Book of the Month December 2008

Craft South Africa In an African context there is really no distinction between "craft" and "art".
Craft South Africa is a visual celebration of South Africa's extraordinary wealth of handmade objects and the people who craft them. From elegant traditional water-storage pots made in rural areas to sophisticated silver jewellery fashioned in urban studios, from headdresses that have adorned Zulu maidens for over a century to contemporary tapestries that explore new materials such as safety pins, the tradition of inspired craft remains a vital expression of the communal nature of South African society.
The authors, all experts in the field of South African craft, develop three themes:
Traditional looks at objects created in ways that have remained unchanged for decades. Many of these objects, originally used for practical everyday activities, now have pride of place in homes from Johannesburg to New York.
Transitional explores craft objects that have their roots in traditional methods of materials but have been adapted to incorporate new materials and techniques - for instance telephone wire baskets that combine traditional basket-making technique with a new material to create highly sought-after decor objects.
Contemporary celebrates the creation, using both old and new materials, of contemporary designer ware and one-of-a-kind craft objects.
Craft South Africa is a fascinating tale of the intuitive creativity of craftspeople in a country of widely diverse people, all contributing their knowledge, skill and, frequently, their humour and whimsy to a pool of crafts that is unique to South Africa

Source: Craft South Africa by Susan Sellschop, Wendy Goldblatt and Doreen Hemp

Book of the Month November 2008

1455 Gutenberg Bible: The first book ever printed
Facsimile reproduction

"The first thing ever printed by the inventor of the printing press, was a Latin Bible printed in Germany in 1455. A magnificent work of art, these Bibles were hand-illuminated with many full-colour images and decorations.
One would think that the first book would have been very primitive and of poor quality, but this is not the case. Gutenberg's Bible was a stunningly beautiful work done in beautiful type style, and then hand-illuminated in a rainbow of colours, as well as liquid gold. Even the paper used was of the highest quality and bore unusual and artful watermarks."

http://www.greatsite.com/facsimile-reproductions/gutenberg-1455.html

Experts have established that Gutenberg probably printed 180 Bibles, 30 on parchment and 150 on paper. Today only 20 complete originals exist in the world. Six are in the United States, including one in the Library of Congress.

The Gutenberg Bible was first referred to as the 42-line Bible for purely technical reasons. The typesetting was prepared so that the text would appear in compact columns of exactly 42 lines.

The identical reprint of the Gutenberg Bible required countless hours of work by highly qualified professionals: craftsmen and artists who employed century-old methods first used by 15 th century printers and 16 th century papermakers.

Who was the man responsible for the greatest invention of all time?

To begin with, his real name was Johann Gensfleisch. His family home had a sign in front bearing the inscription, "Zu Guten Berg", meaning " the beautiful mountain", and this pseudonym became the accepted family name. His father was a master goldsmith and coinmaker for the Archbishop of Mainz and belonged to the city's wealthy class of families. The young Gutenberg was a gifted apprentice in his father' s shop, and quickly mastered the necessary skills for metalwork.
Gutenberg was born in Mainz between 1394 and 1399. Almost sixty years later, between 1452 and 1456, Gutenberg printed the first book ever - the Bible. He died in 1468.

Source: Pamphlet by Midwest Library Service, 11443 St. Charles Rock Road Bridgeton, MO 63044

Book of the Month October 2008

101 Beloved Bars of Southern Africa is really a travel book with lots of interesting pit stops built into it. Long-time road writers, humourists and tipplers-at-large Pat Hopkins and Chris Marais each take half of southern Africa and drink it dry on a mission to seek out and expose some of the wackiest, wildest and most beloved watering holes south of the Sahara. In this book you will discover why a beer tastes good in one pub and not in another; the dubious pleasures of Vattikakki Witblits; why drinking in a Karoo bar actually boosts your health and longevity; how to get drunk in a baobab tree; where Elvis Presley's love child drinks; the art of bokdrol spitting; and much, much more. 101 Beloved Bars of Southern Africa has everything a drinking man or woman needs for a companion guide to some of the best boozy establishments of southern Africa.

Something about the authors:

Pat Hopkins is a history and political science graduate from the University of Natal. He is an award-winning writer, travel journalist and author of more than a dozen books, including The Boy, Eccentric South Africa, Cringe, the Beloved Country, Ghosts of South Africa and Voëlvry. He lives in Johannesburg with his wife and two daughters.
Chris Marais a writer and photographer who has worked on assignment in more than 50 countries around the world, normally travels with his wife, Julienne du Toit. Together they have produced A Drink of Dry Land, Namibia Space, Shorelines and Coast to Coast. This is his first co-production with his old friend and drinking buddy, Pat Hopkins.

Source: 101 Beloved Bars of Southern Africa by Pat Hopkins and Chris Marais

Book of the Month September 2008

Tukkies oorskou sy eerste honderd jaar 1908-2008 / Flip van der Watt

In Tukkies Oorskou sy Eerste Honderd Jaar het prof. Flip van der Watt, kerk- en kultuurhistorikus van formaat, deur middel van kort, tematiese essays verskillende fasette van die ontstaan, wasdom en prestasies van die Universiteit van Pretoria meesterlik toegelig. Dit is geen dorre, volledig kronologiese geskiedenis van Tukkies nie, maar die outeur het nietemin daarin geslaag om 'n magdom inligting aangaande die Universiteit in 'n maklike verteerbare vorm deur middel van flitsbeeldkameë in 'n vloeiende en onderhoudende skryfstyl byeen te bring. Die outeur het nie daarvan teruggedeins om omstrede en sensitiewe onderwerpe, soos byvoorbeeld die taalkwessie, aan te sny en met 'n groot mate van objektiwiteit te skets nie. Die talle, deeglik geselekteerde illustrasies sluit uitmuntend by Van der Watt se teks aan en het daartoe bygedra dat hierdie publikasie 'n keurige en waardige eeufeesbundel is.

Bron: Tukkies oorskou sy eerste honderd jaar 1908-2008 / Flip van der Watt
Prof Cobus Ferreira
Stigtingsdirekteur van UP Argief.

Book of the Month August 2008

New History of South Africa ©2007 / Hermann Giliomee & Bernard Mbenga

A new, up-to-date history of South Africa
Written by 31 of South Africa's top historians
The first comprehensive history since 1991
Includes new discoveries about the origin of humanity in Africa
Lavishly illustrated
Readable narrative style, interspersed with text boxes, makes the story of South Africa come alive
Also available in Afrikaans as Nuwe Geskiedenis van Suid-Afrika

Source : New History of South Africa ©2007 / Hermann Giliomee & Bernard Mbenga

Book of the Month July 2008

The Art & Heritage Collections of the University of Pretoria 2008/Alexander Duffey, Sian Tiley-Nel, Gerard de Kamper and Joey Ernst

Throughout the world there are educational institutions which have collections of artefacts and artworks, in many instances these objects were acquired over a period of time and in most cases they were accumulated as part of the academic programmes of those institutions. In the case of the collections of the University of Pretoria it is also true, but the University also owns a number of magnificent collections which were donated in their entirety to the institution by a single benefactor. The van Tilburg and Van Gybland-Oosterhoff collections are examples of these. The scope of these collections is so large that there are very few institutions in the world which can boast of collections equalling them
The Art and Heritage Collections of the University of Pretoria is the first comprehensive survey of some of the major collections of the University of Pretoria ever published. The book highlights some of the most important artefacts and artworks accumulated by the university in its first 100 years. With the benefit of fresh knowledge and modern attitudes, the authors embark on a detailed description and appraisal of six of the University of Pretoria's most important collections. Impeccably constructed, the book deals with the histories, descriptions and noteworthy individual pieces in these collections.
The reader is treated to excellent reproductions of ceramics and other artefacts from the Van Tilburg collection, rare and historically unique objects from the Mapungubwe collection, major sculptures from the Anton van Wouw and Edoardo Villa collections, beautiful and important artworks from the University of Pretoria Art Collection and unique and very rare objects and artefacts from the Van Gybland-Oosterhoff collection.
The Art and Heritage Collections of the University of Pretoria is an important contribution to the cultural history of South Africa

Source: The Art & Heritage Collections of the University of Pretoria 2008 / Alexander Duffey, Sian Tiley-Nel, Gerard de Kamper and Joey Ernst.

Book of the Month June 2008

Die voëlgids van Suider-Afrika / Ulrich Oberprieler, Burger Cillié

Hierdie voëlgids het die volgende unieke kenmerke:
'n Gebruikersvriendelike stelsel met kleurkodes en kruisverwysings om vinnig by die regte voël in die boek uit te kom.
Meer as 1 200 uitstekende kleurfoto's van 809 voëls wat die verskillende kleuvorms illustreer: mannetjie, wyfie, jonge, broeidrag en ander variasies.
Simbole wat die voël se voorkeur, habitat, kos, sosialiteit en nes-tipe uitbeeld.
Verspreidingskaarte wat die voorkomsdigtheid en migrasiepatrone aandui.
'n Stelsel wat al die voëls op uiterlike kenmerke en gedrag in 12 logiese groepe met kleurkodes indeel.
Volledige teks wat klem lë op identifikasie en gedrag, en ook bruikbare inligting verskaf oor voëlfamilies en kleiner groepe.

Iets oor die outeurs:
Ulrich Oberprieler het drie ander voëlboeke saam met Burger geskryf. Hy is tans Bestuurder: Opvoeding van die Nasionale Dieretuin in Pretoria. Hy is 'n entoesiastiese natuurlewefotograaf en baie bekend vir die uitstekende kursusse wat hy aanbied oor soogdiere, voëls en die omgewing

Burger Cillé is 'n bekende natuurlewefotograaf en skrywer van twee veldgidse oor soogdiere van Suider-Afrika. Hy en Ulrich is ook medeskrywers van twee park-eie veldgidse en drie ander veldgidse oor die voëls van Suider-Afrika.

Bron: Die voëlgids van Suider-Afrika / Ulrich Oberprieler , Burger Cillé

Book of the Month May 2008

The War Diary of Johanna Brandt / edited by Jackie Grobler

Johanna Brandt, one of four children, was born in 1876. Her Dutch father and Afrikaner pioneer mother greatly influenced her worldview, which eventually made Johanna Brandt a household name.
Following the Anglo-Boer War, Johanna emerged as a prolific author, focussing mainly on the Boer War. In later life, however, her eccentric character came to the fore as she explored aspects of natural healing, mysticism and feminism.
Johanna died in 1964.
I am anxious to get this book filled and out of the way ... our friend the enemy will come and search our house for documents and then they will carry away this chronicle of my griefs and woes and - joys, lately. What agonies I would endure if this book were to fall into strange hands ! Johanna van Warmelo, 9 February 1902.
When Johanna wrote these words, she was 24 years old and had already experienced helpless anger at the horrors of a concentration camp, the anxiety of working undercover for the Boer Secret Service and the excitement of falling in love. Her diary, secret diary and love diary, combined in this publication, weaves her remarkable experiences during the war together with her everyday life as an ordinary young woman living in an extraordinary time.
The War Diary of Johanna Brandt is an accurate reproduction of Johanna's three diaries, two of which, the secret diary and the love diary, was originally written using lemon juice. Through these diaries, and with extensive research by Jackie Grobler, we are offered a unique insight into the war that did not allow indecision or disloyalty.

Something about the author:

Jackie Grobler is senior lecturer at the University of Pretoria, Department of Historical and Heritage Studies. He holds a Doctor Philosophiae in History and is the author of three books, co-author of a further ten chapters in books; co-editor of one book; author of 31 biographies in biographical dictionaries and author of many academic journal articles.
He lives in Pretoria with his wife Elize.

Source: The war diary of Johanna Brandt / edited by Jackie Grobler

Book of the Month April 2008

Sound Diagnosis a harmonized approach to medicine - Sound Diagnosis to the rescue - a little prompt at the bedside, when you need sound guidance to see through a hazy clinical picture and make sense of a problem in the most lucid and confident way.
How will you benefit from this diagnosticum?
As your bedside companion it will:
Shed bright light on unclarified diagnostic pictures
Encourage use of a systematic method of diagnosis
Structure and simplify diagnosis
Help you define a problem
Make you notice and respond to diagnostic key pointers
Direct your energies to the core of the problem
Give your knowledge an opportunity to surface
Make you more aware and open to reading signs of disease
Serve as a ward-round guide
Keep you fresh and motivated with each case
Tie up the loose ends, enabling you to complete a diagnosis
"I came upon the drawings of Gerard Hoffnung in 2002 whilst browsing in the bookshop of the Royal Festival Hall in London. I am delighted to combine the strengths of artist and physician to appreciate the music in medicine and to help you hear the "symphony" when a problem comes to resolution. Suddenly it all comes together to crescendo, just before the diagnosis is made, into a naturally harmonized and realistic diagnosis" Maria Ribeiro, in the Preface

Source: Sound Diagnosis a harmonized approach to medicine /Maria Ribeiro

Book of the Month March 2008

Thabo Mbeki the dream deferred © 2007/ Mark Gevisser

What happens to a dream deferred?

This question, from one of President Thabo Mbeki's favourite poems by Langston Hughes, provides the thread for this magisterial new biography. In the long shadow of Nelson Mandela, Mbeki has attempted to forge an identity for himself as the symbol of modern Africa. And yet, as he prepares to leave office in 2009, his legacy remains intensely contested.
This book is both a work of deep scholarship and a gripping, highly readable story. By tracing the path of Mbeki's life, it sheds new light on his political personality and provides unprecedented insight into the dramtatic role he has played in South African history.
Mark Gevisser brings to life the voices and places that have made Thabo Mbeki - the frontier of the Eastern Cape; "Swinging Britain" and neo-Stalinist Moscow in the sixties; the frought world of African exile, of fatherhood and family. He tells the story of South Africa's black elite over a turbulent century - from "black Englishmen" to revolutionaries to heads of state - and Mbeki's own transition from doctrinaire communism to economic liberalism. He comes to grips with the current political turmoil bu examining the history of a man who has caried, on his shoulders, the collective burden of a country seeking to realise a dream too long deferred.
MARK GEVISSER has been working on Thabo Mbeki: the Dream Deferred since 1999. He was born in Johannesburg in 1964 and educated at Yale. His journalism has appeared in dozens of publications in South Africa and abroad; his celebrated Mail & Guardian political profiles were collected in Portraits of Power: Profiles in a Changing South Africa. Recently he has also been working as a documentary film maker, a museum exhibition designer, heritage consultant television scriptwriter. He lives in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Source: Thabo Mbeki the dream deferred©2007/Mark Gevisser

Book of the Month February 2008

Field Guide to the Animals of the Greater Kruger Park /Christo Joubert, Ulrich Oberprieler & Burger Cillié

The Greater Kruger Park is not only Big Five coutnry; it is home to thousands of plant and animal species, each a link in a delicate ecological web.
The Park is situated in the Lowveld, a wide coastal plain of fairly dry savanna. The mosaic of habitats created by the various soil types and larger rivers disecting the Park supports a myriad of organisms, both large and small.
The purpose of this book is to introduce the richness of animal life to the Park's visitors. All the common, readily seen species are thus described here in an unique, user-friendly way which combines text, photographs and easily recognised symbols.
This book allows you to experience 68 mammal species, 215 birds, 17 reptiles and 8 amphibians. Enjoy!

Something about the authors:

Christo Joubert, a keen wildlife photographer, is practicing environmental management in the platinum industry. He is also involved in youth environmental education programmes and is co-author of a field guide to the animals of Pilanesberg.

Ulrich Oberprieler, a well-known ornithologist and wildlife photographer, has co-authored four bird and mammal guides with Burger and Christo. He is presently education manager at the National Zoological Gardens and is widely recognised for his superb wildlife courses.

Burger Cillié is a well-known wildlife photographer and the author of various field guides to the mammals of Southern Africa. He has co-authored three bird guides with Ulrich, and a book on the animals of Pilanesberg with both Ulrich and Christo.

Source: Field Guide to the Animals of the Greater Kruger Park ©2007 / Christo Joubert, Ulrich Oberprieler & Burger Cillié

Book of the Month January 2008

How to identify trees in Southern Africa by Braam van Wyk & Piet van Wyk ( 2007 )

Tree identification is generally perceived as difficult, all the more so in a botanically diverse region such as southern Africa, where about 2 100 species occur naturally, not to mention several hundreds more that have been introduced from elsewhere in the world.
How to Identify Trees in Southern Africa - a first of its kind for the region - provides the background knowledge essential for tree identification. The book promotes an approach that will equip readers to use any field guide to trees with greater ease and more confidence. Starting with the basics of plant form, it systematically uncovers the structure of trees to enable a clear understanding of what to look for when trying to identify an unknown tree.
The book is divided into two parts: Part One, well-supported with colour illustrations and photographs, describes the various parts of a tree and their significance for identification. Part Two features a key to 43 tree groups based on easy-to-observe stem and leaf features. As a first step towards identification, the group-recognition approach has proved to be more helpful to the layperson than the often-used formal botanical families. An icon is used to depict the principal characters of a group, thus making it easier for the beginner to record and conceptualize tree diversity. Group accounts present explanatory notes on group characters and tips on species identification. A selection of tree species is described and illustrated, and a list of all the southern African plant families represented in each group is supplied (greater coverage of species is featured in the authors' Field Guide to Trees of Southern Africa, 1997)
Something about the authors:
Braam van Wyk gained a master's degree in Botany from Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education. He later joined the teaching staff of, and was awarded a doctorate by, the University of Pretoria, where he is currently Professor of Botany and Curator of the H.G.W.J. Schweickerdt Herbarium. An authority on the classification of trees, he is the author of numerous scientific articles, papers and books including Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of the Witwatersrand & Pretoria Region (Struik, 1988) and Field Guide to trees of Southern Africa (Struik, 1997)
Piet van Wyk (1931-2006)no relation, but also a graduate of Potchefstroom University, worked as a research biologist at the Kruger National Park prior to his retirement in 1991. In that year he was awarded a Chancellor's medal by the University of Pretoria and an honorary doctorate from Unisa, in recognition of his contributions to botany, nature conservation and environmental education in southern Africa. An excellent photographer, Piet's extensive travels throughout southern Africa enabled him to build up the largest collection of photographs of native trees.

Source: How to identify trees in Southern Africa 2007 by Braam van Wyk & Piet van Wyk