chapters on the naval campaigns on Lake Champlain, Boston, Charleston, Narragansett Bay, the reaction to British invasions in New York, Philadelphia, and the Hudson Valley, the repercussions of naval wars abroad, the operations at Yorktown, and subsequent battles in the West Indies. Reprint of the original London:1913 edition. Includes the original 18" x 8 3/4" foldout map. illustrated.
Book Description
¡n we get some reality in here?ߡsks Judy Sheindlin, former supervising judge for Manhattan Family Court. For twenty–four years she has laid down the law as she understands it:
● If you want to eat, you have to work.
● If you have children, you'd better support them.
Customer Reviews:
required reading.......2007-07-21
this book should be required reading for all kids in jr. high school. Judge Judy has an uncanny ability to glean the truth out of a pile of b.s.!
Eyeopening to say the least!.......2007-07-20
If you've ever wondered what goes on in a family court in the City of New York, here's your chance to see it from the eyes of the judge. When you see Judge Judy on tv, I believe you're seeing a lighter side to her. After reading this book, you'll realize that she has had to rule on the most heart breaking of cases, only to have the social service administration or the parole system undercut what she determined to be the right decision.
Judge Judy has chutzpah!.......2007-01-28
Judge Judy doesn't mince words! I really liked her frankness in this book. It's a shame that some of her ideas are not tried in our justice system. She has spent a lifetime seeing things that many of us could never even imagine. I really enjoyed her honesty!
"I CAN PROVE JUDGE JUDY IS RIGGED" .......2006-12-30
Judge Judy = UNPROVOKED EVIL!!!
For the full story do a Google search for
JUDGE (JOKE) JUDY
or
Judge Judy is a scam
CHEERING FOR JUDGE JUDY!! .......2006-10-26
This book made me want to cheer out loud!! Judge Judy points out, as so many in society do, that there is a lack of responisbility out there. So many people in our county refuse to take responsibility for their own stupid mistakes and the rest of us pay for it. There is too much reliance on people who live by the law and live their lives responsibly.
I did feel rather sad to realize though, that she is just ONE judge who takes action in her own little corner of America. If more people thought like her, and followed her actions on getting tough with the deadbeats of the nation, this country would not have the severe problems it has. I wish more people in a position of power could see things how she sees it.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Trial, published by Association of Trial Lawyers of America on September 1, 1996. The length of the article is 789 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Don't Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It's Raining: America's Toughest Family Court Judge Speaks out. (book reviews)
Author: Susan M. Lach
Publication:
Trial (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 1996
Publisher: Association of Trial Lawyers of America
Volume: 32
Issue: n9
Page: 84(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
Cattails grow in a marsh, pitcher plants grow in a bog, jewelweed grows in a swamp, right? Do sandhill cranes live among sandy hills? Frogs live near lakes and ponds, but can they live on prairies, too? What is a pine barrens, an oak opening, a calcareous fen?
Wisconsin's Natural Communities is an invitation to discover, explore, and understand Wisconsin's richly varied natural environment, from your backyard or neighborhood park to stunning public preserves.
Part 1 of the book explains thirty-three distinct types of natural communities in Wisconsin—their characteristic trees, beetles, fish, lichens, butterflies, reptiles, mammals, wildflowers—and the effects of geology, climate, and historical events on these habitats. Part 2 describes and maps fifty natural areas on public lands that are outstanding examples of these many different natural communities: Crex Meadows, Horicon Marsh, Black River Forest, Maribel Caves, Whitefish Dunes, the Blue Hills, Avoca Prairie, the Moquah Barrens and Chequamegon Bay, the Ridges Sanctuary, Cadiz Springs, Devil's Lake, and many others.
Intended for anyone who has a love for the natural world, this book is also an excellent introduction for students. And, it provides landowners, public officials, and other stewards of our environment with the knowledge to recognize natural communities and manage them for future generations.
Customer Reviews:
Wisconsin's Natural Communities.......2006-01-22
For almost 30 years I have longed to be capable of "reading the landscape," to comprehend what I see and understand how it came to be where it is today. At this point, I am fluent only in the passages of my own neighborhood, but Randy Hoffman's book offers a good opportunity for me-or you-to learn to read the land beyond the immediate horizon. Hoffman's interpretational guide defines 33 of our state's natural communities by their attendant trees, beetles, fish, lichens, butterflies, reptiles, mammals and flowers. To round out the picture, he superimposes the effects of geology, climate and history on each of these ecosystems. He goes on to profile 50 areas you can visit that are the best examples of our natural communities.
My husband and I have used this book as a reference in restoring native plant landscapes. The book also provides lesson plans for teachers. How could you be a landscaper, teacher, or tourist in Wisconsin without this book?
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Wilson Bulletin, published by Wilson Ornithological Society on March 1, 2003. The length of the article is 521 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Wisconsin's natural communities: how to recognize them, where to find them.(Book Review)
Author: Harlan D. Walley
Publication:
Wilson Bulletin (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2003
Publisher: Wilson Ornithological Society
Volume: 115
Issue: 1
Page: 112(1)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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