Tik is the name given to a certain drug (chrystal meth) in South Africa.Tikkop is the name of a user or addict, who uses Tik. The Dutch writer Adriaan van Dis (1946) has a long history with South Africa. During his study Dutch language, he spent a year (1973/4) at Stellenbosch University. He wrote books … Continue reading review TIKKOP
review OUT OF DARKNESS, SHINING LIGHT
It took the lawyer and writer 20 years to write this book.It took her 10 years of historical research in libraries.It took her 350 pages to write it down. It brought me a fascinating read. I have read books about David Livingstone, the Scotchman who travelled through southern Africa in the nineteenth century. Who wrote … Continue reading review OUT OF DARKNESS, SHINING LIGHT
review DE KELDERS VAN CONGO
Would you volonteer to spend one month in a prison? This just what the Belgian journalist Jan de Cock did. He had written a book about prisons on several continents. This book carried the title Hotel Prison. Now he decided to take a different angle to prison life, not to write from the perspective from … Continue reading review DE KELDERS VAN CONGO
review CONVERSATIONS WITH MYSELF
Over the years there has been a steady stream of books on the life and times of the South African prisoner and politician Nelson Mandela. In this heavy book Mandela is conversing with himself. But do not forget that he is talking also with other people. During his lifetime he kept notes, not always on … Continue reading review CONVERSATIONS WITH MYSELF
review BURY THE CHAINS
This book is a long read but very worthwhile and very readable. The American writer Adam Hochschild has touched the African continent before when he wrote about the endeavours of the Belgian King Leopold II who treated a large portion of Africa as his personal backyard with gruelling results. In 2005 he published his study … Continue reading review BURY THE CHAINS
review THE FIRST BOER WAR
Recently I read a few books concerning the two (Anglo-)Boer Wars in South Africa. Some were written from a British perspective, another by a Dutch historian, a book on Paul Kruger was written by a German author. This current book has been written by an academic from the United States of America. Joseph Lehmann was … Continue reading review THE FIRST BOER WAR
books touched by Africa 