posted
A great way to expand the knowledge base here imo would be to share, to some extent, the wide array of information that we acquire outside of the discussions here. What better way than to share comments on books that people are currently reading?
I'm reading Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane.
^Not completely finished but it has to be among the best autobiographies I've read since "Malcolm X". It is set in 1960s apartheid South Africa, following the coming of age of a young Shangaan/Venda boy by the name of Johannes. Every chapter is gripping and most of the account occurs during a short period of time during his childhood, hence he doesn't gloss over anything at all and tackles head on the emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual ramifications associated with his coming up under the Apartheid regime in Alexandra. Some of the details are extremely graphic and I caught myself more than a few times having to stop reading and putting the book down in disbelief. All in all, the book makes you feel as if you were right there, living the story as vividly as Johannes did. I can't believe Apartheid was only dismantled 17 years ago!
Anyways, I highly recommend this book for those who haven't checked it out!
Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
I'm currently reading: "Black Genesis The Prehistoric origins of ancient Egypt" and "An Introduction to Stellar Astrophysics". I remember reading Kaffir Boy back in Highschool in Literature class during my senior year. GREAT BOOK!
Posts: 98 | From: U.S.A. | Registered: Feb 2010
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posted
^I know, I love this book! I still need to check out Buvaul's book but I'll probably be getting Ehret's new book before I cop that one. You must be really interested in Astronomy (admittedly my first love). Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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Currently on my shelf for HIEROGLYPHICS are the below which go beyond alphabet and grammar and, I guess, more for referencing than reading. Their focus is just as much or even more on the culture than the language.
Richard H. Wilkinson Reading Egyptian Art: a Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Egyptian Painting and Sculpture London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1992 (1994, 1998)
Barry Kemp Think like an Egyptian: 101 Hieroglyphs New York: Penguin Group, 2005
Hilary Wilson Understanding Hieroglyphics: a complete introductory guide Chicago: Passport Books, 1993 (1996)
Bridget McDermott Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs: how to read the secret language of the pharaohs San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2001
When it comes to pure pleasure reading I go in for graphic novels (comic books in paperback binding).
Posts: 8014 | From: the Tekrur in the Western Sahel | Registered: Feb 2006
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Deep Roots: Rice Farmers in West Africa and the African Diaspora Edda L. Fields Black, 2008 (Got a new appreciation for rice and why we eat it so much around here)
What is Mathematics? Richard Courant and Herbert Robbins, 1941 (Revised 1996)
Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance Ngugi wa Thiong'o, 2009
Posts: 455 | From: Tharsis Montes | Registered: Jan 2009
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Now reading Desmond Tutu's "No future without forgiveness"..
I still don't have any grasp of hieroglyphs (it may or may not be practical for what I'm trying to do, but it is ALWAYS useful). I just ordered Ehret's "History and the Testimony of Language" finally since linguistic analysis is proving to be more and more valuable in historical reconstruction.
quote:Originally posted by The Gaul:
Deep Roots: Rice Farmers in West Africa and the African Diaspora Edda L. Fields Black, 2008 (Got a new appreciation for rice and why we eat it so much around here)
Joseph Holloway Talked a bit about this in Edward Phillip's African history volume, but more broadly on the culinary and agricultural Africanisms present within the West African diaspora. This book looks to be an interesting read.
Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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