Average customer rating:
- "First with the Head and Then With the Heart..."
- growing strong
- A powerful story of courage and change
- Great Novel - but CONDENSED
- A Masterpiece
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The Power of One (Young Reader's Edition)
Bryce Courtenay
Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
-
The Power of One: A Novel
-
The Power of One
-
Tandia
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When The Legends Die
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Four Fires
ASIN: 0385732546
Release Date: 2005-09-13 |
Book Description
In 1939, hatred took root in South Africa, where the seeds of apartheid were newly sown. There a boy called Peekay was born. He spoke the wrong language–English. He was nursed by a woman of the wrong color–black. His childhood was marked by humiliation and abandonment. Yet he vowed to survive–he would become welterweight champion of the world, he would dream heroic dreams.
But his dreams were nothing compared to what awaited him. For he embarked on an epic journey, where he would learn the power of words, the power to transform lives, and the mystical power that would sustain him even when it appeared that villainy would rule the world: The Power of One.
Customer Reviews:
"First with the Head and Then With the Heart...".......2006-11-08
There are two versions of Bryce Courtney's "The Power of One"; the original version and this, the junior novelisation. The two are quite different so make sure that you double-check what publication you're getting before you order. I would suggest the older version for most readers, since this basically tells the same story in simplified form. However, in Australia and New Zealand, "The Power of One" has reached almost cult-status in terms of popularity, and some younger readers will leap at the chance to familiarise themselves with the story before they are ready to tackle the more complex and violent subject matter of the original. Furthermore, it is a perfect choice for school libraries and/or compulsory reading in classrooms.
Like the adult version, the junior novelisation is concerned with the life of Peekay, a young boy living in 1930's South Africa, coping with racism, tension between the various social groups of the time (the Boers, the English and the Africans) and the growing threat of World War II. This younger version begins in the same place as the adult one, with Peekay being sent to a boarding school in which he is urinated on by his fellow students - a clear sign that Courtney is not prepared to soften the harshness and cruelty of the original book for the benefit of a younger audience. In comparison this story ends after the famous concert at the prison, the moment in which the adult novel really begins.
The junior novel follows Peekay's journey from childhood into earlier adolescence and the beginnings of the adult world, told in significantly less detail and in more simplified language than the first "Power of One". On the way, he makes friends from every race and class, learning the most important truth of his life: to think with his head and then with his heart. In particular, he finds work in a jail, inventing an ingenious way to help the convicts communicate with their families on the outside, and discovers the sport of boxing along with the remarkable idea that you do not have to be the biggest in order to be the best.
Courtney's gift comes from finding the grey areas in each situation, showing us clearly that one race, one country, one ideology is never wholly righteous; goodness can only come from an individual. Near the beginning of the book Peekay is persecuted by Nazi-supporters; later a dear friend of his unfairly is jailed for being a German. Humanity's overwhelming desire to classify and then judge people based on these classifications is never more frustrating than it is here, and it is a lesson well worth learning.
Although this is a more-than-adequate introductory book for younger readers eager to tackle "The Power of One", I would recommend to anyone else over the age of twelve (or any confident reader under that age) that they simply pick up the first (and best) adult version.
growing strong.......2006-02-25
how you can feel with a little boy's hardship in a boarding school and how you hope for his stamina and how you love his intense friendships that bring him on his way.
You really live with that life and that is best a book can do.
A powerful story of courage and change.......2006-01-14
If Bryce Courtenay's The Power Of One sounds familiar, it's because this represents a young reader's condensed edition of a prior hard-hitter which became both an adult classic and an acclaimed movie of the same name. It's great to see such a powerful novel condensed with youth in mind: grades 8-12 will find compelling the story of 1930s South Africa and a boy who faces apartheid and prejudice in a country where his childhood is marked by loneliness and dreams of changing lives. A powerful story of courage and change evolves.
Great Novel - but CONDENSED.......2006-01-07
I have read the Power of One, the unedited version and it is brilliant, inspiring, and brutal - one of the best books I've read. However, this edition that is being sold here, is the Young Reader's edition, which isn't immediately obvious from Amazon's description or the picture. It does say so on the cover, but it's very small unless you enlarge the picture. So, my review gives it a 2 as it may be an unpleasant surprise for those who want to read the actual novel.
A Masterpiece.......2005-12-24
I read this book before the crap movie was ever released, and it's a good thing, too. Whoever says the novel is dead needs to take a look at this. Courtenay has written a brilliant bildungsroman that you literally can't put down. You might even end up re-reading certain passages over and over, such as the boxing match between the protagonist and a Goliath-like opponent. If you have a bright pre-teen, give him this, and I bet he'll enjoy it.
Book Description
When I Was White is the mesmerizing story of a black woman born to white parents during the most unforgiving years of official racism in South Africa. Sandra Laing was officially registered and raised as a white child. But when she was sent to a conservative boarding school, she was mercilessly persecuted because of her dark skin and frizzy hair-the results, her parents said, of a genetic throwback. In 1966, when Sandra was ten, the police removed her from school and she was reclassified as 'colored.' In a bitter court battle followed closely by the press, Sandra's parents fought, and lost. Then, as a teenager, Sandra eloped with a black man, and her parents disowned her. She struggled with poverty, illness, and the injustice of race laws. With the end of apartheid in 1994, Sandra vowed to find her mother. Her long, troubling search and their ultimate reunion forms the book's surprising and deeply moving conclusion. Drawing on a wealth of research, including extensive interviews with Sandra Laing, her family and friends, as well as access to previously sealed government files, Judith Stone has written a close-up, compelling account of a remarkable woman whose life stands as a tribute to the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit.
Customer Reviews:
A Translated Life.......2007-09-24
I want to commend Judith Stone for the phenomenal work she has done in discussing a number of difficult subjects: Sandra Laing herself, the history of South Africa, and the nature of memory, family, and the examined life. Clearly, Sandra's lack (repression) of memory, and her inability to articulate her feelings, left Stone with an enormous challenge. She works through this brilliantly by marshaling the journalistic reports from the time and later, interviewing people who know Sandra, and sensitively explaining and exploring Apartheid's tortured history. Stone uses her knowledge of studies of PTSD, false-memory syndrome, and other relevant fields in psychology to examine Sandra's individual and South Africa's collective forgetfulness/refusal to admit reality. All in all, Stone has done a stunningly professional and sensitive job in illuminating one person's life, the cruel and terrible absurdities of Apartheid South Africa, and, more broadly still, what it means to live in a world where an ideological rigidity based on lies and hypocrisy sucks the life out of everyone--oppressor or oppressed.
An emotionally charged, highly recommended pick........2007-08-04
When Sandra Laing was born in 1955 to a pro-apartheid Afrikaner couple in South Africa she was registered as a white child - but upon entering a white boarding school, was persecuted by students and teachers because of her brown skin. Her parents believed an interracial union back in their family history was to blame, but neighbors thought Mrs. Laing had committed adultery with a black man and the entire family was shunned. She was reclassified as 'coloured', her parents fought the South African courts to reverse the determination, then as a teen Sandra eloped - with a black man - and her parents disowned her. WHEN SHE WAS WHITE: THE TRUE STORY OF A FAMILY DIVIDED BY RACE crosses back and forth along discrimination lines and is riveting. Impossible to put down, it will enhance any general-interest lending library and is an emotionally charged, highly recommended pick.
History Is So Interesting.......2007-08-01
Histry is so interesting. It is the tie to learning about how things use to be. This book is full of history and tells us how the African people were treated long ago. The sad thing is that even today these people are still treated very different. My nieces who are black and white are beautiful, but experience racism everyday. The book can be difficult reading in some parts because it is history. So be patient and enjoy it. I experienced many feelings while reading it. Makes me want to go talk to my 95 year old grandma and just listen to all her stories.
Sisters speak.......2007-06-04
With great anticipation, i began to read a riviting life story. However, i couldn't get through the first two chapters because of the dry manner in which the book was written. It was an extremely difficult read. I never finished the book. I was very disappointed.
A story of a mixed-race girl in Apartheid South Africa.......2007-05-30
Sandra Laing was born in the wrong place at the wrong time. South Africa was in the midst of apartheid, and the little girl didn't fit in to the country's strict classifications of white, black and Coloured. Instead she baffled family and neighbors in Eastern Transvaal by sprouting kinky hair that shaped her dark complexion, much to the dismay of her ethnically Dutch, Afrikaner parents. Judith Stone writes the history of this troubled girl, from her first encounters with racism all the way to her middle-aged life in the present day.
Sandra's parents tried to turn a blind eye to their daughter's physical differences, but the white boarding school she attended would do no such thing. Parents and faculty were outraged that an obviously non-white student was being admitted to their school and mingling with their fair-skinned children. Apartheid was about separation and segregation, and Sandra was getting in the way of their long-established system. Her mother was accused of sleeping with a black man, and her father had to constantly defend his paternity. Admitting to some "color-mixing" in their ancestry was not acceptable in such a polarized climate, even though this had gone on unspoken in South Africa for decades.
When Sandra was finally escorted off the grounds of her school, she had no idea what she did wrong. Her father was launching his own private campaign to keep her white; Sandra didn't see things in color yet, and her mom and dad were determined to keep it that way. But she did see that her parents treated her differently from her brothers, and she did notice the disgustful looks of those who had been in charge of her care. She knew that something about her was just not right. At the hands of government officials, Sandra's official race changed from white to Coloured to white again. She realized that she must take her fate into her own hands, creating an identity for herself that no one would be able to take away from her.
WHEN SHE WAS WHITE isn't a traditional biography. It chronicles not only the life of the protagonist but also the struggle of those who tried to bring her life into the public eye. In this way, the book is both a story and a study in psychoanalysis, in sociology and in consumer culture. Sandra was a willing but confused eyewitness to her own history, and half the struggle of chronicling it has been in getting the story straight. Sandra doesn't see herself as a hero or a representation of the ills of apartheid. All she sees is the pain that she feels she caused her family, and her only wish is for their forgiveness --- not recognizing that they are the ones who have a lot to be forgiven for.
This book does much to present the contradictions of apartheid to those outside of South Africa. It also paints a strong picture of the landscape and individuals who made the country what it was. The expanse of the Transvaal countryside sharply contrasts with the polarized societies who lived there, and it is as if it were a beautiful cake on top of a precarious tower that was threatening to come crashing down at any second. Sandra represented some of the flaws of that cake, and she was therefore shunned by those who wanted to keep things as they were.
WHEN SHE WAS WHITE is the print edition of the movie "Skin," which is scheduled to appear in 2008. It is a story in its own right, though, and shouldn't be left on the shelf in anticipation of the film. Judith Stone speaks of both the cruelty and the perceived justification of apartheid, and no one is presented as a simple-minded individual. Bigotry runs deep in South Africa's history, but the focus of this book is in healing the wounds from the past and embracing this new, free country, where government-regulated racial caste systems no longer exist.
--- Reviewed by Shannon Luders-Manuel
Amazon.com
The famously taciturn South African president reveals much of himself in Long Walk to Freedom. A good deal of this autobiography was written secretly while Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years on Robben Island by South Africa's apartheid regime. Among the book's interesting revelations is Mandela's ambivalence toward his lifetime of devotion to public works. It cost him two marriages and kept him distant from a family life he might otherwise have cherished. Long Walk to Freedom also discloses a strong and generous spirit that refused to be broken under the most trying circumstances--a spirit in which just about everybody can find something to admire.
Book Description
The famously taciturn South African president reveals much of himself inLong Walk to Freedom. A good deal of this autobiography was written secretlywhile Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years on Robben Island by South Africa's apartheid regime. Among the book's interestingrevelations is Mandela's ambivalence toward his lifetime of devotion to public works. It cost him twomarriages and kept him distant from a family life he might otherwise have cherished.Long Walk to Freedom also discloses a strong and generous spirit that refused to be broken under the most trying circumstances--a spirit inwhich just about everybody can find something to admire.
Customer Reviews:
A fascinating book that should be read by everyone.......2007-07-03
It is not very often that I set to read non-fiction. This book, however, was originally recommended to me by a Rwanda refugee and so I made an exception. What a good decision that was.
Although I was familiar with Mandela's life and South Africa's struggle against the apartheid regime, this book provided me with much more profound understanding of the struggle and the historical events leading to the eventual overthrow of the racist regime. This book, however, is much more than an account of a dark time period in the history of humanity. Above all, this book is an amazing portrayal of a life of a man, an exceptional man who is much too human. We are taken through time, from Mandela's childhood to his presidency, blessed with a unique view of a man marked to die in a secluded prison. His struggle to become a "first-class" citizen and the brutal force with which the then government crushes the hopes of the young men and women is only but a part of the story. Most importantly, we are allowed a unique window into Mandela's psyche and his philosophy, for this book, to me, is mostly about human spirit, its strengths and its weaknesses. Mandela's contemplations regarding the social order, humanity, law, schools and his personal approaches are fascinating and profound. He delves into the depths of human behaviour in a fluid, understandable way; his words flow on the pages from one event onto the next, while maintaining a uniform message. Although he did engage in securing financing for a possible armed conflict, his hopes and faith reside in a non-violent solution. Mandela's life is, after all, one giant wound on the face of mankind. Neglected and abandoned by the superpowers of the world, the people of South Africa never lost hope and Mandela is a fascinating and shining example of a man, stripped of everything, who, no matter what life threw in his way, maintained his dignity and his sight not only on the problems, but also on the solutions. An amazing read I am happy to recommend. This book should be read by everyone.
The story behind legends.......2007-06-15
I had always heard that Nelson Mandela was a living legend, yet I knew so little about him. This book confirmed the legend.
The book takes you through the journey of his life. From his upbringing, to his entering the political life, his 27 years in prison and finally his return from prison to lead the nation. It is very interesting to read his rationale and thought process behind every decision, personal or political. He was a strong-willed man with an exceptionally strong sense of what is right and wrong. He spent 27 years in jail without ever applying for an appeal and rejecting every offer of release. He never lost his resolve even in the most trying of times. He believed that equality and freedom are every human's birthright and he was willing to die for the freedom of his people. The book has countless lessons not only for political leaders who lead nations but for common people for their day to day lives.
A must read for everybody. I would highly recommend it.
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela.......2007-05-07
An excellent autobio by one of the few truly great men of the 20th century. Details his boyhood, early adulthood, and 27 (?) years in prison as a political prisoner of the apartheid government of South
Africa, followed by release and eventual President of the country. The amazing part is how, as President, he avoided revenge and eventually brought re conciliation to the races.
Very inspiring.......2007-04-10
There are all kinds of inspiring biographies and autobiographies. This one is unique. Most biographies lean toward the spiritual and base their inspiration on some divine energy or God. This is the most grounded in life biography that you can read. Not much about God, just about his own passion for equal rights. Even mindedness, even in the face of incredible pain.
Polit thriller.......2007-01-17
Despite due respect for a great leader, I did not really expect to like this autobiography very much. Mandela is no great speaker, his TV presence is rather flat, his English apparently not masterful. The life story in summary does not seem to have that much interest either, considering the long jail time and the fact that most of the "hot action" of the anti-apartheid movement happened while he was on Robben Island.
All wrong. The writing is surprisingly fluent, the story telling surprisingly efficient and free of waste as well as redundancies. Also free of sentimentality and exaggerated pathos.
If there is anything that I wished to be more detailed it is the period of his childhood and youth. This period is described in a rather remote way and with a sometimes irritating lack of explanation or reflection. I realized that may have happened due to the conditions under which the book was written: in jail. Also I could imagine that editors suggested some shortening: after all the book is still quite hefty.
If there is one negative comment that I have to make, it refers to NM's insistence that all trouble between black groups, such as the Inkatha violence problems, or tribal conflicts, have been caused by the perfidy of the whites. As much as I can understand the psychology behind this wishful thinking, I do not think it is a realistic approach.
Despite this comment and despite the book's size, it is never boring. Highly recommendable.
Book Description
Cry, the Beloved Country is a beautifully told and profoundly compassionate story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s. The book is written with such keen empathy and understanding that to read it is to share fully in the gravity of the characters' situations. It both touches your heart deeply and inspires a renewed faith in the dignity of mankind. Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic tale, passionately African, timeless and universal, and beyond all, selfless.
Customer Reviews:
South Africa - 60 Years Past.......2007-09-01
Although this book is about 60 years old I just read it for the 1st time. It is a keeper and a treasure. It is a book that you will want to revisit often at least for awhile. I find the book to be filled with spiritual messages. You will see the making of aparthaid long before it was abolished. The story itself is quite suspenseful and Paton's writing style is unique. I like it.
So Glad I Discovered This Book!.......2007-07-26
The story of one man's quest to find his son and to seek forgiveness. I had never heard of this book prior to the 1001 Books To Read list (it had not been required reading in high school), and I am sorry I didn't read earlier. This book is one of the most memorable books I've ever read, and I know I will look forward to re-reading it again one day.
I understand some here have not taken kindly to Mr. Paton's writing style, but I found it engaging and very easy to read. His descriptive style, for me, was far from boring and kept me involved in the story to the point where I could envision all that was happening. For me, his words just flowed so evenly.
The story may be a little dated for today's politics being as the novel was written in 1946; however, it provides a thought-provoking point of view of the beginnings of apartheid in South Africa. The issues are complex, and the answers are not always easy or simple, but the effect on people is amazing and long-lasting. Mr. Paton describes how every facet of life is touched through this horrible policy. The dilemma of complexity is driven home when the stories of two men, Kumalo and Jarvis - one black, the other white - come together. Sympathies for both men are strong and the reader can find their hearts wrenched at what happens simply because that's the way it is done.
Well done and thoroughly enjoyed!
Great Simplicity; Great Depth; Remarkable Humanity.......2007-07-11
Many friends recommended CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY to me over the years, but it was not until May of this year that the book came my way in the form a gift. I picked it up one evening and--much to my own amazement--read it in a single sitting. Yes, it really is that good.
Published in 1948, the book tells a simple story. Zulu-born Stephen Kumalo is the elderly Christian priest of a tiny church who has seldom set foot outside his rural South Africa village; he is both uncertain and frightened when he summoned to Johannesburg to attend his sister, who is in great crisis. Once in the city, however, he determines to locate his son Absalom, who also lives in Johannesburg and from whom he has received no news for quite some time. Kumalo conducts his search with a mounting sense of despair--and ultimately finds himself in the midst of both personal tragedy and public scandal.
Although the story is grim, the novel itself is not. Alan Payton (1903-1988) wrote several novels, but CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY is best-known and most widely read work, and much of its power rests on the remarkable way in which he styles his prose: it possesses a shining simplicity that not only seems to capture the vocal cadence of South Africa but also allows the reader to see through the novel's several levels with a remarkable sense of clarity.
Much of the novel's power resides in its portrait of South Africa in this particular era. The word "apartheid" had not attained its full implication in 1948, but Paton not only identifies the almost accidental seeds of apartheid, he forecasts the ultimate result as well. Paton also endows the novel with a very clear idea of what Christianity should be in actual practice as opposed to what it too often is in actual fact, and although the story is indeed dark, the humanity involved is such that one never feels the darkness cannot be dispelled.
The older I become, the less inclined I am to keep books; these days I read them and give them away, and new permanent additions to my library are rare. But CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY is a keeper, a book I've no doubt I'll return to again and again.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
With Thanks to Kate, Whose Gift This Book Was
Masterpiece of Prose.......2007-06-13
I didn't think I would like this book. I have never seen a writing style like this, so it was a little strange to start. However, I quickly changed my mind. It was a wonderful book that is uplifting and thought-provoking. I cried at the end of it because the story was so beautiful. This is a must read.
Cry the Beloved.......2007-05-15
Alan Paton's Cry the Beloved Country is an eye opening look into 1940's South Africa. The main character pastor Stephen Kumalo tries to save his family from the trap that is the city of Johannesburg. Once in Johannesburg Kumalo quickly realizes hard life is in the white dominated society and how easy it is to fall into the trap. The book does start off a bit slow but by the middle it will have you sucked in. Paton vividly shows how crupt people can be but also shows how good hearted people can be. If you are looking for a book with emotion and life lessons this is a must read.
Average customer rating:
- big can beat small...
- Buy two, keep one and give the other to a friend.
- The ending will leave you speechless
- The Great South African Novel
- One of my Favorites
|
The Power of One
Bryce Courtenay
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Tandia
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The Power of One
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Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel
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Water for Elephants: A Novel
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The Memory Keeper's Daughter
ASIN: 0394575202
Release Date: 1989-06-11 |
Book Description
In 1939, hatred took root in South Africa, where the seeds of apartheid were newly sown. There a boy called Peekay was born. He spoke the wrong language–English. He was nursed by a woman of the wrong color–black. His childhood was marked by humiliation and abandonment. Yet he vowed to survive–he would become welterweight champion of the world, he would dream heroic dreams.
But his dreams were nothing compared to what awaited him. For he embarked on an epic journey, where he would learn the power of words, the power to transform lives, and the mystical power that would sustain him even when it appeared that villainy would rule the world: The Power of One.
Customer Reviews:
big can beat small..........2007-10-16
This book really draws you into the story of a little boy that gets inspired to become a boxing champ. The different challenges he faces along the way and people that influence him all bring the story to life, leaving you wanting for more when the story comes to, for me, a rather abrupt end. It is a little cheesy at times but you can forgive that.
Buy two, keep one and give the other to a friend........2007-07-17
My favorite book of all time - and I'm a picky reader. You will become entranced in Peekay's world and never want to leave it. This should be on every person's bookshelf and handed out to every young adult.
Other advice: rent the movie first, then read the novel and you'll be able to appreciate the book more. Also, the sequel "Tandia" is good, but not as powerful as TPOO
The ending will leave you speechless.......2007-06-30
Most five year olds feel insecure and afraid in the world, but take away a child's mother, an apparently absent father, and only a black nanny to take care of the while child in South Africa and what remains will undoubtedly be a child that quickly learns to fend for himself. The question that remains is how successful will that child be? Peekay, with a strong mind and stronger heart, proves that the Power of One can be all the power one needs to succeed.
Peekay, an English child in South Africa at the start of WWII, has everything that he knows turned upside down when he is told that his mother has suffered a nervous breakdown and he must attend boarding school many miles from home. He is the youngest student by two years and is picked on mercilessly by the older children. This physical and mental abuse causes him to wet the bed which, in turn, increases his torment. Peekay uses life's earliest challenges to form the inner strength that he will need to overcome lifelong adversity. Over the years he develops a love for boxing and his goals surround the sport. He also discovers his aptitude for academics and is brought along by friends that are unique in their quirkiness as well as loyalty.
The Power of One is a moving and highly entertaining story of a boy who will not let himself fail. The novel portrays a courage and spirit of youth that defies one's expectations given the obstacles that get in the main character's way. Supporting characters are developed so that they come alive and the reader will be unable to follow Peekay's successes without a sense of pride themselves. The last twenty pages turn the book on it's head and finish with such an unexpected shock that it will leave the reader speechless. But somehow, it is a fitting ending to a thrilling journey that is difficult to put down.
The Great South African Novel.......2007-06-18
This expertly written novel tells the story of a boy whose chance meeting with a boxer leads him to focus his life on becoming the welterweight champion of the world.
The heart of the novel is the inspiring friendships he forms with the richly shaped characters that he encounters as he grows up.
The author's ability to tell a capturing story, and the smooth way he tells it, has produced a classic book well worth reading.
One of my Favorites.......2007-05-25
The Power of One is one of my favorite books of all time! You won't want to put it down until you finish!
Book Description
After his father's heart attack in 1984, Peter Godwin began a series of pilgrimages back to Zimbabwe, the land of his birth, from Manhattan, where he now lives. On these frequent visits to check on his elderly parents, he bore witness to Zimbabwe's dramatic spiral downwards into thejaws of violent chaos, presided over by an increasingly enraged dictator. And yet long after their comfortable lifestyle had been shattered and millions were fleeing, his parents refuse to leave, steadfast in their allegiance to the failed state that has been their adopted home for 50 years.Then Godwin discovered a shocking family secret that helped explain their loyalty. Africa was his father's sanctuary from another identity, another world.WHEN A CROCODILE EATS THE SUN is a stirring memoir of the disintegration of a family set against the collapse of a country. But it is also a vivid portrait of the profound strength of the human spirit and the enduring power of love.
Customer Reviews:
This is how to learn about Africa's tragedy.......2007-10-16
The author was born in Rhodesia ( Zimbabwe). His parents had emigrated there from Europe after WW II and created a wonderful life, as did many other Caucasians. At one stage Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of Africa and an example country. Then came Robert Mugabe and his thugs. This is a reflection on 20 yrs of Mugabe after four years of civil war. It is a tale of wonderful country and chilling facts. I could not put the book down.
Fantastic read.......2007-10-11
Being a "White African" who has since moved to the States I completely appreciate Peter Godwin's perspective on current day Africa. This book is written with tremendous feeling however the author maintains a sense of objectivity that also makes for an extremely informative read. The story of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe is heartbreaking and Godwin parallels the sharp degradation of the countries economy and infrastructure with his fathers' health and his parents struggle to adapt to their rapidly changing environment. The book flows beautifully, the descriptions of the people and country of Zimbabwe are on point and vivid. The book touches on a wide range of issues such as cultural identity, racial integration and economic policy as well as the larger issues of power, money and democracy. I highly recommend the book to anyone however people who have experienced Africa will truly appreciate the writing and the emotion that it evokes.
Wonderful!.......2007-09-11
This was a wonderful memoir. Oh Africa! The complexities, the beauty, the paradox's. The writing made one feel as if we were hearing the night sounds, feeling the heat, smelling the aromas of this complex country. A hard-to-put-down memoir which made me hungry for more. Unforgetable.
When a crocodile eats the sun: a memoir of Africa.......2007-09-10
It is not news that the world has forgotten Africa. However, reading this wonderful book clarified the issues and struggles on a very personal level. How a country that fed half of Africa is now facing a humantarian crisis is a tragedy. What people forget is the fact that "white" farmers continued to feed and employ Africans for over 20 years after independence. However, in the past 7 years of a stupid brutal and unnecessary policy, a country has been allowed to die. It is only now that there is a crisis the world takes notice. Well written and poetic.
Read it!!.......2007-09-03
This book is probably the most objective, non-political account of the effect events in Zimbabwe have on ordinary people, with nary a nod to self-pity even though there is ample reason for it, that is available in the shops today. In South Africa we read about these events in newpapers, heard live reports on radio (very little on TV) but most profoundly, heard the stories from the mouths of the victims - both white and black - who have fled south. But those people were homeless, abused, stripped of possessions, often leaving murdered family behind, and their words were understandably filled with anger, fear, despair, hopelessness, and yes, hate.
The author's background as a journalist enables him to report the atrocities calmly without the emotional distress he most certainly felt, and therefore, this book is so untouchably credible. The fact that he has chosen to interwove the story with the discovery of his surprising heritage, the honest and painful rendering of watching his parents grow old, and the unsuccessful struggle to break through to his father's emotions, strengthens the book in so many ways. This is a real story, about real people, with real suffering and the irony is, these things are still happening, only more terribly.
Drive down the main street of Harare (Salisbury) and you will see affluence - new 4x4's (SUV's), Mercedes's, young men in business suits and silk shirts hurrying from one glasscovered skyrise to the next, leather briefcase swinging in his hand. Drive up into the hills and you will see the mansions, even by American standards, with the impeccable lawns, the palms, the blood red Erythrina trees. Hard to believe that the events of this book did not bring about prosperity. Do yourself a favour. Drive into the country. Take the dirt roads and look. Of course you won't be able to get fuel, so perhaps come to Johannesburg, and talk to the Zimbabweans streaming through the river east and west of Mussina. Then ask yourself some questions about basic human rights, international diplomacy, and parallels to South Africa........
If you don't read any other book about Africa, read this one.
Book Description
A landmark study that offers an alternative history of the Cold War from the point of view of the world's poor.
'"Europe" is morally, spiritually indefensible. And today the indictment is brought against it…by tens and tens of thousands of millions of men who, from the depths of slavery, set themselves up as judges.'—Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism
Here, from a brilliant young writer, is a paradigm-shifting history of both a utopian concept and global movement—the idea of the Third World. The Darker Nations traces the intellectual origins and the political history of the twentieth century attempt to knit together the world's impoverished countries in opposition to the United States and Soviet spheres of influence in the decades following World War II.
Spanning every continent of the global South, Vijay Prashad's fascinating narrative takes us from the birth of postcolonial nations after World War II to the downfall and corruption of nationalist regimes. A breakthrough book of cutting-edge scholarship, it includes vivid portraits of Third World giants like India's Nehru, Egypt's Nasser, and Indonesia's Sukarno—as well as scores of extraordinary but now-forgotten intellectuals, artists, and freedom fighters. The Darker Nations restores to memory the vibrant though flawed idea of the Third World, whose demise, Prashad ultimately argues, has produced a much impoverished international political arena. 12 b/w photographs.
Customer Reviews:
still waiting.......2007-08-29
In 1927, two hundred delegates from thirty-seven states and regions gathered in Brussels and formed the League Against Imperialism. In doing so they gave an institutional voice to the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of the vast majority of the people in the world who eventually found their countries sandwiched between the "first" world of the United States and the "second" world of the Soviet Union. Not wanting to align with either empire, from that meeting onward the "third world" (a word coined in 1952 by Albert Sauvy) became a prolonged international project and not just a place of misery. The setting was fraught with irony, for Belgium was then led by King Leopold II, whose shameless pillage of the Congo had few peers. In this history of the majority of the world's peoples, Vijay Prashad traces their elusive quest, its problems and pitfalls, and the causes and consequences of its failure.
Prashad's organization takes one on a global tour; each one of his eighteen chapter titles is a major city of the third world project. In Part 1 he considers the quest (Paris, Brussels, Bandung, Cairo, Buenos Aires, Tehran, Belgrade, and Havana); in Part 2 the pitfalls (Algiers, La Paz, Bali, Tawang, Caracas, and Arusha); then in Part 3 the "assassinations" of the project (New Delhi, Kingston, Singapore, Mecca). The third world sought three goals, he says: political independence and self-rule; peaceful co-existence and non-violent international relations; and using the United Nations as the means to push its agenda, all in contrast to the militarism, economic dominance, and ostensible superiority of the American and Soviet spheres. Along the way Prashad tackles most every aspect of this struggle, including education, bureaucratism, land reform, suffrage, religion, revolutionary violence, foreign aid, transnational corporations, the "villigization" of millions of people, the debt crisis, natural resources, and women's discrimination.
The third world project failed badly for many complex reasons. After freeing themselves from the shackles of imperial overlords, countries tended to centralize power in the state instead of establishing effective social democracies, stifled dissent, ignored rule of law, plundered national treasure, and set up military regimes ruled by dictator-thugs ("Nothing good comes from a military dictatorship."). The predator first world continued their economic plunder thanks to the threat of overwhelming military, political, and economic means (globalization, the IMF, etc.). And thus the "catastrophic demise" of the third world project. Crushing debt and widening income gaps between rich and poor nations are only the most obvious signs that most people in the world remain marginalized by their own states and exploited by the first world. But at least they now have a history of their struggle, thanks to Prashad.
The Bruised Peoples.......2007-06-15
This book gets high marks for its sheer wealth of information, though it's not a casual reading experience. Here Vijay Prashad has continued the spirit of Howard Zinn's classic "A People's History of the United States," and this book is a strong inaugural release in what will hopefully be a continuing series. Here Prashad constructs the "Third World" as a Cold War term for all the disadvantaged nations that were caught in the crossfire between the First and Second Worlds, and were usually abused as pawns in the era's strictly bilateral games of geopolitics and development. Specifically, most of Prashad's work concerns the Non-Aligned Movement of nations that tried to resist taking sides in the bilateral Cold War, and attempted to build a coalition of nations that could stand as a viable entity with its own ideologies and political strategies. Prashad provides a wealth of little-known information on the nations and leaders that attempted to build this movement, and the political and economic realities faced by the peoples and societies that were being used and left behind by the superpowers.
Those familiar with Zinn's book will recognize the travails of the passionate historian who can't figure out how to synthesize vast quantities of historical knowledge. The first half of this book is tough to digest, consisting of an interminable laundry list of names and events with little over-arching analysis, giving the impression that Prashad is trying to describe every single thing that happened during the Cold War era outside of the US, Europe, and USSR. Occasional snippets of theory also seem forced and awkward, such as Prashad's examinations of unnatural borders or the behavior of military dictators. Fortunately, the book improves in the second half, as Prashad manages to develop his previously disconnected bits of history and theory into a strong overall analysis of how the superpowers "assassinated" (in his rather hyperbolic term) the Third World movement and its promises of social and economic progress, through globalization, conquest, and corporatism. Most importantly, Prashad does not refrain from criticizing the Third World nations too, as many of them have compounded their own misery by reverting to old styles of inequality and dictatorship. While this book has some real readability issues, and Prashad can sometimes be faulted for steering historical data toward his own theories, the reader is rewarded with a great amount of knowledge on peoples and leaders who have been forgotten in the histories of winners. [~doomsdayer520~]
Good.......2007-04-15
The Third World is a Cold War term, meaning mostly former nations that were ruled by Europeans and won their political independence in the decades after the second world war. That's how most people understand it anyway. It started off as a term of empowerment and hope by the leaders of the newly independent countries in the 1950s, after years of trying to bind the colonized into a single cause. These leaders saw that the First capitalist world and the Second Soviet-bloc world needed the Third world for its resources, people, and support in the global cold war, and they did not want to be pawns anymore.
The Third World Project started in the 1955 at the Bandung Asian-African Conference, when the Nonaligned Movement was founded (NAM) in opposition to the 1st and 2nd Worlds. From here, the Third World was split by internal divisions, attacks by the West and Eastern blocs, and finally outright destruction of the "Third World" by economic policies pushed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United States, as well as political and military attacks by the USA and its allies. In "The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World" by Vijay Prashad, the history of this push for unity, the contradictions of the class of leaders in trying to build this better Third world, the splits within the movement, and the final assassination of the Third World Project.
The book switches between different locations and different situations. Prashad points out that there was a strange contradiction in the work of building a Third World. The ruling class of the decolonized countries supported the new rulers, in many places, who wanted to stand up for themselves. But at the same time, as time went on, they also supported all-powerful dictators and neo-liberal economics that lead to the resources of the country being drained out like vampires (leading to continuation of places which have some of the richest resources of the world and some of the poorest people, like in Congo.) Projects like OPEC started as the "darker nations" tried to control their own politics, though it soon disintegrated into just rulers enriching themselves. In the end, they worked better with ruling classes of the 1st world than the people of their own countries.
Prashad goes to each place, from Singapore, to Indonesia and Suharto, to Baghdad, and explores the rise and fall of the Third World. Today, he ends, the Third World is dead. However, an international movement, free of imposed movements from above or directly by the elites of the government, has arisen and the world is changing to oppose the US. The book is an interesting look at an attempt by the leaders of former colonized places to fight back, though it can be a little disorienting traveling across so many places so fast (which is probably what trying to organize all those places to act together would have been like.) How the First World was able to destroy this movement is a pretty good lesson of history for any person to know.
Excellent.......2007-03-14
I've heard Prashad occassionally on WBAI and am kicking myself for taking so long to get around to his work. This is one of the greatest books ever written on the Third World. Its cogent, lucid and thorough. What I found very interesting was the book's balance. I can imagine how diffult it must've been to explicate each Nation's history in a few hundred pages adequately. He also excelled at depicting just how connected - Poitically / Sociologically and Economically - Third World Nations really are. This is indispensable in understanding the current state of the Third World. Undoubtedly, one for the shelves.
Worthy read for those interested.......2007-02-27
Well done. Bringing together material usually found in national, regional, and international histories the author orders material topically with chapter titles of cities where major events related to each theme happened.
Although not easy reading because much of the material is unfamiliar to most readers, the discussions are handled well and judgements usually sound. It is a wonder that this book could be written at all because of the breadth required. If you know one region of the world this volume will open your eyes and provide rich information for comparison.
Even if one is put off by views reflecting sympathy for the "Darker Peoples", critical of colonial mythmaking and neoliberal globalization alike - the control of the facts and history demands attention.
Book Description
In response to the interest of millions of Patrick O'Brian fans, here is the final, partial installment of the Aubrey/Maturin series.
Blue at the Mizzen (novel #20) ended with Jack Aubrey getting the news, in Chile, of his elevation to flag rank: Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron, with orders to sail to the South Africa station. The next novel, unfinished and untitled at the time of the author's death, would have been the chronicle of that mission, and much else besides. The three chapters left on O'Brian's desk at the time of his death are presented here both in printed version—including his corrections to the typescript—and a facsimile of his manuscript, which goes several pages beyond the end of the typescript to include a duel between Stephen Maturin and an impertinent officer who is courting his fiancée.
Of course we would rather have had the whole story; instead we have this proof that O'Brian's powers of observation, his humor, and his understanding of his characters were undiminished to the end.
Customer Reviews:
Closure.......2007-09-12
After spending countless hours with Aubrey and Maturin, this book provides the little bit of closure necessary to walk away without total sadness and frustration. The untimely, but inevitable death of Patrick O'Brian leaves us with longing and wonder about Aubrey and Maturin's ultimate fate. However, viewing the author's actual hand written manuscript somehow leaves one with a connection to the characters and the author. Get this book, read what there is left of these two unforgettable characters, and realize in life there is "not a moment to lose."
Only for afficianados.......2007-07-20
The book only gets started and part of it is reproduced script from O'brians hand. It is quite hard to read. This book is a must have for died in the wool Aubrey/Maturin fans, but casural readers would enjoy other of the series more.
The Final Voyage.......2007-06-28
Truely Patrick O'Brian's final voyage. After reading the 20 book set I went into mourning while reading the 21st. I have never been so attached to a group of characters as Aubery and Company and of course to their creator. The 21st book, O'Brian's hand written draft was very personal... and very sad. It is one of my most treasured books.
Deserves a better ending!.......2007-05-17
Having recently read all of the Aubrey/Maturin Series, I was glad to have the opportunity to read the unfinished draft. Like many others, I wished that the last number of pages were typed. It was obvious that Mr. O'Brian had plans for many more episodes and I regret that his fans will not see more of Aubrey/Maturin. I will miss Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. I have on occasioned thought that I would not want to die before finishing an exceptionally good book. Now I know what that might be like!
Loss of two friends. .......2007-05-12
I wasn't sure I wanted to read the last book knowing that it was unfinished, but I'm glad I did. I found Patrick O'Brian's hand writing very hard to read to I didn't read those very far. I do feel the sadness of not knowing how Captain Jack and Dr. Maturin turnout, maybe it's the best. It is a peaceful thought to think that they are still sailing out there some where and maybe I'll see the HMS Surprise on the horizon from my boat some day. I still suggest stopping at book 20 and the good news that it ends with.
Average customer rating:
- Bond does Vegas
- Super Reader
- Bond vs. The Spagled Mob
- Definitely not the best Bond
- The Best Bond Book
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Diamonds Are Forever (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Moonraker (James Bond Novels)
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From Russia with Love (James Bond Novels)
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ASIN: 0142002054 |
Book Description
Tiffany Case, a cold, gorgeous, devil-may-care blonde, stands between James Bond and the leaders of a diamond-smuggling ring that stretches from Africa to London to the United States. Bond uses her to infiltrate this gang, but once in America the hunter becomes the hunted. Agent 007 is in real danger until help comes from an unlikely quarter, the ice maiden herself.
Customer Reviews:
Bond does Vegas.......2007-09-15
One of the big movies of recent times was Blood Diamonds, a grim action movie dealing with conflict diamonds, those mined in certain African countries in states of civil war. A few years before that, the final Pierce-Brosnan-as-James-Bond movie, Die Another Day also dealt with these diamonds. Ian Fleming had first introduced Bond fans to the African diamond trade much earlier, however, in 1956 with Diamonds Are Forever (and a year later, he would come out with a non-Bond novel called The Diamond Smugglers which also dealt with the subject). Moviewise, this is most noted as being the last "official" Bond movie featuring Sean Connery (Never Say Never Again, a remake of Thunderball, is not considered part of the official canon).
This fourth Bond novel has the British Secret Service agent contending with diamond smugglers who are sending the gems from Africa to England and then to the United States. When Bond first receives his assignment - to impersonate a smuggler and determine how the pipeline is organized - he treats it as something of a lark. After contending with SMERSH and other professional spies and assassins, dealing with simple American gangsters should be a breeze. Bond is to soon find out that he is underestimating the opposition.
In England, Bond meets the beautiful Tiffany Case who works for the smugglers. Like most women in Bond stories, Tiffany has had a rough past, but only needs the (physical) love of a good man (that is, Bond) to be healed. (Such damaged women are actually a staple in the so-called "men's fiction" of decades ago.) Tiffany gives the diamonds to Bond hidden in golf balls, and the smuggling goes fine; the "hot ice" arrives fine in New York. When complications arise regarding Bond's payment, he goes to Las Vegas where the pipeline also ends.
This is another fun Bond novel, albeit not the strongest in the set. Its big lack is a real good villain, although some of the bad guys are at least a bit interesting. As usual, the action is much more limited than the movies, but the trade-off is a bit more depth of character, though I'd be hard-pressed to call this a character-driven novel. It is, instead, pure entertainment, which is exactly what Fleming intended and succeeded in doing. This is another worthwhile read for literary Bond fans.
Super Reader.......2007-08-04
This novel has an opponent for Bond that is quite different. He is sent by M to look into diamond smuggling in Africa, that he determines is run buy the American Spangled Mob. After infiltration, he comes across the nasty assassins Wint and Kidd, part of the gang, and the attractive Tiffany Case, who he develops a serious thing for.
The diamond smuggling happens by dentist and a few other tricks. Felix Leiter lends a hand, now out of the CIA due to the shark bite problems, and working privately.
Bond vs. The Spagled Mob.......2007-08-02
There are a few slow parts in the story, but I overall enjoyed it more than I did reading Moonraker, which is the novel before this one. In this novel, Bond goes to America so he can find who is smuggling diamonds there from Africa. While doing so, he becomes involved with the mob and meets a beautiful woman named Tiffany Case. That's the basic story, which is completely different from the movie once again.
If you are into stories about the mafia, then this book is definitely something that you should pick up and read. If you are not interested in criminal activity such as the mob, then this will probably not appeal to you as much. But if you are like me, you are planning to read all of the Fleming Bond novels anyway. Overall, a good story but not the best in the series.
Definitely not the best Bond.......2007-06-27
If you're new to Bond, start with Casino Royale or Moonraker, two gems. Diamonds are Forever had some high points, but way too much slow-paced action, description of what Bond is eating, pointless scenes that have you skimming pages to get to the point, etc. Nothing like the gripping tension of the aforementioned two volumes.
The Best Bond Book.......2007-05-09
I've read all of Ian Fleming's Bond books and they are all great (with the exception of "casino royal"). But this is the very best one! The action sequences in it keeping you on the edge of your seat! i would sugest that you read this book! its fast paced and you wont want to put it down until the very end.
Book Description
South Africa is the most popular kid on the block in Africa and it's easy to see why. The southern end of Africa teems with adventure: hike, bike and fly amid craggy peaks and open plains, catch a tantalising glimpse of streakily painted zebras in the savanna, encounter the vibrant cultures of San, Khoikhoi, Zulu and Xhosa. And when you're ready for the high life, tour the vineyards or live it up in cities bursting with food, wine and culture.
TICKLE YOUR TASTEBUDS - take our insider tips for the best restaurants, wineries, cafés and bars
UNRAVEL THE PAST - in-depth coverage of the region's eventful history
GET ACTIVE - handpicked listings so you know where to surf, dive, horse ride, sail, bike, hike and fly
BE THE EXPERT - know your impala from your steenbok with our wildlife special section
TRAVEL SAFELY - we keep you worded up on the scams, health issues and no-go areas
Customer Reviews:
Great travel guide.......2007-10-07
I bought this exact lonely planet guide for a friend a year ago and now I need it myself, it's great! It's very practical, it allows you to be prepared, it's easy to read and it makes travel so much easier. (I'm hooked; each time I travel I get the lonely planet guide for where I'm travelling to first).
Didn't receive it.......2007-02-12
This was sent via USPS and I never received it! I urgently needed it. I would've thought that Amazon would've used a shipping company that requires a signature at least!
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