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.

Originally begun in collaboration with Professor W. L. Moran, this work collects all of the extant cuneiform tablets inscribed with lists of temples. The temple lists are classified in terms of their organization, whether associated with lexical lists, organized theologically, topographically, or hierarchically-presenting deities and temples according to their relative rank. The main part of the book is an up-to-date gazetteer of the ceremonial names of ancient Mesopotamian temples. This gazetteer replaces similar (though less complete) listings from earlier in the century and provides (where known) location, divine owner, and other relevant information for each temple listed. By including not only names from temple lists, but also from other literary genres, Professor George has provided a standard reference guide that Assyriologists and others with interest in Mesopotamian religion will consult with regularity for years to come. Indexes to the gazetteer of divine, personal, and royal names, and of cuneiform tablets enhance the reference value of this unique tool. The sixteen plates include some material not previously published.

In the post-Cold War era, religion and religious extremism has been the cause of most violent conflicts, thereby posing one of the major security challenges confronting the world and, in recent years, the stability and security of the African continent. Unfortunately, some states targeted by terrorist insurgencies, including Nigeria and Kenya, have been reactive, adopting coercive responses rather than proactive long-term measures to address the factors and drivers of religious extremism in a comprehensive and sustained manner. Confronting Islamist Terrorism in Africa: The Cases of Nigeria and Kenya addresses the fragility of state institutions in terms of their ability and capacity to manage diversity, corruption, inequality, human rights violations, environmental degradation, weak security, and judicial problems, as well as the current security challenges in Africa. It also serves as an indispensable comparative study evaluating the similarities and differences in two nations' approaches to the war on terror in Africa.

Over the past few decades South African historiography has begun to recover from its previous Eurocentric bias to reflect the realities of a multiracial society. Most of the various non-white groups which form part of the population of the country have begun to receive closer attention, but two have still been largely neglected - the Korana, who no longer exist as an identifiable group, and the related Griquas, who still form a largely recognisable people with a sense of their own identity. In an attempt to help recover something of the Griqua past, the author has compiled a collection of official and semi-official documents emanating from the Philippolis Captaincy, which has been published by the Van Riebeeck Society under the title Griqua Records - the Philippolis Captaincy, 1826–1861. In order to put to use the large amount related material he has collected which could not be used in this work, as well as the knowledge of the subject he has acquired in the course of his research, he has now written what may be described as an accompanying socio-cultural and historical survey of the Captaincy, consisting mainly of precis of and quotations from contemporary non-Griqua sources. The author here describes fully for the first time the rise, development and collapse of the Philippolis Captaincy, and gives a detailed account of its organisation and administration and the lives of its inhabitants.

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.

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.

This is perhaps the most revealing case history of the politics of modern warfare ever set down. It is a story of a time when image making and public relations took precedence over strategy at the cost of thousands of lives. It is the story of the distortion of history and the promulgation of questionable glory. By August 1942, disaster had struck Great Britain in every theater of war, Singapore had fallen; Crete was gone; the Egyptians were hammering at Egypt. The British Navy and Air Force were being repulsed, and Churchill wrote: "I should have then vanished from the scene and the harvest would have been ascribed to my belated disappearance." The shadow of becoming a second class power was already falling on Britain, and Churchill and his generals were about to be eclipsed by Roosevelt and the strength of America. Churchill was desperate for victory and a glamorous hero. General Auchinleck, commander of Britain's Eighth Army, had already fought a successful battle at El Alamein. But Churchill needed something more theatrically effective than what Auchinleck could provide. SO he set the propaganda machinery working to obliterate that victory. Auchinleck was sacked and replaced by Montgomery. Although Rommel was by this time a very sick man with a weakened army, the myth of the Desert Fox was revived as well. And the second Battle of El Alamein, the one recorded in the history books, was launched. Every man played his part well, including the public relations staff, General Montgomery's personal photographers, the moving picture teams, and those who fell in battle. This is a fascinating book, not just for buffs of military history, but for anyone concerned with how a war is really run in an age of propaganda.

Besides searching book reviews, an interview with the writer Tijan M. Sallah, a full report on the 6th Ethiopian International Film Festival, and a stimulating selection of creative writing (including a showcase of recent South African poetry), this issue of Matatu offers general essays on African women's poetry, anglophone Cameroonian literature, and Zimbabwean fiction of the Gukurahundi period, along with studies of J.M. Coetzee, Kalpana Lalji, Ng g wa Thiong'o, Aminata Sow Fall, Wole Soyinka, and Yvonne Vera. The bulk of this issue, however, is given over to coverage of cultural and sociological topics from North Africa to the Cape, ranging from cultural identity in contemporary North Africa, two contributions on Kenyan naming ceremonies and initiation songs, and three studies of the function of Shona and Ndebele proverbs, to national history in Zimbabwean autobiography, traditional mourning dress of the Akans of Ghana, and the precolonial origins of traditional leadership in South Africa. Contributors: Jude Aigbe Agho, Nasima Ali, Uchenna Bethrand Anih, Aboneh Ashagrie, Francis T. Cheo, Gordon Collier, Abdel Karim Daragmeh, Geoffrey V. Davis, Nozizwe Dhlamini, Kola Eke, Phyllis Forster, Frances Hardie, James Hlongwana, Pede Hollist, John M. Kobia, Samuelson Freddie Khunou, Mea Lashbrooke, Maria J. Lopez, Brian Macaskill, Evans Mandova, Richard Sgadreck Maposa, Michael Mazuru, Corwin L. Mhlahlo. Zanoxolo Mnqobi Mkhize, Kobus Moolman, Thamsanqa Moyo, Felix M. Muchomba, Collins Kenga Mumbo, Tabitha Wanja Mwangi, Bhekezakhe Ncube, Christopher Joseph Odhiambo, Ode S. Ogede, H. Oby Okolocha, Wumi Raji, Dosia Reichhardt, Rashi Rohatgi, Kamal Salhi, Ekremah Shehab, Faith Sibanda, John A Stotesbury, Nick Mdika Tembo, Kenneth Usongo, Wellington Wasosa.

This book covers the prehistory of the Nile Valley from Nubia to the Mediterranean, during the period from the earliest hominid settlement, around 700,000 BC, to the beginnings of dynastic Egypt at the end of the fourth millennium BC. The author explores the prehistoric foundations pf many of the cultural traditions of Pharaonic Egypt.

The book focuses primarily on the fifteen millennia from 18,000 to 3,000 BC, when different cultures can be identified and the earliest forms of agriculture traced with some detail. Textile and ceramic production began at the end of the seventh millennium and were deployed with great skill and considerable sophistication by the beginning of the Predynastic Period at around 4,500 BC. By the Early Dynastic Period much that is considered characteristic of Ancient Egypt, such as cosmology and burial rites, was already established tradition.

This account of prehistoric Egypt will be welcomed as an outstanding narrative, combining both scholarship and accessibility.

Routledge Library Editions: Slavery is a collection of previously out-of-print titles that examine various aspects of international slavery. Books analyse the Atlantic slave trade, and its effects on Africa; modern slavery around the world; slave rebellions and resistance; the Abolitionist movements; the suppression of the slave trade; slavery in the ancient world; and more besides. These writings form part of the vital research into slavery through the ages, and together form a succinct overview.

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.

In The Lie of 1652, influential blogger and history activist Mellet retells and debunks established pre­colonial and colonial land dispossession history. He provides a radically new, fresh perspective on South African history and highlights 176 years of San/Khoi colonial resistance.

Contextualising the cultural mix of the Cape, he recounts the history of forced and voluntary migration to the Cape by Africans, Indians, Southeast Asians, Europeans and the African Diaspora in a new way.

This provocative, novel perspective on 'Colouredness' also provides a highly topical new look at the burning issue of land, and how it was lost.

An Azanian Trio offers an account of early Arab involvement in and knowledge of East African history and culture. All three manuscripts originated in East Africa and hence reflect the influence of Swahili and other local languages. They cover two millennia of South Arabian and East African History from the early Himyaritic period to the beginning of the 20th century.

This book sheds light on the growing phenomenon of cyberactivism in the Arab world, with a special focus on the Egyptian political blogosphere and its role in paving the way to democratization and socio-political change in Egypt, which culminated in Egypt's historical popular revolution on Jan. 25, 2011. In doing so, it examines the relevance and applicability of the concepts of citizen journalism and civic engagement to the discourses and deliberations in five of the most popular political blogs in Egypt, through exploring the potential connection between virtual activism, as represented in the postings on these blogs, and real activism in Egyptian political life, as represented in the calls for social, economic and political reform on the streets.

When General Douglas MacArthur led Allied troops into the jungles of New Guinea in World War II, he was already looking ahead. By successfully leapfrogging Japanese forces on that island, he placed his armies in a position to fulfill his personal promise to liberate the Philippines.

The New Guinea campaign has gone down in history as one of MacArthur's shining successes. Now Stephen Taaffe has written the definitive history of that assault, showing why it succeeded and what it contributed to the overall strategy against Japan. His book tells not only how victory was gained through a combination of technology, tactics, and Army-Navy cooperation, but also how the New Guinea campaign exemplified the strategic differences that plagued the Pacific War, since many high-ranking officers considered it a diversionary tactic rather than a key offensive.

"MacArthur's Jungle War" examines the campaign's strategic background and individual operations, describing the enormous challenges posed by jungle and amphibious warfare. Perhaps more important, it offers a balanced assessment of MacArthur's leadership and limitations, revealing his reliance on familiar battle plans and showing the vital role that subordinates played in his victory. Taaffe tells how MacArthur played the difficulties of the New Guinea campaign by maintaining his undivided attention on reaching the Philippines. He also discloses how MacArthur frequently deceived both his superiors and the public in order to promote his own agenda, and examines errors the general would later repeat on a larger scale up through the Korean War.

"MacArthur's Jungle War" offers historians a more analytical treatment of the New Guinea campaign than is found in previous works, and is written with a dramatic flair that will appeal to military buffs. By revealing the interaction among American military planning, interservice politics, MacArthur's generalship, and the American way of war, Taaffe's account provides a clearer understanding of America's Pacific war strategy and shows that the New Guinea offensive was not a mere backwater affair, but a critical part of the war against Japan.

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.

Based on innovative and extensive research, this edited volume examines the complex and unique human, cultural, and religious exchanges that resulted from the enslavement and the trade of Africans in the North and the South Atlantic regions during the era of the transatlantic slave trade. The book shows the connections between multiple Atlantic worlds that contain unique and diverse characteristics. The Atlantic slave trade disrupted African societies, families, and kin groups. Along the paths of the slave trade, men, women and children were imprisoned, separated, raped, and killed by war, famine and disease. The authors investigate some of the different pathways, whether physical and geographical or intellectual and metaphorical, that arose over the centuries in different parts of the Atlantic world in response to the slave trade and slavery. Highlighting unique and similar aspects, this groundbreaking book follows the trajectories of individuals, groups, and images, rethinking their relations with the local, and the Atlantic contexts.Although not neglecting statistic data, the volume focuses on the movement of groups and individuals as well as the cultural, artistic and religious transfers deriving from the Atlantic slave trade. Privileging multidirectional and transnational approaches, the authors investigate regions and groups usually underrepresented in Atlantic scholarship. The various chapters reassess the results of the transatlantic slave trade interactions that gave birth to mixed groups, cultures, and artistic forms on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Some chapters examine the trajectories of North Americans who fought against slavery, as well as those historical actors who benefited from the trade by selling and buying enslaved people. Other chapters study the lives of enslaved Africans and people of African descent, in order to understand how these experiences are brought to the present and reinterpreted by the later generations through visual arts and film. As a number of contributors included in this volume argue, the exchanges that resulted from the movement of peoples, goods, ideas, mentalities, tastes, and images and their legacies did not stop with the end of the Atlantic slave trade and slavery, but remain the object of continuous transformation, adaptation, and reinvention.Challenging the prevailing Atlantic world scholarship that usually privileges economic exchanges and demographic data, the book illuminates the multiple experiences of African and African-descended male and female historical actors in the North and the South Atlantic spaces. The various paths of the slave trade explored in the different chapters of this book shed light on the trajectories and representations of African individuals and their descendants in the Atlantic basin and beyond. Although the victims are no longer alive to narrate their experiences, the various authors attempt, even when the sources are scarce, to retrace the slaving paths of the male and female victims, allowing us to figure out the development of multiple Atlantic individual and collective encounters and interactions. Eventually, some contributors show that these individuals and groups who were forced into different pathways, sometimes were able to negotiate, to make choices, and seal various sorts of alliances, facing the challenges imposed by the Atlantic slave trade brutal dynamics.This is an important book for collections in slavery studies, Atlantic history, history of the United States, Latin American and Caribbean history, African studies and African Diaspora.

An insightful account of the devastating impact of the Great War, upon the already fragile British colonial African state of Northern Rhodesia. Deploying extensive archival and rare evidence from surviving African veterans, it investigates African resistance at this time.

In 1962, almost one million people were evacuated from Algeria. France called these citizens Repatriates to hide their French Algerian origins and to integrate them into society. This book is about Repatriation and how it became central to France's postcolonial understanding of decolonization, the Algerian past, and French identity.

"[An] outstanding pioneering effort. . . . Scholars and lay readers with an interest in 20th century North Africa, Jewish community life, Zionism, and political development will find much here that is new and useful. Highly recommended."
--"International Journal of Middle East Studies"

"Drawing on French government archives, documents of the Alliance Isralite Universelle (AIU), Israeli archives, interviews and published sources, Laskier provides a readable, well-integrated socio-political history of the Jewish communities of North Africa."
--"Religious Studies Review"

Before widescale emigration in the early 1960s, North Africa's Jewish communities were among the largest in the world. Without Jewish emigrants from North Africa, Israel's dynamic growth would simply not have occured. North African Jews, also called Maghribi, strengthed the new Israeli state through their settlements, often becoming the victims of Arab-Israeli conflicts and terrorist attacks. Their contribution and struggles are, in many ways, akin to the challenges emigrants from the former Soviet Union are currently encountering in Israel. Today, these North African Jewish communities are a vital force in Israeli society and politics as well as in France and Quebec.

In the first major political history of North African Jewry, Michael Laskier paints a compelling picture of three Third World Jewish communities, tracing their exposure to modernization and their relations with the Muslims and the European settlers. Perhaps the most extraordinary feature of this volume is its astonishing array of primary sources. Laskier draws on a wide range of archives in Israel, Europe, and the United States and onpersonal interviews with former community leaders, Maghribi Zionists, and Jewish outsiders who lived and worked among North Africa's Jews to recreate the experiences and development of these communities.Among the subjects covered:
--Jewish conditions before and during colonial penetration by the French and Spanish;
--anti-Semitism in North Africa, as promoted both by European settlers and Maghribi nationalists;
--the precarious position of Jews amidst the struggle between colonized Muslims and European colonialists;
--the impact of pogroms in the 1930s and 1940s and the Vichy/Nazi menace;
--internal Jewish communal struggles due to the conflict between the proponents of integration, and of emigration to other lands, and, later, the communal self-liquidiation process;--the role of clandestine organizations, such as the Mossad, in organizing for self-defense and illegal immigration;--and, more generally, the history of the North African aliyaand Zionist activity from the beginning of the twentieth century onward.

A unique and unprecedented study, Michael Laskier's work will stand as the definitive account of North African Jewry for some time.