2 comments about Kruger National Park Travel Pack (Globetrotter Travel Packs).

1. For the most part, I think this a great book for anyone considering a trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa. It gives some basic information on the park, then lists good places to stay and/or camp, and also lists the best drives to take while you're there. However, without having visited Kruger, I cannot tell you how accurate the map, or the book, is. Also, while it does give a basic history of the park's creation, nothing is mentioned of Paul Kruger- the man after whom the park was named! That seems like a fairly major oversight to me. Also, the attractions are starred with one, two, or three stars, but there's no key or legend that explains what each of these designations actually means. Again, that seems like big oversight, even if it is self-explanatory. However, I would say that it isn't reason enough to pass-up the book. On the whole it's a nice little book. It's concise, well-written, and has a lot of information for the price. I wouldn't, however, rely on this book alone. I would definitely pick out a couple of other books to take along.



2. This was excatly what we were looking for in planning our visit to Kruger National Park. It gives suggestions for different routes you can travel throughout the various sections of the park and the animals that are prevalent in each area. Since we have limited time in Kruger, this will help us choose which areas to focus on. It has a lot of useful info and is small in size and therefore easy to bring along.

5 comments about Cape Verde Islands, 3rd: The Bradt Travel Guide.

1. Irwin and Wilson's guide gives you all the factual information you need, and in addition succeeds in capturing the spirit of Cape Verde, with boxes on cultural and historical issues linked to each island. There is no doubt about it: This is the best guide available. If you read German, Rolf Osang's "Kapverdische Inseln" from Dumont is nearly as good and a useful supplement (especially when it comes to photos). The chapters on Cape Verde in Rough Guides' and Lonely Planet's books on West Africa are neither up-to-date nor in-depth enough if you plan to spend more than a few days in Cape Verde (which you should!).

   The appendix on Crioulo language in Irwin and Wilson's book is brief but good. Don't be put off by the nasty details on horrible diseases in the section on health!




2. This was just the sort of thing a hardened backpacker needed. It had all the useful nooks and crannies of info you need - plus the fact that it filled in a lot of the extra info you like to get about a place you're seeing. They gave a great account of the islands' history - it was really moving.



3. I first visited the Cape Verdes in 1987 while researching the ATLANTIC ISLANDS, a sailing guide covering the Azores, Madeira group, Canaries and Cape Verdes, now in its third edition. Getting information on the Cape Verdes in the English language was difficult in the extreme -- if only Aisling and Colum's excellent book had been available then! These days no sane person should visit the islands without reading it first. The Cape Verdes come as something of a culture shock after the Canaries -- this book will explain why, and help you get the most from the experience. Buy it!



4. If you plan on visiting the Islands of Cape Verde, this travel guide is essential. I have not found a better or more thorough guide. I currently live here but I am American and I knew nothing of the islands when I arrived. But after living here a while, I discovered that this book is as accurate as I initially thought. There are few things misspelled but that is to be overlooked by the amount of truely uselful and thorough the information is. I also liked the little touches of background and history on each island. It is very well done.



5. This was the first, but it won't be the last, travel guide I'll buy from the Bradt series.
   
   It contains an outstanding overview of the Islands' geology, political history and economy along with great suggestions for active sports tourism and passive sightseeing.
   
   I was so impressed I bought the Bradt guide to the Canary Islands too.
   
   Both will come in handy on a trans-Atlantic cruise we've booked for this Fall.

No comments about Nepal - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!).

1 comments about Body & Soul Escapes (Footprint - Lifestyle Guides).

1. If you want to just 'get away' for a while, and wonder where's a great spot, perfect to clear out your head, to breath lovely fresh air, swim, eat delicious food, and not always need to pay luxurious prices (although there are such choices), then here's a superb selection from which you can begin to make your choices. This time, should you take off to Tuscany, or Greece, or the desert in Jordan, to Thailand, or to an island off the coast of Africa? A lot of the best places all over the world, for yoga, for pilates, or tai chi or ayurveda, even where to go for a cleansing detox are here. Beautifully written. Informative (without the greatest index but it's not a big problem). And if your friends hadn't recommended a perfect place for you, now you'll be able to recommend at least one perfect place for them to go to. Once in a while it's also possible it could cost you less than ten dollars a day, yes, (if our dollar doesn't continue dropping in value quicker than it's been doing). This lady already checked out where you can go -- and then she wrote the book she wished she herself had before her departures. Buy it. Then, have a great trip.

No comments about Libya - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!).

No comments about Zanzibar, 6th: Pemba and Mafia (Bradt Travel Guide).

5 comments about I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation.

1. I read this book because one of my colleagues knows the writer. I wanted to know more about different countries throughout Africa and he suggested I read this and vouched the information was very accurate. I found the book to be 100% fascinating. I was intrigued by the way the Ethiopians and the rest of the world treated Eritrea. The terrible things the Eritreans had to endure not only from the Ethiopians but the British and the Italians. It so sad that all this went one with mere mentions of it throughout the world because no one cared enough. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history on Africa.



2. If you are an Eritrean and you are often at loss for words ( like me) to explain where, why, who, where and what of this small nation,
   say no more! Buy and give each of your audiences a copy of this book.
   
   Michela Wrong plainly expounds the intricacies of one of the longest wars in Africa, making this book to be exceptionally one of the best books ever written that comprehensibly states the Truth, The Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth about the smallest nation in the world.



3. This is in some ways a good and necessary book. It spotlights a nation and a set of problems that most of the world doesn't pay much attention to. But there is a problem. Michela Wrong is too close to the subject and her emotional attachment at times results in the book not being as objective or as good as it might have been. In particular, she seems to have been far too close to Eritrean rebel groups and their leaders.
   
   Eritrea's history isn't about "betrayal". Its about the same problems that most African nations have faced. Rather than face the fact that the problems of Eritrea today are largely self-inflicted wounds, she falls back into blaming colonialism and cold-war politics in really unconvincing ways.
   
   In her coverage of Italian colonial rule, she confuses events in Eritrea with those in Ethiopia. She is also willing to judge Italy to a far higher standard than she applies to the pre or post-independence governments of both countries. She is also more than a little unwilling to understand the role that Italy played in creating Eritrea.
   
   The lowest point in the book is her coverage of Britain's wartime rule of Eritrea. She advances a theory that the british were racist than the italians because their rule produced fewer multiracial children. Somehow she sees superior morality in men who promoted widespread prostitution and produced children which they abandoned. It makes no sense to me. Her logic is also full of wrong assumptions about the number of British in the country and the nature of the occupation.
   
   She also isn't very good about the details of the war. The war in East Africa and in particular the victory at Keren was not a British victory, but a victory of the British Indian Army. Somehow she misses the basic fact that much of the army that conquered and occupied East Africa was Inidian.
   
   The British wanted out of Eritrea and got out of it seven years after the war ended (1952). As they got out, the issue of Ethiopia's historic and economic claims to Eritrea came to the surface. Wrong wishes to blame the united nations for betraying the people of Eritrea. But its not that simple. Eritrea's national identity has no particular good historical basis and arises mostly from the period of Italian rule and the money Italy spent on their colony. Furthermore, its independence results in two weak states in East Africa rather than one. Eritrea and Ethiopia need each other. Economically, independence is a disaster for both.
   
   The war for Eritrea's independence was a pointless waste of lives for everyone involved. Wrong wishes to see it as a justified noble struggle for "freedom", but as events since independence have proved, it was anything but that.
   
   After the overthrow of the Ethiopian government in 1976, horrible things were done in Eritrea and the author gets that part of the story right. Then she goes on to show the bright future Eritrea had before it in 1993 at independence and how everything went so terribly wrong.
   
   But she can't bring herself to hold the right people accountable. She can't bring herself to admit that the rebels she had admired so much once in power turned to be little better than a criminal gang. A gang that destroyed the economy of the country, introduced a dictatorship and then threw the country into a disasterous war with Ethiopia. The world didn't do these things. The world's "betrayal" didn't make these decisions. It was the rebel "freedom fighters" who are responsible.
   
   And thats the fatal flaw in the book. The author wants to give critiques of colonialism and the UN from on high. But the truth is that the country's problems are not a matter of "I didn't do it for you", they are "we did it to ourselves".
   
   The end result of the great "struggle" for Eritrean independence has been an economic disaster for both Ethiopia and Eritrea. The political result is a government running Eritrea that is as bad (or worse) than what the author claims were the "repressive" Ethiopian governments of the 1950s and 1960s. Eritrea's government budget is wasted in preparations for more war with Ethiopia. The country is trapped in a situation where things will never get better. Its not a situation that outsiders should be credited or blamed for.
   
   When the author says things like: "the national character traits forged during a century of colonial and superpower exploitation were about to blow up in Eritrea's face.", she in engaging in massive political self-deception. Her (dated) anti-colonial/anti-imperialism rhetoric leads her to excuse every bad decision made by an African as someone elses fault.
   
   She also goes out of her way to make the American soldiers stationed in Ethiopia in the past look like they were exceptionally bad. Having worked and travelled in Africa, she must know how soldiers behave in most countries. Go to the area around any military base (including those on American soil) and you will find all sorts of unpleasent things going on. I'm not trying to excuse the behavior of anyone, but the selective moral outrage in the book is of little value to anyone.
   
   I wanted to like this book and I want to see the author write more books about Africa. But she needs to put her political ideology to the side and report on Africa as it is. She did a far better job in "In the footsteps of Mr. Kurtz" than she did in this book.



4. I am from Ogaden, the Somali region still occupied by Ethiopia, and Eritrea's tortured history is pretty similar to ours.
   
   When I bought the book, I Didn't Do It For You, and read John Le carre's powerful commendation on the cover, I took his comments with a grain of salt, thinking he was putting a good word for a colleague. However as I delved into the book, I was surprised to find every laudatory remark made by Le Carre got instant affirmation from my own mind!
   
   This book is very informative and intensely honest. The author's tone is restrained and her style is modest. She avoids polemics because she obviously knows indulging in any propaganda variety tends to undermine one's credibility.
   
   Michela is sympathetic to the Eritreans. However she makes it clear, in her own austere way, that, Issayas, the Eritrean leader and his dictatorial tendencies, has squandered the fruit of the Eritrean struggle, the dream of its people, and the goodwill of Eritrea's friends throughout the world, and thereby rendered the once promising young republic into just another African heartbreak!
   
   Unlike many western authors and scholars who, when writing about the developing countries, tend to sanitize facts to protect the image of their own mother countries, Michela Wrong simply exposes the unpleasant facts for everyone to see. Of the three European countries(The French, Italians, and the British) that colonized the Horn of Africa, the British had been the worst. As a Somali, I know the British were pitifully stingy and penny pinching: for the 75 years they colonized Somaliland, for instance, they built or invested in it practically next to nothing, whereas the Italians built and invested in Eritrea all the machines, factories, and infrastructure, including state of the art railway system, and all the building blocks necessary for a modern state in the first part of the 20th century.
   
   However one of the explosive segments in this book is the part that exposes and gives British colonialist a real black eye, not because of their stinginess and selfishness, but because of their unabashed shamelessness of looting and stealing all the factories and machines and the modern equipment, including rail way wagons and wires that the Italians invested in Eritrea! Not only that, but the British also looted almost all the factories and machines that the Italians built in Ethiopia during its brief occupation of Ethiopia. That is, Ethiopia, the very country the British were supposed to be liberating!
   
   In light of these shocking facts about British proclivity for looting, stealing and pillaging, I was left wondering how many factories and machines and modern equipment the British forces looted from Southern Somalia when they defeated the Italians and occupied Southern Somalia in 1941?
   
   It is the exposure of these raw, unsanitized facts about the nature, greed and the attitudes of European colonialists that sets Michela Wrong apart from many western authors and scholars!
   
   My only wish is that she would, one day, be interested in the plight of the Somalis of Ogaden, who have been occupied, betrayed, and subjugated by none other than the very authors of Eritrea's horrendous history: the Italians, the British and the Abyssinians. Since she already extensively researched about history of both Eritrea and Ethiopia, writing about Ogaden which is still occupied by Ethiopia would be relatively easy.
   
   Alternatively, if I may digress, she could write about the cause of the Somali people in the horn of Africa. The Somalis have the misfortune of being the only people divided and dismembered into five limbs and each limb grabbed and swallowed by a different colonial master. And the tragic consequences of that dismemberment has been the complete collapse of the Somali Republic. Contrary to the popular notion, the principal factor responsible for the collapse of the Somali Republic in 1991 was the Ogaden war of 1977 and its consequences. The dictatorial rule of former President Siyad Barre, the epidemic of Qaat, and the curse of clanism were merely contribuiting factors. Theoratically, If Somalia stayed out of Ogaden, it could have remained peaceful, relatively prosperous, and strong. But Somalia could never have stayed out of Ogaden for very long. And if it didn't invade Ogaden in 1977, it could have invaded in 1987, or 1997, or 2027! And the reason is that the limbs of the same body tend to gravitate into the same direction! And every time Somalia mastered enough strength it will do everything in her power to regain its dismembered limbs, be it NFD or Ogaden. That is why the Horn of Africa will never see peace or stability so long the dismembered limbs of the Somali nation continue crying for one another.
   
   Certain peoples with numeric superiority such as Arabs, for instance, may withstand or whither division and dismemberment. However Somalia with a small country and smaller people cannot. As Farah Omaar, the well known Somali patriot said long ago, "My country is smaller than to be divided; my people are frailer than to be enslaved!"
   
   Now Somalia hit rock bottom. And because of its occupation of Ogaden and invasion of Somalia, Ethiopia is going to sink into a black hole! And Kenya will be next! And the vicious cycle for peoples of the Horn of Africa will continue unabated. Therefore for those who care about world peace, the most productive and cost-effective endeavor to restoring peace into this troubled region is to work for the reunification of the dismembered limbs of the Somali nation. But so long that objective is either neglected, ignored, or overlooked, the key to peace and stability in the Horn will be very difficult to locate.
   
   With her talent, courage, and honesty, Michela Wrong can take up this challenging issue, uncover the sad facts that the British and other western scholars have been sanitizing and glossing over for decades, and produce a groundbreaking must-read book for anyone interested in the Horn of Africa, and thereby not only make a significant contribution to enlightening people around the world, but also perhaps help finding a lasting solution for the never ending tragedy of the peoples of the Horn of Africa.
   
   To come back to this book, I Didn't Do It For You is impressive. And it is worth every penny and every minute of one's time.
   
   Mohamed Heebaan



5. What a book! Shall I call it a novel? For me it read like a suspensful novel rather than an ordinary narrative about an obscure Afrcan nation.I commend the young writer for her lucid style and insightful observation The narrative for the story takes place mainly in the Sahle Mountains and the main characters are the Eritrean fighters and the other charcters- the villains are the Ethiopian Army, the Italains, the British, the Russians, The Americans, last but not least the UN.Like in a good novel, at the end the protagonists- the heroes or the winners are the Eritreans

5 comments about Songs to an African Sunset: A Zimbabwean Story.

1. I experienced many different emotions while reading this book. Oftentimes, I found humor where it wasn't expected--the author's 1000 brick punishment for the man who had stolen her bedspread, the feminist caricatures, as well as, the antics at the baby shower (who'da thunk it? ). Similarly, I was also discouraged where it wasn't expected--the medical student who wanted to marry the author's, likely HIV+, sister-in-law (discouraged because if he didn't understand/care about the risk he was taking, how could any of his other relatives?). Furthermore, I was also unpleasantly surprised at the author's depiction of rampant infidelity in the book.

   Finally, I particularly enjoyed the stories about the author's mother. She appears to be a particularly savvy and strong woman. Specifically, I found the story of her first beer quite remarkable.

   Overall, I've assumed this book to be, like "I, Rigoberta Menchu," auto-biographical in nature and non-fiction that's *based on* the truth of a people. Unfortunately, I don't know if that's a good assumption.




2. Nzenza retuns to Zimbabwe after many years abroad in Australia. She brings with her a husband and child. As they learn the ropes of Zimbabwe and meet her extended family in the village, Nzenza id dealing with family members that are either dying or have died, most from AIDS. It is a touching book, composed of seperate tales, but connected stories.

   She speaks very clearly of her appreciation of the village and her love for the people there. At the same time she speaks from the knowledge that she can not return to live there, having spent too much time in Western cities with conveniences that the village lacks. I enjoyed the portraits of the village she paints and could easily see the picture she laid out.

   The stories of AIDS and it's debilitating effect on Zimbabwean life was saddening. I can only hope future portraits can touch on a Zimbabwe that has conquered this disease.




3. Nzenza is one of our women who went to the West, but realized she belong in soil of her people, the beautiful country of Africa. She reccounts how much misery the West has brought t Africa, but is able to rediscover true African life, family traditions, witchcraft, etc. She has come back to her truly natural life and the place where she belong to, the earth that nurtured us for all generations, our true mother. Brothers and Sisters, you can't miss reading her experience if you don't feel like this. Read and feel. And I became very emotional when reading that book. Speak to our African hart, sister Sekai.



4. The complex journey back to Sekai's roots in this autobiography, begins with her taking a trip back to Zimbabwe to visit her family. The book revolves mainly around the events that happen to her and around herin Zimbabwe. I think that the theme of the book is really re-discovering your roots, and finding your true heritage. I found this book to be very easy to relate to, as i am familiar with the land of Zimbabwe and some of the phrases and words used in the book. Many of these elements are the foundation of Sekai's complex story, which captures your attention instantly.
   My only critisism about the book is that sometimes the author goes so deeply into a subject, that she gets slightly off track. I personally was drawn into the book by the authors use of catchy sentences and complex ideas that made me want to keep reading.
   In conclusion, I'd recomend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story with a cultural and ethnic flare to it.



5. I think the subject matter has potential- an african female expatriate coming back home (Zim) after life in the 'West'. Unfortunately, the writing feels very disjointed and uninspiring. I also got the sort of nagging feeling I get reading national geographic or hearing someone on tv talk about 'Africa'. Her gaze on her own culture just felt somewhat imperialistic/euro-centric. This is not because she criticizes certain aspects of her country (after all, such Nigerian greats like Chinua Achebe, Soyinka, Helon Habila, Ngozi Adichie, etc., do that- self-reflection is needed!), but because her character/her voice in this book feels insincere. For one thing, I was not impressed with her husband. If none of his friends (or himself for that matter) understand her african centeredness, why is she with him in the first place?
   So I think the writing is not-so-great, the subject matter is interesting but not covered critically and reflectively (if that's a word) enough, and I almost wonder why she wrote this book.

5 comments about We All Went on Safari (Travel the World).

1. My son, now 22 months, loves this book. We started reading it less than 2 months ago and he can name all the animals and starts to count pretty well. The writing and graphics are excellent. The book has added information that he can learn when he's older, like the Swahili names for numbers and also a map of Tanzania and Kenia. Definitely recommend it.



2. Our whole family loves this book. My son, now 3, learned to count to ten in English by reading this at bedtime almost every night. We are just now starting to read the Swahili words too. The information, spellings of the Swahili words and their pronounciations, even the names of the children are all accurate (I speak Swahili to moderate fluency). One note... Most Maasai do not even speak Swahili, rather they speak Maa! But that doesn't really matter. We love the book anyway, and the Maasai do live with all of the wildlife depicted on this wonderful safari! I would say this book is appropriate from age 1, as it has a very nice cadence to it that is calming before bedtime and the pictures are very engaging. Don't wait until age 4!



3. Did not receive the first shipment; notified the seller who promptly sent another copy. It was a softcover edition which was fine, but it appeard to have been folded in half. I probably could have sent it back but by that time so much time had passed and it was needed for a specific project.



4. This is a favorite for my 2 year old. Counting is represented 3 ways on each page spread - in the text, a visual number in the same location on each page, and by the number of animals on each page. Great picture book for counting, nice text for reading.
   
   The back of the book offers a bit of material that we read over as well - descriptions of the Masai people, and their way of life, a map of Tanzania, and visuals + descriptions for all of the animals.



5. we love this book. after reading it once, i'd learned to count to ten in swahili. now, after a couple more readings, my 2 and 3 year old are counting in swahili, too.

5 comments about South Africa (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. I bought South Africa (Eyewitness Travel Guides) and have found it very helpful. We already had an itinerary planned and this guide showed us where we would be visiting, the weather, and gave useful background on each area. This guidebook gives pictorial views of historical sites, attractions etc. This was enlightening information, some of the places we will be going are far larger in area than we would have imagined. Also the attraction maps will help us keep oriented so time is not wasted being lost. With this guide and a good detail map of South Africa we gained insight about the length of travel needed each day. The biggest plusses were the pictures and drawings, they really are worth a thousand words as used in this guide. There is plenty of "survival" information; important phone numbers, medical suggestions, lodging recommendations etc. Lots of fun to read just for enjoyment!



2. Before I went to Cape Town, a thoughtful friend gave me this book, and I couldn't thank her enough. And although my comments below apply to the South Africa volume, they could well be applied to the entire series, which is excellent.
   
   The layout of the book is immediately arresting. Rather than imposing blocks of sheer text, the editors use tons of photographs, maps and other graphics. Just randomly flipping through this book is entertaining, which is not always the case with these types of publications. The typefaces are clear and well-chosen, and the enticing pages include many illustrations, the most unusual of which are cutaway diagrams of major buildings. These drawings are quite beautiful, and an unexpected delight in a book like this.
   
   Other sections deal with history, art and business. And still more sections cover "nuts and bolts" items like hotels and restaurants, and vital information such as availability of banks and ATMs, doctors and hospitals, and other trip considerations that one might overlook in the rush to depart. The book is a nice size to tuck into a bag, and will give hours of pleasure even after the trip is over.
   
   I've used guides by Fodor, Michelin and others, and although those are quite good, these Eyewitness publications really raise the bar.



3. I got this book as a present before i went to south africa. I was excited because I have heard that these books are really good. But after reading through the book, I quickly realizied that it did not give me enough information. I am in South Africa, I see how beautiful it is. I don't need to see pictures, I need maps, (there were only maps for Capetown)information about what i am seeing, costs of addmission, times, ect. There were none, and it became really annoying and unpleasant at many times. These books are good for people who just want to see how other countries/cities look like, but not travel to them. If you want a good travel book, look for the Lonely planet series.



4. I first discovered these books (a series Eyewitness Travel) by accident in a Stockholm bookstore. I had just come from Gothenborg by train and was a bit dazed. The book I bought by accident was in swedish but it still useful because of all the photos, cut away views, museum pictures, and maps and historical details. When I got home I bought a pile on Amazon.com of different places that I was going or had visited - but in english.
   
   On a cold day back here in the USA (or Canada) or elsewhere, have a glass of wine and sit in a nice chair or in the garden on a warm day and read this book. For a moment you will be back in South Africa. You are back in a small restaurant overlooking a busy street in Cape Town.
   
   The photos and desicriptions and cutaway drawings are excellent. Plus they throw in some history and details on the art and many other things of interest. A solid 400 page effort - lots of stuff to see and absorb. What is attractive about this book is that South Africa is not a well traveled country so we are not so familiar with the coutry. But the book brings it all to life with just magnificent photos and maps.



5. Excellent travel guide!
   It's very up-to-date and has a lot of detailed information.
   I especially loved the street-by-street and pictorial maps -extremely helpful!!!
   The only downside is that it doesn't really list any low-budget accomodation, the ones recommended are more on the high end...