In Once Upon a Time in Biafra, the prolific Nigerian historian Onianwa Oluchukwu Ignatus has produced an unprecedented study of prominent individuals from across the globe who visited the Republic of Biafra and Federal side of the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970. This innovative new study contributes much to restoring the memory of the civil war, which has faded in recent decades. There is no better way to take a glimpse of how life was in Biafra as well as the Federal side of the war other than a careful study of reports of those who visited these troubled areas. Apart from those who were on ground and participated actively in the civil war, the reports of those who visited war territories offer another major source for historians to understand wartime life experiences on both sides. Individual reports analyzed in this book include reports presented to both the British and United States governments, some official visitors sent by their nations and others invited guests of either the Biafran government or the Federal military government of Nigeria. They included parliamentarians, journalists, medical personnel, government officials, and religious leaders, among others. Reportage about life on both sides of the Nigerian Civil War, particularly in Biafra, is striking commentary on wartime experiences that have become part of the historiography and memory of the Nigerian Civil War. As Ignatus explains, these experiences of foreigners have helped to define the legacies of that conflict with regard to individual contributions and the roles of both civilians and military personnel. Observation of everyday life serves as a way of understanding how people lived and adapted to conflict situations, and offers an equally worthy guide for efforts towards healing the war's enduring wounds.

The past is brought to life in this historical epic about a South African family whose lives collided with the biggest event in history: The First World War. The central theme is the largely forgotten east Africa campaign, but by definition a world war has a wide reach. Five members of one family with deep roots in all four corners of the country, served in three different theatres of war. Their lives on active service are all interwoven and inseparable from the home front. Global events are juxtaposed with everyday life on a farm in the eastern Orange Free State. Appropriately, the author constructs linkages that span generations, uncovering individual experiences of an earlier conflict which had engulfed South Africa barely a decade before the eruption of the 1914-18 war. As the sons of early pioneers, this generation witnessed history in the making before writing their own. Riding into action on horseback or in a flying machine, their paths led from the south west African desert, through disease-infested jungles in east Africa to some of the great battles on the western front. Only one of the five came home unscathed although he crash-landed his aircraft behind enemy lines and only made it back through his audacity and brute strength. Another, an intellectual priest, was left for dead at Delville Wood, and his brother was wounded on Messines Ridge. The remaining two suffered from debilitating tropical illnesses. Hazard and hardship lingered on in the form of Spanish in influenza, mining strikes and the Great Depression. The war cast a long shadow. Between them, these consciously literate men left substantial documentary legacies. Using extracts of their letters from the front, the story is to a large extent told in the words of those who were there. Context is provided by referencing existing literature, unpublished memoirs and archival material. It could be called a military history or a social history, but it is a truly South African story which contains much new material for historians, while for the general reader it offers an accessible insight into an unparalleled period of history.

The beauty and fashion world attracts enormous interest. Everybody knows who Naomi Campbell is, but few know who South Africa's local Naomi Campbells were (and are)!

This title is an extraordinary mix of glamour, nostalgia and social analysis. It takes the reader on a journey through our South African history and politics from the unusual perspective of the beauty industry. Backed by a photo gallery of classic icons from the 50s, 60s and 70s to the present, it celebrates the inspirational role of beautiful and courageous Black women, especially models and beauty queens. It also looks at the business of beauty and recounts the struggles and successes of Black practitioners trying to make it in this competitive sector.

The author is someone who herself was a leading model of the 1980s. Nakedi Ribane co-owned one of the very few Black modeling agencies of note in South Africa. She is ideally placed to offer a fascinating 'behind-the-scenes' look at one of the most under-rated yet influential industries of our time.

This book provides a new concept framework for understanding the factors that lead soldiers to challenge civil authority in developing nations. By exploring the causes and effects of the 1964 East African army mutinies, it provides novel insights into the nature of institutional violence, aggression, and military unrest in former colonial societies. The study integrates history and the social sciences by using detailed empirical data on the soldiers' protests in Tanganyika, Uganda, and Kenya.

The roots of the 1964 army mutinies in Tanganyika, Uganda, and Kenya were firmly rooted in the colonial past when economic and strategic necessity forced the former British territorial governments to rely on Africans for defense and internal security. As the only group in colonial society with access to weapons and military training, the African soldiery was a potential threat to the security of British rule. Colonial authorities maintained control over African soldiers by balancing the significant rewards of military service with social isolation, harsh discipline, and close political surveillance. After independence, civilian pay levels out-paced army wages, thereby tarnishing the prestige of military service. As compensation, veteran African soldiers expected commissions and improved terms of service when the new governments Africanized the civil service. They grew increasingly upset when African politicians proved unwilling and unable to meet their demands. Yet the creation of new democratic societies removed most of the restrictive regulations that had disciplined colonial African soldiers.

Lacking the financial resources and military expertise to create new armies, the independent African governments had to retain the basic structure and character of the inherited armies. Soldiers in Tanganyika, Uganda, and Kenya mutinied in rapid succession during the last week of January 1964 because their governments could no longer maintain the delicate balance of coercion and concessions that had kept the colonial soldiery in check. The East African mutinies demonstrate that the propensity of an African army to challenge civil authority was directly tied to its degree of integration into postcolonial society.

Hierdie publikasie gee ’n volledige beeld van die kunstenaar Frans David Oerder (1867–1944) se oeuvre – sy Anglo-Boereoorlogtekeninge, landskappe, genrestukke, portrette, blomstudies en stillewes, interieurs, dierestudies en grafiese werk. Geen moeite is ontsien om hierdie boek so volledig en betroubaar moontlik te maak nie. Argivale bronne in die Kunsargief van die Universiteit van Pretoria, die Argief van die Johannesburg Kunsmuseum en die Nasionale Argief van Suid-Afrika in Pretoria het grootliks bygedra tot die toevoeging van inligting oor hierdie kunstenaar wat nie voorheen bekend was nie. Dieplakboek van Gerda Oerder en ’n lang lesing met detailinligting oor Oerder se vroee lewe deur mev. Lorimer in die Kunsargief van die Universiteit van Pretoria het bygedra tot ’n nuwe vertolking van die lewe en werk van hierdie belangrike Suid-Afrikaanse kunstenaar. Tydens die Anglo-Boereoorlog was Oerder die enigste amptelike kunstenaar aan Boerekant, maar tot dusver is nog geen volledige geskiedenis van sy deelname aan die oorlog geskryf nie. In hierdie boek word Oerder se Anglo-Boereoorlogtekeninge nou vir die eerste keer so volledig moontlik afgedruk en beskryf.

This is the book that Alex Boraine never wanted to write. As a native South African and a witness to the worst years of apartheid, he has known many of the leaders of the African National Congress in exile. He shared the jubilation of millions of South Africans when the ANC won the first democratic elections in 1994 and took up the reins of government under the presidency of Nelson Mandela.

Now, two decades later, he is forced to wonder what exactly has gone wrong in South Africa. Intolerance and corruption are the hallmarks of the governing party, while the worsening state of education, health, safety and security and employment strengthen the claim that South Africa is a failing state. Boraine explores this urgent and critical issue from the vantage point of wide experience as a minister, parliamentarian, co-founder of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) and Vice Chairperson of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Committee. He digs deep into the history of the ANC and concludes that both in exile and today, the ANC is slavishly committed to one party as the dominant ruling factor. All else - the Executive, Parliament, the Judiciary, civil society and the media - take second and third place. The ANC, Boraine claims, seeks to control every institution.

What's Gone Wrong? pulls no punches, but it also goes beyond strong criticism and offers a number of constructive proposals, including the re-alignment of politics as a way of preventing South Africa becoming a failed state. As South Africa mourns the loss of Mandela and embarks on another national election, with the ANC likely to begin a third decade of rule, this incisive, detailed critique is required reading for all who are interested in the fate of this young nation.

Today, African lives, cultures, and politics remain significantly affected by precolonial and postcolonial configurations of modernity, as well as hegemonic global systems. This project explores Africa's conversation with itself and the rest of the world in terms of the contest between these institutions and a pristine 'nature.' The African continent jostles between these polarities in a turbulent and unpredictable manner as wars, genocide, famine, and other hardships punctuate its history and its struggles to develop. At the same time, this unpredictability is also a manifestation of hope, vigor and dynamism. This dynamic reveals often arresting insights into what humankind has been, what it is presently, and what it could be. In this sense, Africa manifests a sense of life that perpetually strives to escape modern institutions, even if it unavoidably must engage with those institutions.

On account of its remarkable reach as well as its variety of schemes and features, migration in the Victorian era is a paramount chapter of the history of worldwide migrations and diasporas. Indeed, Victorian Britain was both a land of emigration and immigration. International Migrations in the Victorian Era covers a wide range of case studies to unveil the complexity of transnational circulations and connections in the 19th century. Combining micro- and macro-studies, this volume looks into the history of the British Empire, 19th century international migration networks, as well as the causes and consequences of Victorian migrations and how technological, social, political, and cultural transformations, mainly initiated by the Industrial Revolution, considerably impacted on people's movements. It presents a history of migration grounded on people, structural forces and migration processes that bound societies together. Rather than focussing on distinct territorial units, International Migrations in the Victorian Era balances different scales of analysis: individual, local, regional, national and transnational. Contributors are: Rebecca Bates, Sally Brooke Cameron, Milosz K. Cybowski, Nicole Davis, Anne-Catherine De Bouvier, Claire Deligny, Elizabeth Dillenburg, Nicolas Garnier, Trevor Harris, Kathrin Levitan, Veronique Molinari, Ipshita Nath, Jude Piesse, Daniel Renshaw, Eric Richards, Sue Silberberg, Ben Szreter, Geraldine Vaughan, Briony Wickes, Rhiannon Heledd Williams.

60 years after independence, African nations still find it difficult to face a number of challenges, from establishing meaningful democratic institutions to establish social structures centered on the advancement of gender equality. This volume approaches these contemporary African challenges while combating a reflexive and facile Afro-Pessimism.

From My Heart is a chronological assessment of the contributing events between 2004 and 2009 that have helped define Nigeria and Africa. What leashes have kept Nigeria from fulfilling the expectations of her people? Can a country which spends more on public officials than it does on public education make rewarding economic progress? Was Dr. James D. Watson accurate in his assessment, which attracted the umbrage of Africans and non-Africans in 2007? Those questions and more have been addressed in an interactive and daring manner. From My Heart is a useful resource material for scholars who seek information not only about developments in Nigeria, which are responsible for its current social shape, but also about Africa and the entire black race. This book contains testimony by Nuhu Ribadu, former Nigerian anti-corruption Czar, given before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee. About the Author: Leonard Shilgba grew up in Nigeria, but lived, studied, and worked in Japan. He currently lives with his family in the university town of Yola, just outside Abuja, Nigeria's capital. He is a university professor at the American University of Nigeria, Yola. In addition, he is continuously working on strengthening the Nigeria Rally Movement, which he co-founded. Publisher's website: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/FromMyHeart.html

De la Rey, De la Rey - Generaal Koos de la Rey is weer op almal se lippe. Hierdie veelbesproke held van die Anglo-Boereoorlog geniet saam met Batman en die Ruiter in Swart ikoonstatus onder verskeie generasies. Net soos meer as 'n eeu gelede dien hy as morele leier, 'n sterk figuur waarna mense kan opsien. Maar wie was hy regtig? In Generaal Koos de la Rey: Die leeu van Wes-Transvaal leer ken die leser hierdie heldhaftige generaal - nie net as krygsman met briljante taktiek en interessante opvattings oor oorlogvoering en die staat nie, maar ook as mens en gesinsman. Sy verhouding met sy vrou, sy rol as vader, sy uiteindelike tragiese dood en ander persoonlike inligting kom in hierdie pragboek aan bod. Boonop bevat Generaal Koos de la Rey: Die leeu van Wes-Transvaal 'n groot aantal skaars foto's wat die leeu van die Wes-Transvaal in die verskeidenheid rolle en kontekste uitbeeld.

Seligmann focuses on the development of German policy towards the Transvaal and southern Africa in the 1890s. During this time Germany's flirtation with President Kruger and her confrontational approach to Britain threatened war. How did this come to pass? The author examines the roots of German policy and explores consequent rivalries and tensions. The conclusions show the importance of South Africa to German imperialism and the role it played in widening German imperial ambitions before the First World War.

Cross-disciplinary studies in cultural history require regions with unusually favorable conditions of preservation as well as relevance to the disciplines and cultures involved. The first cataract of the Nile offers precisely such a combination, and this work employs a diverse set of academic perspectives to present a diachronic picture of its cultural and geographic history over a period of more than 5,000 years.

A scholarly and engaging study, this history of Swaziland, by an author who spent many years in the kingdom, presents a vivid account of the interplay of politics and personalities along the passage to post-colonial independence. From the early stages of Swazi occupation of the present-day kingdom to the accession of Sobhuza II as king in 1921, this book traces problems in consolidating leadership under the Dlamini chieftaincy and examines the infuence of Boer and British settlers, and of mining and commercial interests, on Swazi culture and governance. It recounts the story of a thriving small nation that sought to maintain traditional customs and institutions in the face of a powerful European presence.

Each of the sixteen chapters concentrates on an aspect of political history that has influenced the character of the present-day kingdom, and much of the material, especially after 1900, has not been utilized in previous studies. The introduction looks at Swazi experience in a contemporary context, evaluating historic forces that have made for stability in a rapidly changing world. Other sections detail the Swazi reaction to European-controlled neighboring states (the Transvaal, Natal, and Mozambique), the tensions introduced by successive Boer and British policies, the Swazi detachment during two external wars (1899-1902 and 1914-1918), and widespread concerns about colonialism and self-governance following World War I.

Several civilizations have risen, flourished and fallen in the valley of the Nile, each with its own religion, language, culture, institutions and style of life. Yet beneath them all a certain basic unity persisted. In few fields can this continuity of social life be seen more clearly than in the love of tales and in the manner of telling them. One of the oldest stories known to humanity, that of Sinuhe, shows a subtlety, a self-consciousness and an artificiality that mark it as the product of a highly developed literary tradition. The Greek literature produced in Egypt includes the most famous of all stories, the ""Romance of Alexander,"" later translated and adapted into countless languages. The literature of the Copts is largely church literature. The Arab invasion at the beginning of the 7th century brought a new language, religion and culture to Egypt. Some of the tales in the Thousand and One Nights are also of Egyptian provenance. In the 20th century, the Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arab to receive a Nobel prize. The Egyptian has always loved a good story, and told it well. It is by the limitless wealth of imagination that Egyptian literature is chiefly distinguished, and it is thanks to this quality in its literature, religion and monuments that the country impressed Hebrew, Greek, Arab and Western European alike as a land of magic and wonder.

Today, the East African state of Tanzania is renowned for wildlife preserves such as the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and the Selous Game Reserve. Yet few know that most of these initiatives emerged from decades of German colonial rule. This book gives the first full account of Tanzanian wildlife conservation up until World War I, focusing upon elephant hunting and the ivory trade as vital factors in a shift from exploitation to preservation that increasingly excluded indigenous Africans. Analyzing the formative interactions between colonial governance and the natural world, The Nature of German Imperialism situates East African wildlife policies within the global emergence of conservationist sensibilities around 1900.

The last great cavalry campaign of the 19th Century
This is a fascinating book written by a journalist present with the British Cavalry during the Boer War. He describes its manoeuvres, actions and battles in some detail and for those interested in the campaign this concise account will provide much welcome detail. What makes it especially interesting is that the author did not simply report on the British Cavalry-he was also a great advocate for it. He challenges the emergent view that the days of cavalry were drawing to their close and champions its cause over the newly created mounted infantry. Interestingly, French would lead the British army in the opening stages of the Great War in Europe. There all would shortly learn how the experiences of the South African War would translate to the 20th century battlefield.