This analytical survey of the political climate vis a vis the Jewish community in the 1980's was remarkably prescient in scope and still serves as the textbook for political surveys.

No other book has painted a more vivid and insightful portrait of Jewish life in modern South Africa. Its perspective is unique, offering us an insider's view of the inner-most thoughts and feelings of South Africa's political elite.

The book provides a profound insight in the political climate of South Africa as it relates to the Jews in that country. Unique personal vignettes of the political movers and shakers of South Africa can be found in the books pages.

In Past To Present, photographer Joan Almond has documented village life in Moslem desert communities for over twenty-five years: her travels and discoveries are documented in a work that shares her photos and many cultural insights. The photos are presented as full-page images unsullied by description; the text resides in the front for a fine introduction of Almond's efforts.

Enhanced with a brief but informative introduction by Karen Sinsheimer and Roberto Tejada's insightful essay, Joan Almond: The Past In The Present showcases an amazing and impressive photographic journey by documentary photographer Joan Almond through the Islamic desert communities of North Africa, Egypt, and the Middle East in a outstanding anthology of images featuring ordinary village people and daily life in a profound black-and-white photography that fully captures the spirit of a land and its people. Brief thoughts and a short essay or two are interspersed between the lengthy sections of captivating photographs. An extraordinary look at the human culture and the daily quest to survive and prosper, Joan Almond: The Past In The Present is a very highly recommended and enduring contribution to personal, professional, and academic collections.

Almond has spent over 25 years photographing the life of Muslem people in Third World settings, following their rituals, religion, and personal lives. Almond Eyed: Past In Present presents location shots of these groups, displaying a set of images which have almost vanished from the world. From faces to architectural wonders, this packs in fine coverage.

Thank you Mr. Stefan Kanfer for tackling the project on the diamond empire. The subject matter is not easy to write, but Mr. Kanfer managed to tell a story in a way that portrays a business biography in an academic yet exciting tone. "The Last Empire" is a very thoroughly researched and extremely well written book. I've learnt so much about the history of the most powerful diamond organization in the world (The DeBeers), its operation, structures, system, human interaction and the people behind the industry. Lots of great pictures and the stories of old Africa is filled with romantic images it makes reading a pleasure. Truly inspiring!

Kanfer has done an outstanding job of making the past come to life. The book is an excellent study of a country, a company and the uneasy relationship between government and the people. A wonderful combination of history, biography, and business.

I thought this book was very informative and one of the easiest reading non-fiction books out there. I was surprised to find out just how many different people were involved with the diamond trade in South Africa: Cecil Rhodes (the only person to have a country named directly after him), Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill...the list goes on. This book is one I had to add to my own shelf.

Mansour El-Kikhia provides a critical and entertaining account of the 'unique' and flawed political system that Ghadafi has instituted in Libya. I found it balanced and very relevant. This system has produced some interesting, if puzzling, results in the course of its implementation that clearly demonstrate its shortcomings and its proclivity to suffer from excessive zeal .
El-Kihia shows how Qadhafi has concentrated power to the provinces where the Colonel's extended family members wield important posts in the army and provincial government. The concept of a formal head of state has also been revised in favor of designating an official leader. El-Kikhia also suggests that there has been a concerted effort to diminish the influence of technocrats and educated personnel, who have been instrumental in ceating the institutions to manage the oil economy and important political negotiations with the outside world, in favor of the ideologues of the revolutionary cadres . Certainly this is in accordance with the pattern of power distribution that has prevailed in Libya since the al-Fatah revolution.
There are also accounts of the decline of culture and eductaion as a result of Qadhafi's policies and the profusion of ideology in all aspects of daily life.

As a political science major at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and also a frequent student of Dr. El-Kikhia, having read this book I can say that it is absolutely essential to an understanding of Libya's past and present political course and journey. Dr. El-Kikhia's unique perspective and special knowledge presents both the average reader and political science student with a powerful insight into the core of Quaddafi's world.

As a student of Professor El-kikhia's Foreign Policy courses, I can address his almost uncanny knowledge and understanding of foreign policy and the Middle East in specific. I would wholeheartedly recommend this and any other of Professor El-Kikhia's books to those who wish to educate themselves in foreign policy in this unique sector of the globe.

Ben Herd

Having read favorable reviews of this book in both the Harvard Magazine and the Harvard International Law Journal and being an attorney who is deeply concerned with human rights, I felt compelled to read Kuperman's book and I was not disappointed. While the conventional wisdom that a small force of 5000 troops could have prevented genocide in Rwanda and possibly in other places, Kuperman smashes such beliefs in his intricate analysis of the 1994 genocide of 500,000 Tutsis in Rwanda. And unlike Samantha Powers who in her book "A Problem from Hell" sugarcoats how easy it would be for the United States to have prevented genocides throughout history, Kuperman in his book deals with the facts -- and as he states so eloquently in the first page of his preface "facts are stubborn things". Therefore, Kuperman proceeds to lay out all the facts of the Rwanda genocide in excruciating detail. And in laying out all the facts, Superman dispels myths, discusses the complex motivations of all the actors in this civil war, hypothesizes about the success of various forms of military intervention, and ultimately, draws important and reasoned conclusions which can help future leaders prevent civil conflicts from escalating into genocides. While this book is not light reading and you do need at least a couple of years of college to understand it, Kuperman's book is a must read for any serious student of genocide and international relations. I give it my highest five star rating!

Ever wondered how to decide whether to intervene in a genocide?

This book lays out the obstacles that would have had to have been overcome to avert the wholesale slaughter in Rwanda, a genocide that was largely completed in a matter of weeks.

As a lay person and concerned citizen about U.S. intervention policies in other countries, I am relieved to find a book that analyzed the issues in an clear, unbiased fashion.

Kuperman briefly but cogently outlines various considerations including geography, culture, and history in a practical, behind-the-scenes manner that makes a complicated situation better understood, even for those outside government and policy think tanks.

Highly recommended for any reader interested in humanitarian aid.

As one who knows the definitions of both genocide and humanitarian intervention, I agree with Mr. Kuperman that everything has its limits, including humanitarian intervention in Rwanda. As a fellow of the U.S. Institute of Peace, Mr. Kuperman is an expert in the nuances and inherent value of peace. It is quite clear from the chilling photograph on the cover of Kuperman's 162-page-text that there were people and weapons involved. Evidently, the book clarifies that there was, in fact, widespread absence of peace in Rwanda. I am almost certain that Rwanda is a country and that it is in Africa. The genocide in 1994 that took the lives of at least 500,000 Tutsis, apparently, was related to that war. Or was it? Perhaps such conventional wisdom is a myth to be exposed by another rising star in the foreign policy universe.

I was simply stunned by the number of detailed maps in this book. The amount of information for each region of Kenya is outstanding and well done. If you need to know it - it's in this book. Hotels, restaurants, parks, reserves, tribes, Swahili it's all here. Very nicely organized.

This book is perfect for traveling the roads of Kenya. I used it when I spent 9 months in Kenya. It lists every detail of the area very accurately. I would not travel without it.

This book, and its relative, the guide to East Africa, got me (and my husband) comfortably through 8 weeks of travel in East Africa. It was equally useful for the trip where I was a woman traveling alone, and the trip I took with my never-been-to-the-third-world dyed-in-the-wool- American husband. The only travellers who PERHAPS might not benefit from this book are people on top-shelf tours that ensure that the travellers' feet never really touch the ground. But I truly think that everyone else will find it well worth the few dollars and the few ounces in their luggage, whether that luggage is a matched leather set or a backpack. the history, the explanations of local occurrences, the accurate and pragmatic tips and techniques for getting around/eating/shopping/sleeping/safari-ing/living are difficult to survive without

The most comprehensive travel guide I've seen. Hundreds of useful practical hints, explanations of cultural background and important things to remember for "whites" in order not to hurt or offend the traditional, mythical or religious beliefs, which are all very strong over there. I have travelled in West Africa myself, before reading this book, and found that it really shows the most important details to consider. Framed boxes in the text make it easy to find the essential tips. It is also valuable, that it shows how to travel cheaply, nothing about the luxurious hotels, more of the budget type of stuff.

I would also have to agree that this book was very well written, with a great deal of relavent information on The Gambia. I highly recomend this book.

Highly recommended! We just returned from our fourth trip to Senegal, and we found the Lonely Planet guidebook to be highly accurate and easily usable. It is well written and includes much helpful cultural information in addition to all the necessary facts. Don't leave for Senegal without it!!!!

I am reading this book now and loving it! The relationship between Jones and Muggleton (that slowly falls apart) is one of the most interesting parts of the book. Muggleton is typical of a certain type of Englishman and I am cringing for her as I read some of the paragraphs. Highly recommend this book if you are interested in travel, Africa, adventures, etc.

I loved this book. I read a lot of travel books and essays, Ann Jones does an outstanding job of providing a lot of history about a country while she tells of her adventures. I have never been able to keep the different countries of Africa and their origins straight. She makes each of the countries that she passed through distinct and memorable. Along the way she gives a vivid description of the legacy that colonization left in the countries.

In 1995 Ann Jones and her traveling partner, Kevin Muggleton, set off on an expedition through the African continent. Driving from Tangier to Cape Town, Jones is in search of the mystical Rain Queen of Lovedu, a matriarchal tribe in southern Africa. Jones is equally interested in whether the Lovedu tribe continues to exist and how their feminist values of cooperation, compromise, tolerance, mutual helpfulness and forgiveness coincide with the paternalistic and masculine doctrines she has witnessed throughout Africa.

Along the way Jones is confronted with horrific and dangerous traffic conditions, especially at the beginning of their journey. After conquering the Sahara Desert they drive through land that often didn't have suitable roads, if there were any! They also had to cross rivers without bridges and were forced to make their own rafts. Not only was the physical terrain a challenge but they also had to deal with constant bureaucracy while obtaining visas and paying bribes. Jones had no idea of what would occur at the next bend of the road.

With all that said, LOOKING FOR LOVEDU is an excellent travel narrative that allows the reader to vividly imagine what it must be like to go on an African expedition of their own. Jones does a superb job of intertwining the history of Africa along with her own travel experiences. The effects of colonialism, globalization, tourism, and environmentalism are all explored in an attempt to understand how Africa is sustaining in the current social world. LOOKING FOR LOVEDU is a good book to read if you're interested in both travel and feminism. You may just be enlightened as I was when I finished reading it.

This book starts right where the landing Place left off. It was definately the better of the two. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I really like how all of the Reg Danson books are about Biblical things. (Noah's Ark) I recommend this book and The Landing Place to anyone who likes a good book.

Clint Kelly knows how to tell a story. This book allows you to live through what you've always wondered about. Do dinosaurs still exist? And if they do, where and how? God created all animals that ever were on the same day. This book gives us a way to creatively support that truth.

Reg Danson is back and this time he's after a possible living race of dinosaurs. This book is great. It picks up where "The Landing Place" leaves off and continues to build on the series. Danson has to face a deadly witch doctor, a wild missionary, and some surprises from the Jurassic Age! Don't miss this exciting adventure

Don't even think about traveling to Madagascar without the Bradt guide! It never left my side during my month-long adventure through the country. Excellent information on the natural and cultural diversity of the island, plus accurate logistical information on where to eat, sleep, etc. Great sidebars from recent and experienced travelers. Don't forget to bring along the Bradt guide to Maddy wildlife too! Bradt is the only source I trust for travel in Madagascar.

This is an excellent guide for anyone interested in Madagascar. It is full of facts and stories that give you a real feel for the country. I especially enjoy the detailed sections on Conservation, Wildlife and her encouragement of responsible tourism. If you are planning a trip here I recommend this travel guide over any others available.

Hilary Bradt has once again captured the feeling of Madagascar as well as imparting useful information. Not only are there color pictures of lemurs but some less well known mammals. Along with detailed information she includes amusing stories. A must for anyone going to Madagascar or just interested in this wonderful country