We have published 1 book by Gary Albyn, with Craig Bone:
Manzovo - R195.00

Gary Albyn was born in the old Rhodesia in 1960 and grew up in Umtali on the eastern border with Mozambique. An avid outdoorsman, he quickly developed a keen appreciation for the beauty and allure of the African bush - a passion that endures to this day.

Upon leaving school he managed to satisfy one of his other passions-aviation-by gaining admission onto one of the Air Force's exacting trainee pilot programmes. With the advent of Zimbabwe, and bigger prospects beckoning, he adopted South Africa as his new home in the early 1980s. Soon after graduating in civil engineering he moved into the corporate sphere and so began a successful career in the industrial sector.

With a personal philosophy that values life balance - and an adventurous spirit in constant need of assuagement - Gary shares his time between family, career, staying fit, private flying, travelling, responsible 4x4 off-roading, research, sketching and writing. The International Library of Poets® has honoured some of Gary's previous poems, one of which was recently featured in a published anthology, Forever Spoken. He lives in Johannesburg with his wife Paula and two children, Adam and Paige.
Contact Gary at albyn@global.co.za

Quo Vadis, mother earth?

Philosophical anthropology - the study of the nature and essence of humankind - reveals that our most basic social needs are met when we find ourselves affiliated in some way to a group.

As Homo sapiens evolved, desirable consequences arose from these dynamic communal forces; safety, succour and kinship. Whilst some atavistic urges remain, others have either been suppressed by social mores or have disappeared along with mutations. However, our need for association, and the interaction it provides, has not changed.

Unravelling the very complex sociological forces that unite people in groups, whatever their ilk, is no easy task. Yet history provides ample evidence of individuals, groups and nations that have surrendered themselves to assemblies whose intentions or purpose has been anything but communally beneficial.

As our species evolved through phases of hunter, gatherer, pastoralist, tool maker and industrialist, our survival, development and very existence has been inextricably intertwined with the multitude of species with which we share the planet. We proclaim our species represents the pinnacle of advancement, as suggested by our cognitive identification of self, yet we are still guilty of perpetrating the most mindless acts of destruction against the very species (and habitats) which have sustained us over the millennia. Does this mean that we should cease ALL interactions and dependencies on every other species that we have so mindlessly exploited? Animal Rightists will tell you "yes!"

Whilst they nobly advocate the protection of whales, seals, pandas or other marketable species, their little-known raison de etre is the complete removal of humankinds' dependency on every other living species. This is not limited to the eradication of humans' use of animals as a source of protein - it includes the elimination of dependency on all animal by-products, as well as the complete forfeiture of all animal-related pastimes and entertainment; from pigeon racing to koi ponds, from falconry to sericulture.

Sociological forces may, in some way or form, propel us towards affiliating ourselves with certain groups, yet we should consider very carefully the aims and intentions of those groups before we blindly commit to their ethos.
Being an Animal Rightist, as a pet owner for example, is evidently self-contradictory. Yet many of the blindly faithful acolytes who vociferously protest for animal rights have largely been duped by the group's real aim. At their core, and through a very cleverly created facade, Animal Rightists prey on the emotions of unwitting benefactors and unburden them of millions of donor dollars every year.

Broadly speaking, animal anti-cruelty societies would consider themselves Animal Welfarists. They devote their time and effort to protecting animals, ensuring their welfare and, where authorized to do so, bringing to book those senseless individuals caught willfully maltreating animals. Should we subscribe to the philosophy of Welfarists? Most certainly! Whether for bush meat or traditional medicine, a committed Conservationist will be as appalled by the profligate destruction of a family of Mountain gorillas as a Rightist or Welfarist. Yet despite their shared sense of injustice, Rightists are openly hostile towards the more pragmatic ideals held by Conservationists. Conservationists argue that the careful management of an enclosed ecosystem requires the prioritisation of soil management over vegetation management, and only then the fauna that occupies that system. Left unchecked, the uncontrolled population growth of a potentially destructive animal like an elephant (unnaturally contained within a confined area), will lead to the decimation of the vegetation, and thereafter the rapid degradation of the soil structures bound by the roots. This effect is rampant in many parts of Botswana already, and long-term or even irreversible effects are already evident.

Many Rightists claim that an ecosystem, left to its own devices, will tend towards its own equilibrium, and that the population numbers of all the species contained within it will self-regulate. Fallacious! The human pressure on once-open savannahs, woodlands and forests has compressed animals into ever-decreasing "island" sanctuaries, conservation areas or National Parks. The natural migratory patterns displayed by larger herbivores is being impeded and so, confined to fenced-in Parks, they place an unnatural burden on both the vegetation and water resources. This, ultimately, depletes the soils and denudes the environment. Desertification has now taken hold.

Parks authorities MUST therefore intercede in order to counter the effects of their (historically well-intentioned) creations, namely the erection of fences around the Reserves and Parks. Even in the early 20th century such sanctuaries, it was felt, would preserve, for future generations, those wild-lands that had been so blatantly despoiled by reckless hunters and farmers. As a nascent science in South Africa, the early Park wardens and their dedicated staff learnt by trial-and-error. (Park management philosophies successfully applied on other continents, or even in other regions, are seldom pertinent or applicable elsewhere). Interventions in a 'closed' environment can, and do, take many forms. Scarce water, for example, would trigger a migratory instinct in most species and they would vacate an arid area. In a 'closed' environment however, with nowhere to go, they would either perish from dehydration, or continue deriving their needs from the remaining moisture available in the vegetation. Along with their own demise, they eventually strip the vegetation and compromise the floral balance as well. The remedy? Sink boreholes and provide water for the animals. Rightists denounce this and insist that the Parks be left to self-regulate. To destruction?

Park officials study, observe and debate the practical and ethical considerations associated with the decisions and interventions deemed necessary to regulate and balance a fragile environment. It is no easy last and we should applaud both their actions and intentions, for the issues and challenges they face are extremely complex. One of the most contentious and troubling consequences of the fenced-in wilderness area was, and still is, the question of elephant population control. In a limited habitat, an elephant has the capacity to wreak havoc on the vegetation, the concentrated effect of which can also then impact on the overall biomass. If allowed to disperse and roam freely, as they did for centuries on a sparsely-populated continent, elephants would still strip or uproot trees as they do now within the confines of a National Park. The only difference being that their propensity to uproot or strip trees was spread over a far wider area, and therefore perceived as being less destructive.

It is important to remember though that this very act, whilst appearing to some as wanton, is in fact part of the process of not only bringing inaccessible leaves and fruits to the smaller mammals and insects, but also of aerating and turning the soil. Thus it is important to note that elephants, in and of themselves, are NOT destructive. They are, through their interconnectedness with all other systems and species, therefore regarded as a "keystone species." When confined and concentrated however, their normal behaviours start impacting negatively on all the other species around them. The custodians of the Parks are now perched on the horns of a dilemma, as they have to consider the very difficult option of thinning the population.

It is worth noting that such control interventions are not limited to elephants alone. Their known faculties and social behaviours make them easily identifiable to us 'sentient' human beings, thus elevating the morality question (of culling) to a higher plane. (The author avers that we might yet discover proof of the 'sentience' of far more species than we currently expect, along with it a new ethical dimension to the question of our ascendancy). Such clear parallels between man and elephant add to the complexity and emotion of the culling question. As long as there remains an economic consequence to all our actions, we will continue dealing with elephants (and other so-called wild animals) as nothing more than a commodity.

Outside of the scope of this essay are the valid arguments of "if it pays, it stays!" (The Conservationists' approach). Not even the Rightists would subscribe to the other options of translocation or birth control. Why? Because no animal - according to their particular perspective - should be exploited or interfered with in any manner or form.

But what of the need to affiliate to a group, as postulated in the author's opening statement?
Let us, for one moment, trust in the individual's ability to carefully weigh up the facts presented, before associating him or herself witz a cause. Assuming that there are valid and principled reasons for aligning oneself with the Rightists' cause or, for that matter, even the Conservationists' cause, the schism that exists is, unfortunately, only likely to widen.
But what if neither of the two extreme positions is correct? Whilst the two camps hold diametrically opposed views regarding the use and treatment of animals, their very demise - which both, apparently, want to avoid - is actually being precipitated by humankind, and not the opposing views debated by humans! Simply put - there are just too many of us on this planet. Our insatiable hunger for fossil fuel (a demand created by a growing mass of humanity), manifests itself in the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas scenario.

Our natural heritage WILL disappear if rampant population growth continues. It is almost a specious argument debating the merits or demerits of Rightists vs. Conservationists, since the very existence of the species we wish to protect are doomed by our obscene consumptionist behaviours and casual disregard for the carrying capacity of our fragile blue island.

Gary Albyn, published in African Safaris
Issue 17

Craig Bone was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia in 1955, where he grew up. He joined the Rhodesian Light Infantry in 1977. He was critically wounded in Frelimo mortar attack while on operations in Mozambique and it was only because of some desperate flying from the casualty-evacuation helicopter pilot that saved his life. While recuperating he started painting, initially military-themed works, and in a short time he was to be recognized as an artist of some repute. With his passion for wildlife, and the Zambezi Valley, he was to become an internationally acclaimed artist with his paintings being sold worldwide. A painting of his was recently auctioned on behalf of the Vietnam Veterans' Association and fetched $106,000-it now hangs in the Pentagon. He lives in Florida, USA but still manages to spend several months of the year in the Zambezi Valley. www.craigbone.com

Email Craig at info@craigbone.com

Giant footsteps

Artistic minds combine to celebrate the majesty of elephants

As a man of many journeys, it isn't surprising that Gary Albyn chose an elephant herd's journey to express his love for wild spaces, elephants and his growing concern for our environment and heritage.

An engineer by trade, Albyn also has the ability to "leverage the beauty of the language", which led him to experimenting with poetry.
His poem Manzovo began five years ago, with Albyn spending a lot of time constructing lines that were layered in meaning and nuance. But his love for the pachyderms began when he was younger.

"I went camping in Mana Pools with my dad, and it was an adventure of a lifetime. In the middle of the night, I woke up to see this massive grey, bouldering beast at the end of my stretcher, just eating," he says a little reflectively." It was the most awesome and private experience."

An elephant's journey, but also an appeal to preserve Africa's heritage, soil and animals, Manzovo reflects Albyn's desire to bring about positive environmental changes." The ideal situation would be for this poem to create a collective awareness and, to that end, positive action," he says.

Albyn also wishes to create a properly controlled sanctuary where elephants in use by humans can eventually retire to.

Having internationally acclaimed wildlife artist Craig Bone join him in illustrating his words was something Albyn only imagined. But when he approached the publishers with a poem and no illustrations, they were quick to suggest Bone and before he knew it, Albyn was receiving e-mails from the artist with the cover images for "our" book.

Meet the artist

What was it about Gary Albyn's poem Manzovo that inspired you to become involved in the project?
Craig Bone (CB): Having painted hundreds of pictures of elephants, it was refreshing to see the love and respect for the animal through the eyes of a poet.

Your images are incredibly vivid. What goes into creating them?

CB: As an artist I work better if I have a set target. Time was the main issue. Subject matter was no problem. Over the years I have collected thousands of images. From the elephant to the house fly, I had everything.
I decided to avoid the same old recipe for book illustrations. I would compose a juxtaposition of flora and fauna set in imaginative backgrounds. This project enabled me to spread my creative wings more than usual.
I placed life and death in the same picture - the reality of the struggle in the African bush. Like a dragonfly bobbing past an elephant, or impala horns slowly breaking down in a muddy pan. It's all real - just the not-so-obvious details. But you know what I want to do next time? I'll reverse the plot. I'll do the paintings then ask my poet friend to find words to fit my images. I think he'll enjoy the task as much as I have.

What is the artist's role when it comes to preserving Africa's wildlife heritage?

CB: I think that Manzovo will talk to a lot of people. Not only will people find a new respect for our pachyderm friends, but they might take a closer look at the dung beetle at its feet, or the egret waiting in ambush for a disturbed insect. One should look closer at the bigger picture.
The "Big Five" is like a wedding dress but unseen is the network of tiny stitches that hold everything together - the threads of life.

Annette Bayne, The Citizen
20 October 2009

We have published 1 book by Chris Ash:
The If Man - R250

Chris Ash grew up in the Shetland Isles and studied at Aberdeen University.

Blessed, or cursed, with itchy feet and a sense of adventure, he served in the Lovat Scouts and Gordon Highlanders before driving his Land Rover to South Africa and deciding to stay. Ash then worked in oil exploration and mining, jobs which have taken him to 27 African countries and to most of the least pleasant places in the world.

His fascination with the colonial history of southern Africa was sparked by watching 'Zulu' and 'Breaker Morant' as a child, and heightened by a heated argument with a drunken Afrikaner late one night in a bar in Pietersburg. Away from work and history, Ash enjoys cricket, rugby and getting his Defender stuck in new and interesting places.

He is married, with three cats and one Rhodesian Ridgeback and commutes between Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg and Mauritius.

We have published 3 books by Peter Baxter :
France in Centrafrique - R185.00
Selous Scouts - R185.00
SAAF's Border War - R185.00
www.peterbaxterafrica.com/
Peter Baxter is an author, amateur historian and African field, mountain and heritage travel guide.

Born in Kenya, Peter has lived and travelled over much of southern and central Africa. Born in Kenya and educated in Zimbabwe, he has lived and travelled over much of southern and central Africa. He has guided in all the major mountain ranges south of the equator, helping develop the concept of sustainable travel, and the touring of battlefield and heritage sites in East Africa.

Peter lives in Oregon, USA, working on the marketing of African heritage travel as well as a variety of book projects. His interests include British Imperial history in Africa and the East Africa campaign of the First World War in particular.

His first book was Rhodesia: Last Outpost of the British Empire; he has written several books in the Africa@War series, including France in Centrafrique, Selous Scouts, Mau Mau and SAAF’s Border War.

We have published 2 books by Alex Binda
The Saints - R595.00
Masodja - R495.00

Alexandre Binda was born in Beira, Mozambique in 1945.

He joined the Rhodesian Army in 1965. Although he had attested into the Pay Corps, he was to get more operational and combat experience than any of his colleagues.

Between 1968 and 1972 he took part in a dozen or so deployments with 1RLI and SAS combat-tracker teams in support of the Portuguese Army in the Tete Province of Mozambique, countering Frelimo and ZANLA guerrilla incursions from the north.

He was awarded a Military Forces Commendation. During his 15 years in the Rhodesian Army, he did a four-year tour of duty of with the Selous Scouts and was commissioned in 1979.

Alex is a keen student of African military history and has written several articles for Lion & Tusk, the magazine of the Rhodesian Army Association. He is also author of Masodja - A History of the Rhodesian African Rifles published in 2007.

Email Alex at abinda@tiscali.co.uk

We have published 2 books by Robin Binckes :
Canvas Under the Sky - R185.00
The Great Trek - R320.00

Robin Binckes was born in East Griqualand, South Africa in April 1941. After matriculating in Umtata, Transkei, he did his national service at the South African Navy Gymnasium, Saldanha Bay.

In 1970 he opened his own PR company to promote major sporting events ranging from international cricket to Formula One Grand Prix during the period of sports isolation.

In 1990 he started The Gansbaai Fishing Company and spent ten years in the food industry.

During the violence that swept South Africa in 1993 he volunteered as a peace monitor in the townships.
Sparked by the passion of the late historical orator David Rattray, he qualified in 2002 as a historical tour guide, conducting tours in the Johannesburg–Pretoria region through his company ‘Spear of the Nation’.
His first book, Canvas under the Sky, a best-selling novel on The Great Trek, was published in 2011 and continues to fuel lively debate. '.

We have published 1 book by Ed Bird:
Special Branch War - R350.00

Ed Bird grew up on his parents’ farm in Bembesi in Matabeleland, Rhodesia in the 1950s.
He joined the British South Africa Police (BSAP) in 1964. After a year’s overseas sabbatical in 1971, he rejoined ‘The Force’, still in uniform with the District Branch stationed in the Victoria Province.
In October 1972, he was attached to Special Branch (SB) and deployed, with only a constable as company, to the Zambezi Valley in the Centenary/Sipolilo area, where he soon established that the area had been heavily infiltrated and subverted by ZANLA.
Phase II of the ‘bush war’ began in earnest in December that year with the opening of Operation Hurricane. Bird was then posted to Dotito in the Mount Darwin area, again on his own, where he worked closely with the embryonic Selous Scouts in the new ‘pseudo’ concept.
After a brief CID probation, he was posted to the Prime Minister’s Office at SB HQ as the SB liaison officer to the Selous Scouts in March 1974.
In 1976, he was posted to SB Beitbridge, where he stayed until his transfer to Gwanda in late 1979. He resigned from the BSAP in May 1980 and after a spell of gold mining, he moved to South Africa.
Married to Patsy, with two daughters, Tracey and Diane, he lives on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal.

We have published 1 book by James Bourhill:
Come Back to Portofino - R295.00

James Bourhill
Despite an inauspicious school career at St John's College in Johannesburg, James did develop a love of history and literature. There followed a year of compulsory national service with an equestrian unit in 1973. Higher learning began at Cedara College of Agriculture and, after working on farms in Rhodesia and North Dakota, he attended the University of Minnesota as an exchange student.

Back home, trying to wrest a livelihood from the arid land, James turned to freelance journalism and to further education - ultimately attaining a Master's degree in agricultural economics. For more than twenty years he has been in the property-valuation and consulting business and is now following his passion for history by reading for a D. Phil degree at the University of Pretoria.

Come back to Portofino is a by-product of academic work enriched by a decade of travels through Italy. The author divides his time - unequally - between the family farm near Rustenburg and the village of Plan de la Tour in the south of France.

We have published 2 books by Philip Briggs :
uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park - R99.95:
Greater St Lucia Wetland Park - R99.95

Philip Briggs is a travel writer specialising in Africa. Born in the UK and raised in South Africa, he first backpacked between Nairobi and Cape Town in 1986 and has been travelling the highways and byways of Africa ever since. Published in 1991, his Bradt Guide to South Africa was the first such guidebook to be published internationally after the release of Nelson Mandela. Over the rest of the 1990s, he wrote a series of pioneering Bradt Guides to destinations that were then - and in some cases still are - otherwise practically uncharted by the travel publishing industry. These included the first dedicated guidebooks to Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana and Rwanda (co-authored with Janice Booth), all now in their 3rd to 6th edition, and Southbound Pocket Guides to the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg and St Lucia Wetlands World Heritage Sites for 30 Degrees South.

Philip has visited more than two dozen African countries in total and written about most of them, whether it be for guidebook publishers such as AA, APA-Insight, Berlitz, Camerapix, Dorling Kindersley, Frommers and Struik-New Holland, or for specialist travel and wildlife magazines including Africa Birds & Birding, Africa Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Travel Africa and Wanderlust.

He still spends at least four months on the road every year, and spends his rest of the time battering away at a keyboard in the sleepy dorp of Bergville, in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg region of South Africa. He is married to the travel photographer Ariadne Van Zandbergen and lives with three dogs and a cat. When not obssessing on some or other aspect of African history, culture, wildlife or travel, Philip's interests include music, reading and walking.

Email Phillip at philari@hixnet.co.za or visit philipbriggs.wordpress.com

We have published 2 books by Sarah Britten
More South African Insults - R120.00
McBride of Frankenmanto - R120.00

Dr. Sarah Britten has been described by Barry Ronge as "Hitler with tits". Her first piece of comic reportage, on the wonders of kugels and buying a Matric dance dress in Sandton City, appeared in Style magazine in 1991 when she was 17. She has won Sanlam Prizes for Youth Literature for The Worst Year of My Life-So Far (2000) and The Martin Tudhope Show (2002). She wrote her Master's research report on South African humour (with a focus on Madam & Eve) and has a doctorate in Applied English Language Studies, the title of her thesis being 'One nation, one beer: the mythology of the new South Africa in advertising'. The good citizens of Mooinooi once tried to send her death threats after she quoted a man who described them as being like ropes-thick, hairy and twisted-but they couldn't find her number in the phone book. She has several online stalkers and is well on her way to collecting more. Sarah enjoys birdwatching, wildlife and painting with lipstick. Seriously. She plays the piano and her favourite composer is Bach. She can do accents for anyone who asks; her current favourites are Russian and Scottish.

Email Sarah at SouthAfricanInsults@hotmail.com

One evening, after a long day at work, I arrived home to a house filled with candlelight. Alas, my husband had not surprised me with a romantic dinner- Instead it was load-shedding time - again.
I had already spent much of the day fuming about power cuts. There had been two at my office, between 8 and 10:30 a.m., and 2 and 4:30 p.m. To ease the stress, I went to march, purposefully, on the treadmill at gym - only to have the lights flicker and die at 6 p.m., on the dot. I was not happy, so I flopped down on the couch and reflected on how irritating this was. There was nothing to do. No television to look at, radio to listen to, lights to read by, humming of the pool pump or the fridge, no boiling of the kettle. Just strangely ... quiet.

It was bliss just to sit in the moment without distraction. And when the power came back on an hour later, I was a little disappointed. The silence, that cocoon of "newness," had evaporated in the light and noise of our electrically powered lifestyles.
Not everyone would have responded in the same way. In fact, many South Africans have indulged in an orgy of despair of a magnitude not seen since the great stockpiling frenzy of April 1994.

Here was irrefutable evidence that our country was circling the plughole. Incensed letters to editors clogged our newspapers; enquiries at emigration consultancies rocketed. The Sunday Times reported that Eskom employees were too embarrassed to face family and friends at social functions.An Eskom receptionist in Cape Town told the paper, "People march in here and start swearing at us. They demand we switch on their electricity immediately. We can't swear back or behave like they do. We have to remain calm. But we are definitely taking strain."

Soon enough, the jokes started.
"As I've said before," the columnist James Clarke wrote, "you always know when a nation is facing a real emergency: The public starts joking about it."
E-mails and SMSs informed us that the prince of darkness works for Eskom, while the Eskom Unplugged CD featured tracks like Dancing in the Dark and Candle in the Wind.

The worst part of load-shedding for many was the traffic, rendered far worse by traffic light outages. Not even the Outsurance pointsmen could help everywhere, and commuters spent hours in seemingly endless gridlock.
But the impact of our country's electricity shortages has gone beyond mere inconvenience. Thousands of mineworkers have been laid off as a result of reduced productivity. Economic growth in 2008 will be stunted by at least a percentage point, and investor confidence has been dented. So what do we do? Given that the situation is not going to be resolved any time soon, do we fling up our hands, don sackcloth and declare that the end of the world, is nigh? Or do we adjust to our current difficulties and get on with it?

Crises are traumatic for obvious reasons. Nobody changes unless they absolutely have to. But a crisis forces us to find new ways of doing things, and nothing fuels innovation like being in a predicament. As Carl-Henric Svanberg, CEO of Ericsson, once said, "When you have a crisis, it becomes one of your biggest assets, if that crisis is bad enough. Everyone gets very modest and humble, and listens."
And people are listening now. South Africa is one of the world's worst carbon emissions offenders, which we must change. According to CARMA (Carbon Monitoring for Action), Eskom produces more CO2 than any other energy company in the world, besides China's Huaneng Power International. This isn't surprising, because we have always been lax when it comes to energy efficiency Years of the world's cheapest electricity, almost all of it powered by coal, insulated us to the looming reality that things can't continue like this. We assumed that whenever we flicked the switch, there would be more where that came from - and we were wrong.

Could this be the best thing that ever happened? Until recently, energy efficiency was something that trust fund hippies in Ngordhoek cared about, not the average Joe Soap. But now this issue is very real to everybody Emmett Green, of energy efficiency experts Electro Sense, notes, "The knee-jerk reaction to this problem has been, 'How can I continue doing what I have been?' - so people have been buying generators and merrily continuing as they always have."

The electricity crisis is a pain, but it's also an opportunity for us to change our lives, and our use of energy for the better. I admit, my attitude to load-shedding is now different from what it was early January At first, I was livid. But gradually I realised that the truth - and an awkward reality for someone like me, addicted as I am to e-mail, blogging, online news and Facebook - is that, sometimes, technology gets in the way of productivity. Internet access and a laptop might help with research, but they do not promote good-quality thinking. During one morning blackout, it took me 15 minutes to sketch out a strategy on a piece of paper. The same thing in Powerpoint, with all of its attendant distractions and drawing of boxes and labels, might have taken me two hours.

During the morning load-shedding outages, my colleagues and I held brain-storming sessions to discuss clients, and came up with a wealth of ideas.
At home, it has been the same thing: Blackouts are an opportunity to hold conversations. To listen. To pay attention, for once.
Even traffic can bring unexpected benefits. Being stuck in gridlock doesn't have to be a bad thing. Think of your car as the ultimate form of "me-space" and suddenly the prospect of being cooped up in it for hours isn't so daunting. After all, where else can you listen to loud - and for some, embarrassing - music you daren't play at home? (I can listen to Radiohead and The Killers, secure in the knowledge that my husband, who doesn't believe decent rock has been produced since 1986, won't complain.)
Invest in a hands-free kit and use the time to catch up on phone calls to friends and relatives. Buy a language CD and learn French, Spanish or Zulu. Buy a digital voice recorder and note all of those brilliant ideas and quirky thoughts you never have time to express. Compose an essay or a novel. Smile at your fellow motorists. Make a connection.If you choose to see it, you will discover that there really is light at the end of the tunnel. It's just that now it's a low-watt, fluorescent bulb powered by a solar panel

Sarah Britten published in O magazine
May 2008

We have published 1 book by AJ Brooks :
Tale Gunner - R145.00

AJ Brooks matriculated from Roosevelt High School in 1978 and was called up to 14th Field Regiment in Potchefstroom in 1979 for his two years of compulsory national service. Early in 1979 he was transferred to the School of Artillery where he became an instructor. It was here that his interest in guns and later vintage artillery pieces was nurtured.

In December 1980 AJ completed his national service and in 1981 was called up to the 7th Medium Regiment for his first Citizen Force duty. From then on he was called up for various tours of duty to the operational area, the townships, parades and artillery courses almost every year. In 1993 AJ was transferred to the Transvaal Horse Artillery where he was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer Second Class and BSM of 9th Battery. Further tours of duty to the Army Battle School and Potchefstroom ensued and in 1998 AJ become involved in the new SANDF before his resignation in 2003.

AJ is married to Brenda and has two children Victoria (20) and Guy (13).

"It is an ingrained tradition for South Africans to stand around a fire in the bright sunlight or in the warm evenings of summer and barbeque or braai as we all say. Naturally the drink of choice is beer and mostly copious quantities of the old amber liquid. Inevitably during the intentionally drawn out grilling phase (to enable more beer swilling) and after most of the usual topics of conversation have all but exhausted themselves, a comment or the mood, the fire or some such catalyst will spark a story with military content of such hilarity that has everyone in earshot, with or without military background, rolling on the floor.

For most of us we never had a choice, national service was compulsory. Some saw action; others didn't, but all had an encounter, either dangerous or benign that was the cause for much mirth."

These are some of those stories.

We have published 1 Book by Prof. Cora Burnett and YDF (Youth Development through Football)
Stories from the Field - R295.00

Prof. Cora Burnett was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Through her extensive research throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and prolific publications on sport as a catalyst for social change, she is regarded as a prominent luminary in this field.
She is currently the research professor in the Department of Sport and Movement Studies, University of Johannesburg.

Her research interests include sport, gender, development, violence prevention, and research methodologies.
Stories from the Field is a result of her research on the YDF project.

Youth Development through Football (YDF), started in 2007, is a project implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with the Department of Sport and Recreations South Africa (SRSA), on behalf of the German Government and co-funded by the European Union.
The project uses football to change the lives of disadvantaged youth through life-skills education and supporting local sport for development organizations with advice, funding and training.

We have published 2 books by Chris Cocks :
Fireforce - R250.00
Out of Action - R250.00


Chris Cocks lives in Johannesburg. He is a partner in the recently established South African publishing house, 30° South Publishers. He is the author of Fireforce (now in its fourth edition); Survival Course; a novel, Cyclone Blues; and is the editor and compiler of The Saints - The Rhodesian Light Infantry.

He is currently writing the biography of his childhood, of growing up in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and the subsequent adjustment to life in the rebel colony of Rhodesia.
Email Chris at info@30degreessouth.co.za

'Hello and congrats on a job well done! The recent history of southern Africa has fascinated me ever since I met my first Rhodie whilst on a University exchange in England back in the early nineties. I've read Godwin, Fuller, etc, and now I've had the pleasure to read the Fourth Ed. of Fireforce and begin my military indoctrination. I continually found myself flipping back through the pages to the photos to "See" the faces of the young men involved - thanks for including so many.
The fact that a 41 year old California firefighter finds this so fascinating stems from the realisation that the conflict received so little attention in the west. I have met few that are/were even aware of the war. It seems at times like it was from another world, and in many ways maybe that's true. The USA and NATO seemed to have little stomach left for actually confronting communist issues, let alone that of Rhodesia/SA's neighbors.

The tragic proof is in the pudding I suppose, due to the numerous miserable and failed states as a result. I reckon off-the-cuff, that if Reagan had been in vs. Carter, the support would've been more forthcoming. I will continue to get and read some of the other books available as I gain perspective on what I consider an unfortunately glossed-over and minimized parcel of important 20th Century history. I wondered continuously during the read what happened to all those men whom you served with? Where are they now? Condon, Lt Smith, Hein, Cronin, Taylor, etc, etc....'
Ken Barstow, Calfornia, USA

This is war and peace with a difference.
In the first half, War, Cocks tells his story of his time fighting in the Rhodesian war as a stick leader in the Police Anti-Terrorist Unit. The fighting is brutal and the young men are callous and hardened. Family life is at the bottom of their list of priorities. Tops are killing, drinking and spending time with their co-warriors. It is a time of violence and hatred for their enemy; the only people close to them, their colleagues. While this portion of the story is shocking, it is the honesty and courage of the man who describes his even longer war with himself as he faces dealing with what he has become in the second half of the book, called Peace. He plunges into failed businesses, drink and drugs in his desperate fight to forget the horror of his past life and settle into the new land called Zimbabwe, where his enemy is now his equal. Cocks now runs a successful business in South Africa. His examination of himself, then and now is one of the bravest stories of war, the cruelty men can inflict on each other, and how difficult it is to come to terms with peace.
Lindsay Slogrove, Natal Mercury ,16 October 2008

Author and publisher Chris Cocks is not your average book industry suit. The tattoos on his arms and the content of his books Fireforce and Out Of Action recall his time as a soldier in the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), a part of his life likely to still have repercussions far into the future.

"I went to do my national service in 1976, for one year," says Cocks. "A few months in, the period was changed to 18 months, which messed up my varsity plans, so I signed up with the RLI for three years."

Out Of Action picks up the story from 1979 onwards. It's broken up into two parts - "War" and "Peace", and covers the 15 months from there until Zimbabwe's independence.

Cocks remembers having doubts about what he did for a living, and quotes the oft-heard soldier's line about staying in the army because of his bond with the men next to him on the battlefield.
But he offers a new perspective, too.
"You become part of a larger peer group. If you decide to jump ship, your family will suffer as a result of the stigma attached to that," he says. So he stayed involved, and suffered many of the hardships that face many soldiers outside of a war zone.
"The army breaks you down completely in order to build you back up the way they want you to be," he says. "When the war is over, there's no 'decompression' period, so alcohol, drugs and abuse become problems because there is no other outlet for that aggression."

Cocks himself endured considerations of suicide as he tried to be "normal".
In the newly independent Zimbabwe, he had suddenly become a second-class citizen, unable to get a job and constantly yearning for times past. He survived, but Out Of Action includes the stories of those men he knew who weren't as lucky - or resolute.
"They were victims of war as well. They just weren't recorded on the roll of honour," he says.

Cocks, although he's now on his third marriage, is confident that he won't follow them down that road.
"I've taken responsibility for myself," he says. "I don't blame lan Smith, the war or Mugabe. I need to keep working on myself for the sake of my own sanity."
He's brutally honest about the process involved getting back on even keel.
"To have a normal relationship, I've had to strip everything away -the arrogance, bitterness and hatred," says Cocks. "I've adapted the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step programme to my own situation."It doesn't matter what the addiction was: I needed to fix what they call 'defects of character'. That involved total honesty with myself, and then a rebuilding process."

For Cocks, this process, though difficult, has obviously had its rewards, and it's the same with his books: you can't expect an easy ride, but you'll have a thought-provoking, moving journey.

CitiVibe (The Citizen), 10 July 2008

We have published 1 book by Kerrin Cocks :
South Africa - R125.00 Kerrin Cocks was born in Pretoria in 1976. Her father was the Director of the Johannesburg Zoo where she spent her childhood. She was educated at Potchefstroom Girls' High and Rand Afrikaans University and has a BA Communications, majoring in Zulu.

After two years in journalism she entered the publishing industry in 1999.

She is the co-founder and marketing director of 30° South Publishers, based in Joburg. With an abiding passion for her country, she conceptualized the Southbound World Heritage Sites of South Africa series. She enjoys fly-fishing, Jack Russells, country music and watching war movies.
Email at kerrin@30degreessouth.co.za

We have published 1 book by Mason Cranswick :
Blood Lily - R125.00

Mason Cranswick was born and raised in Zimbabwe. He received an MBA from Cambridge University (Magdalene College) in 1995. Prior to that he qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the UK, after obtaining a degree in commerce from Rhodes University, South Africa. A career in investment banking has taken him around the world - from London, Tokyo and New York to Singapore during the Asian currency crisis of the late '90s. A keen sportsman, he played international rugby for Zimbabwe Schools in 1984 and, as an amateur boxer, was a Cambridge University Blue and captain in 1994/95. He now lives in Cape Town
www.bloodlily.co.za/

Author Mason Cranswick talks about his new novel, Blood Lily, a tale which examines friendship, genocide and regeneration in war-time Rhodesia
The story of Mugabe's rise to power and the history of Zimbabwe prior to his rule are little-known tales, but it is this aspect of the country's past that Zimbabwean-born Mason Cranswick has chosen to focus on in his recently-released novel, Blood Lily. Set in Rhodesia, the novel follows the journey of Scott, from his childhood on a farm in rural Zimbabwe to his days fighting in the Rhodesian army against Mugabe's Fifth Brigade, a revolutionary army fighting for the country's independence. By his side, throughout this journey, is his friend Simba, but the war between the Rhodesian government and the local revolutionaries means that the two friends must choose sides. The result is a tale of "treachery, war and genocide, love and friendship, and ultimately of hope and regeneration." The 1970s in Zimbabwe were a "fascinating time"

For Cranswick, Zimbabwe's pre-independence history presented an exciting setting for his first novel. "The whole Rhodesian war and everything that evolved around it was a fascinating time in the country's history and made up a big part of the country's history," says Cranswick. "The book was partly inspired by a trip back to Zimbabwe and to two of the farms I'd grown up on, in the area where the book is set. One of the farms was in complete ruin - litter everywhere, the house was burnt down - and then we went over to the other farm and it had been empty since the 1980s and the bush had just completely taken over. The bush was going through the house - it was completely wild and untouched - so that gave me the idea that whatever happens, the land will always come through and prevail." It's a theme that runs through the novel - that of the transitory nature of war and decay and the permanence of the land. The theme is evident through Cranswick's beautifully detailed descriptions of the Zimbabwean countryside, which underscore his obvious love for the country and its wildlife. "The Zimbabwean bush is very beautiful and unique, as are the Zimbabwean people, so I felt a lot of nostalgia in writing it." And, says Cranswick, that connection between Zimbabwe's people and its landscape is partly why the story resonates with those who have left the country: "It is authentic; people can identify with the bush and how they felt and thought in those days."

Authenticity says Cranswick, was important as he crafted the book - the places and events needed to withstand the scrutiny of those who read the book and have first-hand knowledge of them. "Many of the military scenes were taken from actual raids that took place and I made a point of making it very accurate so that if anyone reading it was involved in those incidents, they would identify completely with it," says Cranswick. Besides its authenticity, a notable aspect of the book is that Cranswick makes sure to present a balanced account from both camps in the war. "That was critical because for me it really needed to show the perspective from both sides," says Cranswick. "I think it's very important for people, in looking at that era in history, to see a balanced view so that they can appreciate both sides and get a better and stronger insight into the era by doing so."

"First and foremost, it's an exciting read"
While the novel is factually inspired, historically inclined and well-balanced, it is first and foremost an exciting tale of war and friendship, drawing heavily on Cranswick's life and interests, particularly that of boxing, which features heavily in the storyline. The excitement level maintained throughout the book means it is an equally good read for those who have no connection to Zimbabwe. "It's a very exciting, riveting story. The feel from the feedback that I've received from people abroad, people in the UK, is that they have enjoyed it first and foremost because it's an exciting read."

"The story itself is fictional but it's set in terms of real events. For example, one of the climaxes in the book is the fight scene where one the main characters collapses at the end of the fight and it turns out that he fell after the bell. I've taken that from a personal experience - I've had the exact same thing happen. A lot of things like that were taken from personal experience." Despite the fact that the novel deals with the atrocities of a war-time era, Cranswick maintains a note of hope throughout the book and the promise of regeneration for Zimbabwe. "There's an underlying optimism that in all ways it will get better," he says, and that optimism also played a part in the naming of the book. "The blood lily was really important because it represented new life and, at the end, hope. The blood lily blooms three months of the year, and they're beautiful. They represent a real optimism and hope, and they were symbolic throughout the book." The fundamentally positive message of the book has led Cranswick to donate part of its proceeds to Zimbabwean charities. For all South African online sales and sales to readers made directly from the publisher's or author's office a contribution of R15 per book sold will be made to Zimbabwean pensioners through the M'dala Trust.

A contribution of £1 will be made to the Trust for every e-book sold anywhere in the world. Says Cranswick: "The book was about Rhodesia and Zimbabwe and it represented hope for the country. I wanted it to fulfill a positive purpose."
Lindy Timm, the South African newspaper

We have published 1 book by Valya Chervenyashka and Nikolay Yordanov:
Notes from Hell - R95.00

Valya Chervenyashka was born in poverty-stricken Vratsa, Bulgaria. She is married and has two daughters. Her whole life has been dedicated to nursing, most of it caring for children in Bulgarian hospitals. In the 1980s she was posted to Tarhuna, Libya where she received awards for her work with children. In 1998, she was arrested in Benghazi, Libya, transferred to a Tripoli jail, charged with conspiring to deliberately infect over 400 children with HIV and sentenced to death. Notes from Hell is her story, covering a decade of torture, cruelty and absolute despair.

Nikolay Yordanov was born in Varna, Bulgaria. He is television, documentary and film screenwriter and editor and has worked on such shows as Fear Factor, Star Academy, Psychic Challenge and Extreme Makeover. He has also worked on a variety of advertisements and music videos. Notes from Hell is his first book.

We have published 1 book by Allen Davie :
The Whale Trail of South Africa - R99.95

For Allan Davie, it all began with a fascination with dinosaurs at a young age and names like Stegosaurus and Dimetrodon featured large in his vocabulary, leading to degrees in geology from the Natal, Rhodes and Leeds universities.

He has an enduring interest in the natural world, the evolution of life and Earth history, rivalled by an almost equal passion for travel, having wandered widely on all the continents except Antarctica, which is still an aspiration.

He is a contributor of earth-science articles for the Natal Witness, publishes a blog titled 'Romancing the Stone' and runs Old Canvas's earth-science workshops for those who might be interested. When he isn't expounding on some aspect of our natural world he enjoys the Natal Midlands life, cold weather and hitting the open road in his trusty old Land Rover.
Email Allan at geologist@netactive.co.za

We have published 1 book by Andrew De Klerk :
International Rugby Encyclopedia - R195.00

Andrew de Klerk, with his almost pathological passion for rugby football, was born in 1979, and grew up in the small educational town of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa where Saturday-morning rugby matches were strongly attended and vociferously supported by the locals.

He was educated at St Andrew's, Graeme College and Rhodes University in Grahamstown. He has a BSc (Hons) in Geology from Rhodes and a Diploma in Environmental Engineering from WITS in Johannesburg. His job as an environmental geologist takes him all over the world, which has provided him with some unique opportunities between flights to visit and research international rugby matches, stadiums, museums, players and administrators, in his never-ending quest for the tiniest detail of a perhaps long-forgotten test match.

Andrew is an avid bird-watcher and loves the bush (he once spent a year as a game ranger at Mala Mala near the Kruger National Park). He takes a great interest in most ball sports and regularly plays tennis and squash and is a member of the Geological Society of South Africa. He currently lives in Johannesburg with his wife Elizabeth and son William.
Email Andrew at andrew@resources.co.za

Keith Ford was born in 1921. He grew up in Bethlehem in the Orange Free State of South Africa. He enlisted in 1940 and trained as a gunner at Potchefstroom before being shipped out to East Africa, seeing combat in the Abyssinian and Western Desert campaigns.

From 1944 until the end of the war he served as an infantryman with the Witwatersrand De la Rey Regiment in the Italian campaign. After the war he joined Barclays Bank where he worked for 30 years.

On retirement from the bank in 1976, he spent the next 14 years as a mill manager in Rhodesia, and then a further 16 years in the hotel business in Mutare, Zimbabwe.

After his wife’s death in 2007, Keith moved to Johannesburg to be with his family.

Tim Forssman was born in Johannesburg in 1986.

He began cultivating a passion for prehistory and nature at school.
Having completed an archaeology degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, he is now studying his PhD at the University of Oxford in England.

He is currently researching ancient Bushmen who once lived in the remote parts of eastern Botswana.

His research interests include the Iron Age, experimental archaeology, the Stone Age and rock art.

We have published 1 Book by Tim Forssman and Lee Gutteridge
Bushman Rock Art - R295.00

Tim Forssman was born in Johannesburg in 1986.

He began cultivating a passion for prehistory and nature at school.
Having completed an archaeology degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, he is now studying his PhD at the University of Oxford in England.

He is currently researching ancient Bushmen who once lived in the remote parts of eastern Botswana.

His research interests include the Iron Age, experimental archaeology, the Stone Age and rock art.

Lee Gutteridge was born in Sheffield, England in 1973.
Passionate about African wildlife, he is now a professional field guide with 18 years’ bush experience. He is currently the chairman of the Waterberg region of the Field Guides’ Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) and also the principal trainer of the Entabeni Nature Guide Training School.

He books include the best-selling
The Bushveld: A South African Field Guide, including the Kruger Lowveld (2008, 2nd edition 2012),
Okavango Field Guide (co-authored, 2011) and
Bushman Rock Art: An Interpretive Guide (co-authored, 2012).

We have published 7 books by David Fleminger :
The Cradle of Humankind - R99.95
Robben Island - R99.95
Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape - R99.95
Vredefort Dome - R99.95
Swaziland - R145.00
The Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape-incl. Namaqualand - R99.95

David Fleminger is a writer and director, working in the media industry for the last 12 years. His passion for travel began as a child, when his family would pile into a motorhome and drive around South Africa for their holidays. He has also done extensive road trips through America, Europe, Canada and Australia.

His interest in travel writing grew out of an insatiable curiosity about people and history, and his love of the open road. David likes nothing better than to explore obscure byways and has been known to turn a short, 2-hour drive turn into a 12 hour epic - much to the annoyance of his passengers. Nevertheless, he believes that travellers should stop more often and experience the small towns en route.

He has published several travel books that mix history, science and practical travel information in a humorous and accessible package. All his books feature his own photographs. David's books include:
. Back Roads of the Cape (Jacana Media): the ultimate road trip companion for the region from Cape Town to PE, incorporating the Garden Route, the Klein Karoo and the Agulhas coastline. The book explores the small towns and alternative routes of this beautiful part of the country, including the Cape's mountain passes. Available at Exclusive Books and other booksellers.
. Southbound Pocket Guides (30 Degrees South Publishing): this is a series of seven individual books about each of South Africa's World Heritage Sites. David wrote four of these books, which will be released in October 2006:
o The Cradle of Humankind (Sterkfontein Caves)
o Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape
o Robben Island
o The Vredefort Dome
o The Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape (including Namaqualand)
. Fair Game - the hidden history of the Kruger National Park (Jacana Media): an upcoming book about the history and culture of the Kruger Park. To be released in late 2008.
. Swaziland (30 Degrees South Publishing): a travel guide for the beautiful kingdom of Swaziland. To be released in late 2008.
. Lesotho (30 Degrees South Publishing): a travel guide for the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho. To be released in late 2008.

David got his BA Honours from Wits in 1994 and began working in the entertainment industry. Since then, he has written and directed theatre shows (Marilyn Live, nominated for 4 Vita Awards), TV programmes, educational videos and corporate scripts. David is currently studying for his Masters Degree in 'Tourism and Heritage Studies' at Wits University. He also trains tourist guides at an accredited tourism-training institution (his speciality is an intensive two-day course on the History of South Africa).

David Fleminger is a born and bred Joburg native but, despite his enduring love for his hometown, David acknowledges that Joburg is an excellent place from which to take a holiday. He lives in the Northern Suburbs with 2 dogs, a cat and several housemates. David is also a long-standing film buff, and would like to develop his own screenplays and sitcoms. His hobbies are watching movies, walking his dogs and going on holiday. David loves South Africa and is glad he was born an African.
For a full CV or additional information, contact David Fleminger:
083 455 7311
011 786 7110
011 786 1319 - fax
E-mail: dogdog@icon.co.za
Websites:
www.backroads.co.za
www.jacana.co.za
www.30degreessouth.co.za

Five minutes with David:
What do you love about travel writing?
I'm genuinely excited about the places I write about, and I enjoy sharing that enthusiasm with readers.

If you had to recommend one thing to do in Swaziland, what would it be?
I'd have to say that a visit to either the Malolotja or Phophonyane Nature Reserves is top of my list. At night, check out a live gig at House on Fire.

What can we expect next from you?
My travel guide to Lesotho will be out soon and that will be followed by a book on the hidden history of the Kruger Park, provisionally called Fair Game.

How do you stay healthy on the road?
To be honest, it's hard to eat well when you're travelling. But I do try to avoid sugary drinks and I snack on healthy padkos such as nuts, dried fruit and chicken biltong. Also, I take every opportunity to hike or horse ride.

Your top travel tip?
Go with the right attitude. Travel is meant to be relaxing, informative and eye-opening. Take day trips and meet the people. And don't freak out when things don't go according to plan.
Longevity
June 2009

We have published 1 book by Peter Gibbs, Hugh Phillips and Nick Russell:
Blue and Old Gold - R650.00

Peter Gibbs was born in London in 1903, educated at Aldenham, and lived in Bulawayo since 1936. A number of his books have been published in London and New York. He served in the BSA Police Reserve for 21 years, retiring with the rank of reserve superintendent. He was awarded the MBE in 1964.

Hugh Phillips was born in the UK and immigrated to Southern Rhodesia in 1951 to join the BSAP. He attained the rank of assistant commissioner prior to his retirement after nearly 30 years' service. Prior to returning to the UK in 2002, he was involved, without success, in liaison activities between the Commercial Farmers Union and Zimbabwean government in efforts to bring a more pragmatic outlook and policy towards the white farm invasions. Hugh wrote Part 3 of this history, covering the period from 1939 to 1980.

Nick Russell joined the BSAP as a cadet in 1975 and served at Sinoia and Kariba before attending Morris Depot where he formed part of the mounted squad for the opening of parliament. After graduation he was posted to uniform-branch duties at Mount Darwin and substations in the district. He transferred to Special Branch and spent two years, mostly in the Mt Darwin area, until the cessation of hostilities. He now lives in Australia.

We have published 1 book by Lee Gutteridge :
The Bushveld - R495.00

Lee Gutteridge was born in Sheffield, England in 1973.

Passionate about African wildlife, he is now a professional field guide with 18 years’ bush experience. He is currently the chairman of the Waterberg region of the Field Guides’ Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) and also the principal trainer of the Entabeni Nature Guide Training School.

He books include :
the best-selling The Bushveld: A South African Field Guide, including the Kruger Lowveld (2008, 2nd edition 2012)
Okavango Field Guide (co-authored, 2011)
and Bushman Rock Art: An Interpretive Guide (co-authored, 2012).

We have published 1 book by Lee Gutteridge and Tony Reumerman :
Okavango - R495.00

Lee Gutteridge was born in Sheffield, England in 1973.

Passionate about African wildlife, he is now a professional field guide with 18 years’ bush experience. He is currently the chairman of the Waterberg region of the Field Guides’ Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) and also the principal trainer of the Entabeni Nature Guide Training School.

He books include the best-selling :
The Bushveld: A South African Field Guide, including the Kruger Lowveld (2008, 2nd edition 2012)
Okavango Field Guide (co-authored, 2011)
and Bushman Rock Art: An Interpretive Guide (co-authored, 2012).

Tony Reumerman was born and raised on the Highveld of South Africa and from an early age developed an interest in bird, insect and plant life. He was educated at St John Bosco College in Daleside where his interest in natural history unfolded, becoming an obsession during his years as a soldier in Namibia and a microbiology student in Johannesburg. Excursions into wildlife areas in southern Africa became so regular that he decided to become a game ranger. He was to spend eight years guiding, managing and training other guides at Sabi Sabi Game Reserve in the Kruger region before moving, in 2000, to the Okavango where he joined Wilderness Safaris.
He heads up the guide-training team and has an avid interest in mammal behaviour, photography, botany and ornithology.

We have published 1 book by Graham Gillmore :
Pathfinder Company - R295.00

Graham Gillmore enjoys country life in the natural beauty of East Anglia and the Fens but was born a Londoner in 1952. An innate fascination with history and all things military inevitably led him to joining the Grenadier Guards, and for six months the Guards Depot drilled into him soldiering skills of the highest standard.

Graham left the British Army in 1977 to join the Rhodesian Light Infantry in their war to prevent communist guerrillas overthrowing the country. After two years as the signals rep to Support Commando, 1RLI, Graham was promoted to Signals Troop Sergeant, but with the fall of Rhodesia to the Marxists in 1980, he moved to South Africa to continue the anti-terrorist fight with the Pathfinder Company, 44 Parachute Brigade. He returned to England still on crutches after being wounded in Angola and joined the Territorial Army.

After a career in VIP security Graham is now a leading member of the Victorian Military Society for whom he runs The Diehard Company, an internationally renowned re-enactment group. He advises and writes articles on the British Army on Home Service and on campaign during Queen Victoria's reign.

We have published 1 book by Adrian Haggett, Gerry van Tonder & Richard Wood :
Rhodesian Combined Forces - R450.00

Adrian Haggett was born in Glastonbury, Somerset, in 1953. He immigrated with his parents and two sisters to Southern Rhodesia in 1958, where his father pioneered the Montgomery Heights institution, near Umvukwes, for handicapped adolescent men. Adrian was educated at Plumtree and graduated from the Bulawayo Teachers' College in 1974. He joined 1 Psychological Operations Unit (1POU) and saw service in Mtoko, Nkai and JOC Grapple. He taught at various schools in South Africa before settling in Botswana. He graduated again in 1996 with a Masters degree in Advanced Professional Studies. Currently he works as a Human Resources manager in Gaborone. He has two daughters and a grandchild.

Gerry van Tonder was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, in 1955. He joined Internal Affairs in January 1975 and was stationed at Karoi, as a Cadet District Officer. A year later, he reported to Chikurubi in Salisbury as a member of Internal Affairs National Service 4 call-up, to undergo military training. In November 1976 he was transferred to Mount Darwin where he served in the Intelligence Section. After reading for a Bachelor of Administration (Hons) Degree at the University of Rhodesia, he was posted to Mount Darwin as a District Officer, being the Returning Officer for Rushinga during the Zimbabwe election, and working through the period of transition from the ceasefire and return of the ZANLA insurgents to assembly points. Gerry, his wife Tracey and two children have settled in Derby, England. He is an active member of several international networked Rhodesian associations, including the Rhodesian Army Association, the Rhodesian Services Association and the Rhodesian Light Infantry Regimental Association, the latter as a result of all three of his brothers having served in that battalion.

Richard Wood, BA (Hons) (Rhodes), PhD (Edinburgh), FRHistS was born in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). He was educated at St George's College, Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, and Edinburgh University, Scotland. He was a commonwealth scholar and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He was the Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Research Fellow at the University of Rhodesia and a Professor of History at the University of Durban-Westville. He is undoubtedly the foremost historian and researcher on the history of Rhodesia in the decades following the Second World War. He is a renowned military historian, having served as a territorial soldier in the Rhodesia Regiment, and the Mapping & Research Unit of the Rhodesian Intelligence Corps. His published works include, among others, The War Diaries of André Dennison (1989), Counter-Strike from the Sky: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fireforce in the War in the Bush 1974-1980 (2009), Operation Dingo: Rhodesian Raid on Chimoio and Tembué, 1977 (2011) and numerous articles, conference papers and chapters in books. He lives in Durban, South Africa, with his wife Carol.

We have published 1 book by Peter Hewitt :
Kenya Cowboy - R250.00

Peter Hewitt was born in Windsor with the Great Depression looming, his adolescent years were passed in Reading, also on the Thames. At age 18, following an MoD engineering apprenticeship, he was conscripted and served for eight years in the Fleet Air Arm. Upon release he entered Colonial Police Service, a career change that took him first to Kenya, followed by tours in Cyprus and Nyasaland. His police career concluded with a nine-year spell in the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary. Retuning to England in 1972 he took up an appointment with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where a succession of postings took him to diplomatic missions in Sierra Leone, East Berlin (GDR), Guyana and Lisbon-until a surfeit of 'foreign parts' prompted him and his wife to settle in the north London suburb. There was to be, however, one final call of the wild that he felt unable to resist and so took off again for Sierra Leone where he was engaged by a large diamond-mining company in a senior security role. This post-colonial swansong persuaded him that retirement might be the preferred option. Since then he has alternated between Cockfosters and a 'bolthole' in north Cyprus.

The Kenyan "Emergency" of the 1950s was one of a number of nasty insurgencies and counterinsurgencies the British faced in the wake of World War Two.

Britain faced a number of insurgencies at the time, principally in Malaya, Cyprus; in addition to the last phase of the Korean War and the Suez intervention of 1956: Quite a handful for a bankrupt United Kingdom. The principal consequence was that the colonial authorities in Kenya were largely left to their own devices. At peak, five British battalions were deployed in theatre along with six of the King's African Rifles. They were augmented by the whites-only Kenya Regiment and a plethora of reserve and auxiliary for-I mations, including the Kikuyu Home Guard (KHG), who suffered the bulk of the government casualties.

As behoves a properly constituted counterinsurgency, the ultimately successful struggle against the Mau Mau relied heavily on the KHG and the Kenya Police Force and particularly the latter's paramilitary formations, largely staffed by "supernumerary" short-service sub-inspectors, effectively hired from anywhere in the Empire for the duration of hostilities. These young officers, who were given six weeks of police and paramilitary training were quickly nicknamed the Kenya Cowboys. Among their number was a former Fleet Air Arm rating Peter Hewitt, the Kenya Cowboy of the title.

Hewitt arrived in Kenya in the autumn of 1953 and was posted to a police training establishment at Gilgil on the edge of the Rift Valley. The facility was most rough-and-ready but did provide the training the young counterinsurgents needed.

We next meet Hewitt at Hermann's Post, a tiny police "fort" on the property of one Alec Hermann, a farmer on the so-called "White Highlands" that were opened to European settlement after WW2 and which was a major theatre of insurgent activity. Hewitt tells us that the locating of actual Mau Mau gangs was "a game of chance with the odds stacked against [the police at forest posts such as his]." This being the case, the primary task of a police officer such as himself, his sergeant and fifteen reserve constables (commonly called Askaris) was to prevent Mau Mau gangs from "becoming too comfortably ensconced." The gangs -whose bushcraft were impeccable -had to be continually harried and denied food, access to farm labourers, farm stores and the like. Aggressive patrolling also had as an aim discovering and destroying "their cunningly situated hideouts." The primary task, says Hewitt, "was to purge one's area and maintain it so. The young inspector had to ensure that his farmers and their staff could go about their normal and lawful activity ... in peace, that their losses through Mau Mau were kept to a minimum, and any inconvenience they were caused was not caused with impunity."

In early 1955 Hewitt was assigned to command a tracker combat team (TCT) and take a more active role in combating the insurgents. His TCT quickly started scoring successes, often assisted by recently captured or surrendered insurgents. Hewitt would take the man back into the field and "systematically and hopefully take him over all the ground covered by him and his gang during the immediately preceding weeks. ... At every stage of his singular association with the team I displayed a keen interest in the way he lived and the raids he participated in." Often such insurgents would lead a TCT onto a gang, or at least onto a hot trail.

The TCTs must, of course not be confused with the equally successful pseudo-gangster teams set up by Special Branch to emulate and destroy insurgent gangs, a tactic later perfected in the Rhodesian Bush War by the Selous Scouts. From Hewitt's telling the TCT concept worked very well and may well be worth further study. The use of pseudo gangs also had a telling effect, making gangs suitably wary of each other and also upping the level of paranoia within gangs. Soon, leaders were decimating their numbers by executing followers on the slightest of suspicions, which increased the rate of desertion, which reinforced the paranoia and led to another round of deaths. As a consequence, by the end of 1956, the Mau Mau had been comprehensively defeated.

It should be noted that two factors that certainly assisted the counterinsurgents, was that the Mau Mau infestation was somewhat geographically contained, allowing the authorities to mass their forces to telling effect. The second was that the Mau Mau had no external base. Ultimately they had no foreign sponsor, little access to adequate finances and armament and no strategic rear area safe from attack. The Mau Mau were probably doomed from the start.

That said, the conflict and Hewitt's account is food for thought and shows how an insurgency can be beaten.
Peter Hewitt, African Armed Forces Journal
July 2008

We have 1 published 1 book by David Hilton-Barber:
The Baronet and The Savage King

David Hilton-Barber, fourth-generation South African of 1820 Settler stock, was born in Grahamstown and holds a BA Honours degree from Rhodes.
He trained as a journalist, following in the footsteps of his maternal great-grandfather Frederick York St Leger, founder and first editor of the Cape Times.
In his later career as a public relations consultant he was involved in a wide range of public-relations programmes for the public and private sector, included lecturing and contributing to the compilation of the communications course at the University of South Africa.
He served as president of the PR Institute of SA and council member for South Africa on the International Public Relations Association. He is author of Footprints: On the Trail of Those who Shaped the History of Tzaneen and The Baronet and the Savage King: The Intriguing Story of the Tati Concession and is presently researching several other historical projects.

Andrew Hudsen is also co-author of :
Four Ball, One Tracer
Commanding Executive Outcomes in Angola and Sierra Leone.

Andrew Hudson majored in military history at the South Africa Military Academy and after two decades as an infantry officer in the South African Defence Force, ten of which were spent in the operational areas, he moved into the private sector.

Still a soldier at heart he divides his time between earning an income, indulging his passion for collecting books on conflict in Africa, and road running in weird and wonderful locations.

We have published 1 book by Neill Jackson and Rick van Malsen :
The Search for Puma 164 - R295.00

Neill Jackson was born in Malta in 1953, where his father was stationed with the Royal Marines and his mother the WRENs. The family moved to Rhodesia in 1956, where Neill completed his schooling at Churchill Boys' High in Salisbury and attained a diploma at Gwebi Agricultural College. In 1975 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant with 5 (Independent) Company based in Umtali, before serving three years as a Troop Commander with Support Commando, the Rhodesian Light Infantry.

In 1978 he was posted as 2IC to 1 (Independent) Company at Victoria Falls and Beitbridge, and then to 1 Brigade HQ in Bulawayo as Intelligence Officer from December 1979 until his retirement a year later, with the rank of captain. He returned to agriculture and now runs a fruit farm in Villersdorp in the Western Cape.

He is married to Johanna, has four children and two grandchildren.

Rick van Malsen was born in Kenya in 1954, immigrated to Rhodesia in 1960 and was educated at Umtali Boys' High. He joined the Rhodesian Light Infantry in 1974, being commissioned the following year. In 1978, as a Troop Commander in 1 Commando, 1RLI, Rick was awarded the Bronze Cross of Rhodesia for valour during combat.

At the cessation of hostilities in 1980 he was appointed Battalion Adjutant and attended a staff course at the Staff College at Camberley in the UK. He set up of the Army Diving School at Kariba, at the time the most modern facility of its type in southern Africa, before retiring from service in 1984.

Rick is married to Val, has two children and lives in Botswana where he runs a food sales and distribution company.

We have published 2 books by Sisingi Kamongo and Leon Bezuidenhout :
Shadows in the Sand - R250.00
Skadus in die Sand - R250.00

Sisingi Kamongo was born in 1965 in the rural area of Ndonga Muramba in Kavangoland in northern Namibia (formerly South West Africa). As child he spent his time between the bush where he looked after his grandfather's cattle-learning his tracking skills-and school. After school he joined the police and was based with Koevoet at Rundu for six years. He became an elite tracker and car commander. In 1990 he came to South Africa where he worked in the security industry as a tracker until he lost the use of his legs due to a piece of shrapnel still lodged in his back, the result of his last POMZ incident.

Leon Bezuidenhout was born in 1966. He grew up in Pretoria and attended Pretoria West High School and the University of Pretoria. He did his national service in the South African Police, after which he lectured at the University of South Africa. He later entered the private sector and is a businessman and company director.

We have published 1 book by Granger Korff :
19 with a Bullet - R250.00

Granger Korff.
1960-Cassius Clay won Olympic gold in Rome; the Beatles made their debut in Germany; apartheid was 'booming' in South Africa; and Granger Korff was born on the East Rand near Johannesburg to a realtor father and budding-actress mother. "The apartheid system was sewn tight as a Zulu drum and the country moved to a slow beat," he says of the times.

He grew up in the mining town of Benoni, a quiet child initially, before 'enjoying' a colourful school career as a musician and quick-fisted rebel, attending a string of different schools for a string of different reasons. He graduated in 1979-alone from the public library. In 1985, plagued by his demons from the bush war, he travelled to the USA on a four-month boxing/vacation walkabout where he haunted the mean streets of Los Angeles, scrapping and boxing to survive. Ike Turner and Mickey Rourke were his drinking buddies and he almost became Jake LaMotta's ('The Raging Bull') son-in-law.

Twenty-four years later, Granger still lives in LA, where he runs a small plumbing business.