NCW Libraries

The classic memoir of Africa, aviation, and adventure—the inspiration for Paula McLain’s Circling the Sun and “a bloody wonderful book” (Ernest Hemingway). Beryl Markham’s life story is a true epic. Not only did she set records and break barriers as a pilot, she shattered societal expectations, threw herself into torrid love affairs, survived desperate crash landings—and chronicled everything. A contemporary of Karen Blixen (better known...

King Solomon's Mines tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the missing brother of one of the party. It is the first English adventure novel set in Africa, and is considered to be the genesis of the Lost World literary genre.

"A stunning work of popular history-the story of how a crop transformed the history of slavery. Author Jori Lewis reveals how demand for peanut oil in Europe ensured that slavery in Africa would persist well into the twentieth century, long after the European powers had officially banned it in the territories they controlled"--

"[An] ... atmospheric novel about a ruined mansion by the sea, and a young girl who unearths the true story of the tragedy that happened there a hundred years ago ... Akbar Manzil was once a grand estate off the coast of South Africa. Now, nearly a century since it was built, it stands in ruins--a boardinghouse for misfits, where people come to forget or be forgotten. Seeking a new home after a painful tragedy, Sana and her effusive father are Akbar...

Since its original publication twenty years ago Rian Malan's classic work of narrative nonfiction My Traitor's Heart has earned its author comparisons to masters of literary nonfiction like Michael Herr and Ryszard Kapuscinski. The Lion Sleeps Tonight is Malan's remarkable chronicle of South Africa's halting steps and missteps, taken as blacks and whites try to build a new country. Some of the essays previously appeared in a collection published only...

"Most people think of World War II battles raging in Europe and the Pacific. One lesser known, but very important, front was along the coasts of Northern Africa. Control of that area allowed supply ships to get much needed food, weapons, and supplies to forces into Europe. You have joined the Allied Forces in fighting for this land. YOU CHOOSE what to do amidst the action. See if you have what it takes to help control the area!"--

A soldier's wife struggles to reconnect with her daughter after her husband is killed overseas. A baby abandoned at the rectory door inflames a town with gossip. A dog is shot. A heart attack survivor perplexes his family with a newfound sense of religious euphoria, while a nursing home volunteer struggles with the bad behaviour of one of her veteran patients. Compassionate, clear-eyed, probing grief and insularity, Colette Maitland's short fiction...

A harrowing picture biography of civil-rights activist and Grammy Award-winning South African singer Miriam Makeba.

A retelling of a traditional West African tale that reveals how the mosquito developed its annoying habit. A mosquito annoyed the iguana, who frightened the python, who scared the rabbit ... and now the whole jungle is in an uproar because the sun won't rise. The animals discuss the situation and decide to punish the mosquito. Even today, whenever we hear a mosquito buzz, we smack it hard!

"At a guest house in the beautiful Franschhoek wine valley, a famous English mathematician is kidnapped and his two bodyguards are killed. It's clearly a professional hit, and the spent shell cases offer a chilling clue: Each is engraved with the head of a spitting cobra. Meanwhile, in Cape Town, a skilled young thief is using his talents to put his sister through college. Then one day he picks the wrong pocket, grabbing the wallet of a young American...