Robben Island A place of inspiration: Mandela’ prison island
CHARLENE SMITH
by Grant Derrick
ISBN: 9781920572907 RRP: R160.00
Robben Island – a place of pain, suffering and despair, best known as the place where Nelson Mandela and many other political prisoners spent decades incarcerated for crimes against apartheid. Yet from its dark backdrop, Robben Island has now become a beacon of hope and a symbol of human triumph over evil against all odds, where humility and compassion overcame batons, hunger and violent cruelty. Much in-depth research has made this book a must read if you wish to understand the symbolism of a little island that is renowned worldwide. Charlene Smith unfolds the evolution of the Island’s political and social history, from mail station, place of exile, and military defence post to maximum security prison and World Heritage Site accompanied by many colour and black and white photos. A great deal of research has gone into making this story-like account of the island’s troubled past. This fully revised edition of Robben Island provides absorbing accounts of daring escapes, maritime disasters, lepers ostracized from mainland society, the fates of the great Xhosa chiefs of the nineteenth century, and the unique bonds of friendship and compassion forged among the political prisoners confined on the Island during the apartheid era. Robben Island is not just a tourist attraction but it has a rich fauna and flora that is linked to the islands earliest visitors. Most importantly it holds a rich cultural value as an enduring tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.
Welcome to the real world!
A young person’s guide to figuring it all out
Alex Ferguson-Williams & Lisa Kretschmer First Published in 1998, Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands is the only comprehensive guide to the bird life of Madagascar, the Seychelles, the Comoros, and the Mascarenes (Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues) – an area that boasts high levels of endemism. This new, expanded edition is fully updated to reflect taxonomic changes, and now describes and illustrates 502 species. The species accounts cover the birds’ appearance, basic behaviour, preferred habitats, geographical distribution and IUCN threat status. The text is complemented by newly designed plates with labels pinpointing key differentiating features. The introduction includes maps for each island, lists the region’s 209 endemic species, and gives pointers on where to go bird-watching.
ISBN: 9781770225268 RRP: R170.00
Sep/Oct 2013 Brides Essence Magazine
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