This book provides a convincing review of the history of Italian colonialism in the Horn of Africa in general and in Somalia in particular. Specific attention is then paid to the Fiduciary Administration of the 50s, the prelude to an independent Somalia. It provides an interesting insight of the challenges and difficulties that Italy shared in recent international operations and a cold look at recent responsibilities in the collapse of a state.Well written, informative, well documented. A pleasure to read.

As asomali living in Europe this book bringing the real history of world invaision to my country

We purchased this book when we were in Botswana this August. This book is magnificient! It was an invaluable resource as we saw an incredible array of birds in the wild. It also is a great book to have around here in the States as the pictures are fantastic. Good resource info on the evolution and classification of birds as well. A must buy for anyone interested in birds, especially those of Southern Africa.

Through years of living in Southern Africa this book has helped me with its comprehensive descriptions and photographs. Though, due to its massive size, it is hardly a worthy travel-companion, it is a very lovely coffee-table or study-table book

This book is mandatory reading for any political science major. In a media driven age where the truth is intentionally distorted to further political agendas, Adam-Slabbert&Moodley provide the cold-blooded truth about the hypocracy of contemporary South African politics. In so doing, they lift the veil of piousness surrounding the 'heros' of the apartheid struggle and reveal the true motives of these modern day pirates. Extemely thought provoking reading.

"This timely book is comparable to a seminar on contemporary politics in South Africa. The authors are all veteran analysts of South African political changes since the 1960's. In South African terms, they are moderate left. Thus, they avoid the triumphalism of the celebrants of the demise of apartheid and instead comment searchingly on the dilemma of promoting liberal democracy while engaging in massive attempts to reduce inequality... Part serious-popular history, part comparative political analysis, part sociology, part academic journalism, the discussion is not for a beginner but for the reader already initiated into South Africana...The conclusion is rather sober: politics in the future is no longer about race but about the underclass challenging the "liberation aristocracy." Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and researchers." -H.Glickman, Haverford College Taken from: Choice. June 1999

This is a great book from anybodys perspective. It is informative yet entertaining. George writes as if you were sitting next to him around a mopane fire in a nice safari camp. His years of devotion to Professional Hunting and Africa make him an excellent source for information. This is a must read for all Africana fans.

GREAT BOOK FOR A LOOK AT MODERN AFRICAN HUNTING. ALOT OF DESCRIPTION ABOUT THE BEST RIFLES TO USE AND A LOT OF FAIRLY RECEENT HISTORY AS IT APPLIES TO AFRICAN HUNTING. WORTH THE MONEY.

The Crescent Obscured reads like a historical novel. Robert Allison packs the book with romance, adventure, and action. Among his heroes are Steven Decatur and James Riley, and others of this fascinating period of United States history. Allison writes with a wry sense of humor, bringing history alive. The Barbary pirates, the stuff of legends and fairy tales, were real. Allison demystifies the origin of the words to the Marine song: "to the shores of Tripoli."

Author Robert Allison's accounts are so vivid, you can almost imagine a movie script in progress. The last chapter of The Crescent Obscured is another extraordinary story, that of James Riley, captain of the Commerce, and his crew. Shipwrecked in the Mediterranean near the Spanish Sahara, James Riley endured two years of captivity, remaining all the while concerned about his crew and trusting Providence for their deliverance. Riley wrote a book about his experiences, called Travels and Sufferings: An Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce, Wrecked on the Western Coast of Africa in the Month of August 1815. Not only did Riley recite the events of the captivity in his book, but also made references to the state of slavery. Riley's book was one of six that Abraham Lincoln claimed most influenced him.

The Crescent Obscured is history made fun to read. Robert Allison teaches us what influence the Muslim world had on the infant nation. We learn that there certainly was much more than we might have expected before reading Allison's wonderful book.

I enjoyed the book immensely because in recounting the specific events that led up to the Battle of Tripoli, the author gives insight into issues present in current Muslim World/Western World conflict and provides a historical close-up of US arrogance. The US denounces the enslavement of a few Americans by Muslims while at the same time building a US economy based on the enslavement of millions of Africans.

In 1785, while American diplomats struggle to develop treaties with North Africa, three "North African strangers" arrive in Virginia. Instead of the friendly reception expected by the strangers, they were locked up, interrogated, and soon sent back to their own country. To prevent "dangerous aliens" from ever posing such a threat again, the Virginia legislature passed the Virginia act. The act gave the governor the power to deport aliens from countries at war with the US.

Thus begins the reader's journey to understanding the beginning of the Western world versus Muslim world conflict-a conflict that predates the existence of a United States. The book ends with the United States humbling the Muslim states of North Africa by declaring and winning a war against Tripoli. From beginning to end the reader is given account after account of varied forms of moral outrage shown by the US towards the Muslim capture of american ships and the enslavement of American crews.

I read this book about fifteen years ago and even after all these years, the power of the words and images has stayed with me. It is an amazing story and provides important and compelling insights. It gives the reader a true sense of being there -- in South Africa -- under apartheid. Reading this book truly changed my life. I was 15 when I read it and it enabled me to fully understand the issues and challenges that people all over the world face.

I would recommend it to high school students interested in world affairs, current events, history, civil rights, African history, or civil disobedience. I would recommend it to the college student and the adult.

I think it is a must-read. It is a moving, uplifting, powerful story. It is an example of how the human spirit can overcome all. Enjoy!

Finnegan's discovery of life in Cape Flats, S.A. is poignant and thoughtful. As the reader, you are drawn into his understanding as he captures some essential elements of life in apartheid South Africa. The rampant racism, segregation and human misery contrasts remarkably with the "other side of the tracks." I teach African studies in high school and have always used this novel to bring to life the educational system of the old South Africa and the disparities that persist there. Finnegan's thoughtful, caring concern for his students becomes evident in his approach to his writing...in the care he takes to bring Cape Town & Flats to the reader. Wonderful book!

Enjoyed reading my friend John's (and fellow writer),book on his African Experiences.

His wife Adeline did a great job too.

Dr. Hult has written a truly remarkable story of life as a missionary pediatrician in East Africa. His writing is at all times clear and concise. He brings to life an era in this former British colony then called Tanganyika. For those of us who were there, and who recall the people and places he writes about, it's a nostalgic trip into the past. But for those who weren't there, this book paints pictures that portray humor and pathos, successes and failures, adventure and routine, life and death in a primitive African culture. A must-read for everyone interest in missions, African culture, or just the people themselves.

Kudos to the Hellers and Ms.Blumberg. A fast paced suspense novel based on a true incident, it kept me on the edge of my chair. It was also an education on apartheid South Africa which I couldn't help but compare to Nazi Germany. The authors' attention to detail about the physical beauty of the land provided a hypocritical contrast to the ugliness of the society it produced. A must read for those with a social conscience, and for those without,an opportunity to create one.

I probably would never have found this book had Amazon.com not recommended it - and I would have missed a hidden treasure. "Deadly Truth" is a gripping, "can't put it down," novel based in apartheid-era South Africa. David Bellon, the main character, is a liberal CEO of a food conglomerate in the Cape Province who tries, in his own way, to ameliorate the inequities of his society. Through a series of events which I won't describe here (I don't want to spoil the plot!), Bellon is forced to do more, and thus runs afoul of Police Captain Eichstadt, whose unique interrogation methods are described in gruesome detail.

What makes this book so compelling is its honesty -- it is clearly based on a true story. "Ceresdal," the fictitious town in which events take place, sounds like the real town of Stellenbosch, and one of the authors was the CEO of an agribusiness in South Africa. What goes on in the Ceresdal police station is in accord with non-fiction reports about the South African Bureau of State Security (BOSS). Thus, there is more than a ring of truth here - you get the feeling that these events actually occurred, and only the names have been changed to protect the innocent (and guilty.)

I have strong interests in South African history and in Jewish history, and hence was drawn to a story featuring Jews in South Africa. Those who share these interests, or those who just want a picture of apartheid-era South Africa, will enjoy this book. But you needn't care one way or the other about South Africa to enjoy "Deadly Truth." The book stands on its own as a compelling, fast-paced novel of danger and escape.

I have never seen anything like this book. I traveled to Africa on safari some years ago and this is the first book to capture my impression of the place. Unlike the documentary photographic books available of wildlife, this artist has managed to illustrate the surreal sense one experiences on these kinds of visits to this wonderful continent. The format makes it a collector's edition; anyone who has ever been on safari or wants to go on one from his/her living room cannot be without this extraordinary art piece and voyage.

This book stands out for two reasons.

First, if you've ever been in the east African wilderness--safari country--the tone of this book will really take you back. The artist/author has captured the intangible awe of the place in a way that makes you know you're looking at the work of a great artist.

Second, the construction of the book respects the quality of the artwork inside it. The paper is beautiful, thick, and textured; the design is tasteful; the cloth cover and box are perfect for keeping the book for years to come.

This book is a treat, a piece of Africa that will remind me of the land I love.

Nineteen compelling, "nearly true" tales set in southern Africa during the late 1970s and 1980s comprise a debut work for this promising writer. The book, essentially a memoir dealing with Howard's coming-of-age experiences in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe during and after its war for independence, is a labor of love -- love for the land and its inhabitants: black, white, colonial and indigenous. As an American youth studying veterinary medicine in South Africa, Howard, afflicted with wanderlust, chanced to hitchhike north to Rhodesia on school holiday, whereupon his life was forever transformed. Upon marrying a Rhodesian girl and beginning a veterinary practice in the quaint colonial town of Marondellas, his soul became an irreversible part of the hard, red African clay. Now practising in New Zealand, Howard has experienced that teawakening of midlife, when many of us feel an urge to do an accounting of our lives. Howard is eminently successful in this accounting, and has shared his impressions and experiences in a way that makes this reader, a resident of Zimbabwe in the 1980s, want to see more. His stories, some comedic, others tragic, will evoke fond memories and nostalgia in all who once called southern Africa home.

Talk to most people about southern Africa and they will recount images of political unrest and violence. "Drive-By-Duck and other stories" offers the reader a different viewpoint. Human emotions and experiences of everyday life are interwoven in stories that reflect the depth of these nomatter where in the world you live. The only difference is the backdrop of the majesty that is southern Africa. For the reader brought up in southern Africa, the book will evoke many special memories. For the reader who has a curiosity for this part of the world, it will fuel your urge to visit one day. And for anyone who just wants a 'darn' good read, you WON'T be disappointed. If you only buy one book this year, let it be "Drive-By-Duck and other stories"