Peter Magubane

"The author of Silent Revolution in Africa turns his attention here to the main problem African countries now face: how to escape from the trap of marginalization, deepening impoverishment and state disintegration in the new era of globalization?" "Professor Fantu Cheru refuses to accept the easy rhetoric of the left or the equally misguided oversimplifications of neoliberal prescriptions. Instead he bases his wide-ranging arguments in the actual realities of what is going on in Africa - the practical lessons to be learned from both mistakes made and the initiatives that have borne positive fruit. He argues for a middle way that goes beyond the simple state-led versus market-driven approaches to Africa's development. This requires international financial institutions to cease their heavyhanded interventions and leave room for countries to decide their own development paths. It also requires African countries to renew democracy and improve governance, invest in education, revitalize agriculture, strengthen regional economic integration and prevent yet more deadly conflicts. This means a recognition that there are no simple solutions. It also means carrying out concrete strategies, combining public management and private sector entrepreneurship, and a new generation committed to a new kind of politics."--Jacket.

With political, social and economic changes transforming South Africa, the age-old ways of life bound to ethnic cultures of the region are slowly fading. In the photographs of the highly acclaimed photojournalist Peter Magubane and a fascinating, sensitive text, Vanishing Cultures of South Africa reveals the ways of the indigenous groups, recording the roots of South African cultural identity. Ten major ethnic groups are featured - including the San, Zulu, Ndebele, Basotho, and Venda - as well as several smaller sub-groups. This book describes the individual personality and history of each, their education, laws, languages, medicine and magic, and their religion. Over 200 photographs capture the vibrant color of ceremonial and everyday dress and ornamentation, musical instruments, dances and rites of passage, art, homes, and work. The remarkable metal neck rings and the geometrically beaded wire hoops worn by Ndebele and Ntwana women, the sacrificial ceremonies of the Zulu, the long pipes smoked by the Xhosa, and the traditional hunter-gatherer weapons of the San, deep in the Kalahari Desert - the details of today's way of life are recorded here in evocative pictures, while former traditions, now lost, fill the text with the intriguing, vital history of each group. Vanishing Cultures of South Africa is a cultural record of striking importance, capturing the beauty of the still-meaningful customs and the powerful ties of traditional life.

The sad, harsh realities of life in south Africa are sensitively revealed in photographs of children's faces.

Easy to follow instructions for creative and fun things for kids to make and do.