Pacaritambo

AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY (Second Edition - Cambridge World Archaeology)
by David W. Phillipson. Illustrated with B&W drawings, maps, and photographs. Condition: NEW 1994 Cambridge University Press Trade Paperback, second edition, reprint. Very pale and thin remainder mark bottom edges. Content: David Phillipson has expanded and updated his survey on the archaeology of Africa in a lucid, fully illustrated account which extends from the origins of humanity to the time of European colonization. The book effectively demonstrates the relevance of archaeological research to an understanding of Africa today, and stresses the continent's contribution to the human cultural heritage. [1 copy available]
$ 23.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

AFRICAN MYTHS AND LEGENDS
by O. B. Duane. Beautiful color paintings of African scenes by various artists. Condition: NEW 1998 Brockhampton Press (UK) large softcover, no editio given. Content: CONTENT: Folklore and myths from the Dark Continent (Creation stories, Animal fables, and "Wit & Wisdom" legends. Also includes a comprehensive introduction to the world of African mythology. Simply beautiful color illustrations accompany each story. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

AFRICAN NAMES: Names From the African Continent for Children and Adults
by Julia Stewart. B&W decorations. Condition: NEW 2000 Citadel Trade Paperback, 5th printing. Content: This book consists of about 1000 names culled from across black Africa, although there is a slight emphasis on Swahili names. It includes not only personal names, but names of towns, lakes, ethnic groups, etc., that are useful in formulating an African name for oneself. Each name is accompanied by information about its pronunciation, origins, and meaning. A general introduction covers African naming practices as well as why and how one might adopt an African name. Questions welcome [1 copy available]
$ 4.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

AFRICAN SILENCES
by Peter Matthiessen. B&W maps. Condition: UNREAD 1992 Vintage Trade Paperback, 5th printing. Name inside front cover. Content: In this account of three trips to Central and Western Africa, Matthiessen reports on the almost total devastation of wildlife in Senegal, Gambia, and the Ivory Coast and describes an exhibition searching for the rare Congo peacock and gorillas in the Virunga Mountains of Zaire. Matthiessen's disgust for the government, ruined landscape, and many of the people he found in these countries makes for uncomfortable reading. Especially engrossing is his "African Silences" chapter in which he accompanied ecologist David (Jonah) Western to the Central African Republic, Gabon, and Zaire to survey populations of the forest elephant and visit the Mbuti Pygmies of the Ituri Forest. Matthiessen's delight in the Mbuti and his cautious optimism about the effects of the recent ban on ivory trafficking somewhat softens his otherwise grim message about the fate of the people and wildlife of Africa. Questions welcome [1 copy available]
$ 4.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

ALONG THE ROAD TO SOWETO: A Racial History of South Africa
by K. C. Tessendorf. B&W photos and drawings illustrate. Condition: Very Good 1989 Atheneum hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket, first edition, first printing. This is an EX-LIBRARY book that was never checked out - but does have the usual markings. The interior is clean & tight. Actually, a nice copy. Content: Traces the history of South Africa from the arrival of the Bantus 2000 years ago to the 1976 Soweto riots to the present day. Examines race relations, the origins of apartheid, and the different peoples who settled in South Africa. [1 copy available]
$ 3.59 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

CRY OF THE KALAHARI: Seven Years in Africa's last Great Wilderness
by Mark and Delia Owens. One B&W photo section and one color photo section. Condition: Very good 1984 Houghton Mifflin hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), possibly a Book Club Edition. The book is near fine, but the DJ has creases and edgewear top & bottom, with chips at corners & bottom spine. Content: This is the story of the Owens' travel and life in the Kalahari Desert. Here they met and studied unique animals and were confronted with danger from drought, fire, storms, and the animals they loved. This best-selling book is for both travelers and animal lovers. After spending seven years in the Kalahari Desert, the authors provide a beautiful documentary examining wildlife in the Kalahari. Their adventure is the focus of a National Geographic special. If we keep killing off animals and/or their habitats, books like this will no longer exist. Get 'em while you can. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

GHOSTS OF TSAVO: Stalking the Mystery Lions of East Africa
And THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS movie (VHS)
by Philip Caputo. B&W and color photo section. . Condition: NEW 2002 National Geographic hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: Although the 1996 movie was based on Patterson's own account of the lion incident, this book helps with the understanding of the "incident" and the real maneless lions of Tsavo. In 1898, two maneless male lions killed and devoured 135 Indian and African workers constructing a railroad bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya. It took Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson, the engineer in charge of the project, nine months to hunt and kill the beasts, an ordeal recounted in his 1907 book, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, and later the subject of two films, 1952's Bwana Devil and 1996's The Ghost and the Darkness. A century later, the story of Ghost and Darkness still fascinates and terrifies. Were they just rogue lions, or were they the "missing genetic link" between the prehistoric cave cats who hunted early humans and the modern African lion? Caputo seeks answers to this intriguing question as he accompanies two separate expeditions to study the maneless lions of Tsavo. Read the book; see the movie; take your heart medication! The 1996 movie was directed by Stephen Hopkins and starred the great Val Kilmer, Michael Douglas, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill, and the great African actor Henry Cele. Not to be missed! [1 copy available]
$ 9.59 + $ 3.49 media shipping.

THE GIRL WHO MARRIED A LION
by Alexander McCall Smith. Foreword by Mma Ramotswe. Condition: NEW 2004 Canongate (UK) Trade Paperback, third printing. Content: Gathered here is a beguiling selection of folktales from Zimbabwe and Botswana. This treasury contains most of the stories previously collected in Children of Wax and seven new tales from the Setswana - speaking people of Botswana.. A girl discovers that her young husband might actually be a lion in disguise, but not before they have two sons who might actually be cubs; When a child made of wax follows his curiosity outside into the heat of daylight and melts, his siblings shape him into a bird with feathers made of leaves that enable him to fly into the light; Talking hyenas, milk-giving birds, clever cannibals who nonetheless get their comeuppance, and mysterious forces that reside in the landscape - these wonderful fables bring us the wealth, the variety, and the particular magic of traditional African lore. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 7.49 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

GREAT ZULU COMMANDERS 1838-1906
by Ian Knight. B&W Photo section. Condition: NEW 1999 Arms & Armour (London) hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket). DJ shows tiny edge wear. Content: Though their fierce and effective battles have become legendary, most of the Zulu commanders remain faceless, often unfairly stereotyped as "noble savage warriors." Look beyond this misleading image and explore the careers and tactics of the celebrated Shaka Zulu; King Cetshwayo, who guided the anti-British strategy in 1879; Cetshwayo's son, Dinizulu, the last Zulu king to lead men into battle himself; Chief Bambatha, who headed the last resistance to colonial rule; and others. Their stories span the rise and fall of this mighty kingdom, and provide insights into the struggle against European encroachment. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

KHARTOUM (Historical Fiction)
by Alan Caillou. Movie cover art with Heston and Olivier. Condition: Good 1966 Signet paperback. first printing. This is an older book and has some tanning to the white cover and the interior pages (clean & tight). Movie edition. Content: Novelization of the movie detailing the seige of Khartoum by The Mahdi and defended by the legendary English general, "Chinese" Gordon. Excellent book; even better movie. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 2.95 + $ 2.89 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAND: Living Among A Stone-Age People in Africa
by James Stephenson. B&W photos illustrate througout. Condition: New 2000 St. Martin's soft cover, first edition, first printing. Content: At the age of twenty-seven, Stephenson arranged to spend a year living among the Hadzabe, the last hunters and gatherers still living a traditional life in Africa. He wanted to live their life, hunting what they hunted, eating what they ate, participating in their dances and ceremonies, consulting with their medicine men, and learning their myths and dreams. Armed only with his camera, his art supplies, and the open-hearted courage of youth, he set out to visit with a people who have changed little since the Stone Age to glimpse the world as they perceived it and learn the wisdom they had wrested from the land. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 4.95 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE MIRACLE CHILD: A Story from Ethiopia
by Elizabeth Laird with Abba Aregawi Wolde Gabriel. Beautiful color illustrations from an 18th century Ethiopian manuscript. Condition: Gently pre-read 1985 Holt Rinehart hardcover (pictorial boards) & DJ (in mylar jacket), first American edition, first printing. DJ price-clipped. Content: This is an Ethiopian story of a miracle child who fed the hungry and healed the sick during a time of great famine. Based on the life of Saint Tekla Haymanot, a 13th century monk, the story is one of the best-loved tales in Ethiopia's rich and ancient literature. In case you wondered about the co-author of the book, Gabriel is a priest of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in England. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 9.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE PREHISTORY OF EAST AFRICA
by Sonia Cole. Introduction by Richard Carrington. B&W drawings, maps, & photos illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1965 Mentor paperback with edgewear and light tanning to page edges. Name inside front cover, but never read. Content: Zinjanthropus boisei was found in the Olduyai Gorge in the Serengeti Plains of northern Tanganyika. Discovered by Dr. L.S.B. Leakey and his wife in 1959, this astonishing fossil places the probable origin of man a half million years further back in history than was previously assumed, and seems to prove Darwin's theory that Africa is "the birthplace of mankind." This is the story of man in Africa, including food production, hunting tools, pottery, and early culture. This book properly belongs in anthropology. [1 copy available]
$ 5.39 + $ 2.89 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

RETURN TO LAUGHTER: An Anthropological Novel
by Elenore Smith Bowen. Foreword by David Riesman. Condition: UNREAD 1964 Anchor paperback, 28th printing. Interior clean, tight, perfect, but bottom front cover corner shows diagonal creases with shelfwear hinge crease. Content: Although the politically correct and socially aware reader may be inclined to huff and puff a little bit over this anthropological journey through Africa, it is neccessary to take into account the actual year that this book was first written (1954). Aside from a few "dated" remarks, this book provides a tender glimpse into the field work of an anthropologist. A young anthropologist is confronted with a quagmire ethical and moral ambiguity as ideals and unconscious assumptions meet the reality of living within a human community. Witch trials and a smallpox epidemic provide a dramatic context for problems familiar to anyone living among strangers, whether in the next town or the next continent. Along the way, Return to Laughter also serves as an engaging, impressionistic, ethnography. In fact, I'm amazed at how many different layers of book Smith Bowen has squeezed into such a quick read. [1 copy available]
$ 7.39 + $ 2.94 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

SOURCE OF ALL EVIL: African Proverbs and Sayings on Women
by Mineke Schipper. Condition: 1991 Allison & Busby of London first edition hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket).. Assane N'Doye (Cover art). Name inside front cover possibly pre-read, but interior very clean & tight. A beautiful book. Content: Proverbs about women from every dialect and country in Africa. [1 copy available]
$ 8.89 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE STAR RAFT: China's Encounter with Africa
by Philip Snow. B&W photo section. Condition: Gently pre-read 1988 Weidenfeld & Nicholson (London) hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), assumed first printing. Content: 75 years before Columbus crossed the Atlantic, a fleet of Chinese treasure ships came to the East African coast. The scale of this landfall was so colossal that it makes the Genoese explorer look like an amateur. The fleet was called the Star Raft, and its arrival marked the beginning of formal contacts between China and Africa. For Snow the Star Raft is also a metaphor for the great descents made by China on Africa in our own time. During the last 30 years the Chinese have worked to nudge Africa out from the European shadow, and have challenged both Western and Soviet interests in independent African states. As the Western tide recedes, the early contacts are being renewed and strengthened. This book is an important one in light of the shifting alliances in the so-called Third World countries and the ever active Chinese government. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.59 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

TO THE HEART OF THE NILE: Lady Florence Baker and the Exploration of Central Africa
by Pat Shipman. B&W photos & era drawings illustrate. Condition: NEW 2006 HarperPerennial Trade Paperback, first printing. Short remainder mark bottom edges. Content: Shipman recounts the courageous, adventurous life of Lady Florence Baker (1845 - 1916). Born in Transylvania and orphaned after the Hungarian revolution in 1848 - 1849, "Barbara" was taken to an Ottoman harem where her name was changed to "Florenz," and she lived "like an innocent flower blossoming in the sun." When she reached puberty, however, she was sold at slave auction to the pasha of Viddin in the Balkans and later abducted by the second-highest bidder, a wealthy middle-aged English adventurer named Samuel Baker, who renamed her "Florence." Independent, cultured and beautiful, Sam's 15-year-old acquisition possessed a fiery spirit and worldly curiosity that rivaled his own. So, in 1861, the unlikely couple set out for Africa to search for two English explorers who were on a quest to discover the Nile's source and to continue their soulful romance, free of the scrutiny Florence attracted for her "extreme youth and somewhat shadowy past." During their four years in Africa, the Bakers dealt with life-threatening illness, deception by tribal chiefs and mutiny-and witnessed some truly horrifying acts of human cruelty and degradation. But despite the hardships, including a return trip to attempt to dismantle the African slave trade, their love was unshaken. Combining journals, letters and photographs, Shipman's account shines with historical clarity and narrative fluency, although at times the invented dialogue between the couple rings a saccharine note. Overall, this portrait of bravery, altruism and stamina in the wilds of uncharted Africa is a reverent and careful tribute. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 4.59 + $ 3.39 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

THE WAY OF THE ELDERS: West African Spirituality & Tradition
by Adama & Naomi Doumbia, Ph.D. B&W drawings by Ellen Dahl illustrate. Condition: NEW 2004 Llewellyn Worldwide Trade Paperback, first edition, first printing. Content: Reviewer: "The authors have written a simple and beautiful book for anyone interested in traditional African spirituality. The book is very well organized, and provides information on many aspects of of African spirituality as practiced in African, the Carribean, and the Americas." [2 copies available]
$ 5.89 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

THE WORLDS OF A MAASAI WARRIOR: An Autobiography
by Tepilit Ole Saitoti. Intro by John Galaty. Condition: UNREAD 1988 University of California Press Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear at top corners. Content: "The author of Maasai now offers his life story: from his birth into a traditional society in Tanzania in 1949, through his youth, education in a mission school, and initiation as a warrior, to his career as a game park guide and ranger (subject of a National Geographic film, Man of the Serengeti ); to his studies in Munich and Boston and at the University of Michigan (where he received an M.S. in natural resources), to his return home, to be received back ritually into his family. Although Masai life has been much described, this personal view is particularly interesting." [1 copy available]
$ 12.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

YORUBA GURUS: Indigenous Production of Knowledge in Africa
by Toyin Falola, Professor, University of Texas, Austin. Condition: NEW 1999 Africa World Press Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear. Content: Reviewer: "Falola, one of the most prominent interpreters of Yoruba History, has written an outstanding and brilliant pioneer book that reveals valuable knowledge on African local historians. This is one of the most impressive books on the Yoruba in recent years and the best so far on Yoruba intellectual history. The range of coverage is extensive, the reading is stimulating, and the ideas are innovative. This is indeed a major contribution to historical knowledge that all students of African history will find especially useful.." In the quest to promote "universal knowledge" and create Western institutions in Africa, the intellectual contributions of Africans without university certificates or connections to the academy have been maligned, ignored or slighted. Yet, as Toyin Falola's book points out, there are African scholars and thinkers without academic credentials doing important works. Here is a book that shows that intellectual contributions need not be divorced from the concerns of local communities or deliberately promote narrative inequality and distance. The primary focus of the book is about the intellectual production of the prominent Yoruba intelligentsia outside of the academy. The academic mode has often privileged itself at the expense of other sites of production and voices. In this book, Falola analyzes the broad themes of the chroniclers who wrote in Yoruba and English and the contribution of the gurus among them. In addition, he presents a few selected texts to elaborate general and specific points. [1 copy available]
$ 12.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.