'A vividly lucid portrait of a child's struggle to survive and make sense of unspeakable horror...' Andrea Ashworth, author of Once in a House on Fire. 254pp, UK. DOUBLEDAY.

Now in smaller paperback format. Feelgood account of a teacher's time spent in Botswana teaching a class of six year-olds at The River of Life school and taking them to play neighbouring schools at football. Camping enroute or staying in farms and rural villages, often travelling by foot or dug-out punts, thousands of antelope, elephant, buffalo and zebra follow their progress. The sound of lions, leopards and hyenas become the soundtrack of their games. Against all the odds they find themselves preparing for the Grand Final of the season - the titanic clash with arch rivals, Victoria Falls Primary school. 274pp, UK. ABACUS.

New in paperback. The heir apparent to the largest ethnic group in Bechuanaland arrived in Britain in 1945 to complete his legal studies. Seretse Khama, an urbane 24-year old, educated at Fort Hare, was welcomed into the elite world of Oxford. When he fell in love with English-woman Ruth Williams the full force of colonial power was brought to bear to prevent their marriage. Using newly released records this book recounts a shameful period in British history, of overt racism on the streets of London and the corridors of Whitehall, of appeasement to apartheid South Africa and triumphantly the determination of the Bangwato people whose loyalty finally brought Seretse and Ruth back to their rightful home where together they created the foundations for what has become a uniquely successful African state. Index, bib, notes, b/w photos, 408pp, UK. PENGUIN BOOKS.

Hunting stories by a famous Botswana hunting family whose exploits in the in Kalahari and the Okavango Delta have made them legends among the world's hunting and safari enthusiasts. With 150 colour photographs. 272pp, SOUTH AFRICA. ROWLAND WARD.

Leading Botswana statesman shares his recollections and views of events over his lifetime. B/w photos, 685pp, SOUTH AFRICA, LIMITED STOCK. CENTRE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES OF AFRICAN SOCIETY.

Caitlin Davies was in her twenties and studying in America when she met and fell in love with the enigmatic Ron and returned with him to his home in Botswana. Eager to absorb all that Setswana culture had to offer, she endured the poverty and the rigidity of the matriarchal family structure. But the Botswana of the 1990s is changing. AIDS and urbanization have taken their toll, violence is on the increase. When Caitlin is raped and stabbed, with her child in her arms, the family closes rank and she is ostracized by the very people she had grown to love; blamed for and shamed by a terrible act of violence visited upon her. This is a story about the clash of cultures, the inflexibility of beliefs and traditions. 8 col plates, 436pp, UK. SIMON & SCHUSTER.

The story of a woman's life in the Kalihari desert. Gathering, hunting, living, loving, culture and many striking images make this an impressive book. EARTHSCAN, 1853830607

The sequel to 'Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman' which was first published in 1981. Here the writer, an ailing American anthropologist returns to Nisa in the Kalahari. The result is a book that extends beyond antrhroplogy as it is just as much about their friendship, and the authors own healing process, as it is about Nisa and the !Kung. B/w photos, index, 251pp, USA/UK. HARVARD U P.

New edition. This book traces Ruth and Seretse's story from the protracted period when, thwarted by the machinations of the British and the South African governments and the Bamangwato elders, the young couple struggled to obtain permission to marry and then to ascend the throne. Moving through the time of their exile, it covers the way to independence, Seretse's inauguration as president and ultimately his ill health and death. A Postscript brings the tale right up to the present, outlining the lives of Seretse and Ruth's children. It offers glimpses of a liberated multiracial set of young people living in post-war London, contrasted with the traditions and royal protocol of the Bamangwato. It is also a story about the end of British rule and the coming of independence in Botswana. Based on interviews, newly released documentation, archival material and with the full blessing of the Khama family, the authors have created a compelling, insider's account of one of the most dramatic love stories and political scandals of its time. With a preface by Alexander McCall Smith. 376pp, UK. GREENPRINT.

Collection of writings that blends Head's skills as a novelist with the vivid oral histories of more than 100 inhabitants of Serowe. Foreword by Ronald Blythe. Bib, 245pp, UK. HEINEMANN AFRICAN WRITERS SERIES.

The letters home of a prolific traveller and outspoken commentator in development in Southern Africa. Valuable resource into the history of the region and complexities and rewards of grassroot development. Foreword by Festus G. Mogae, the President of Botswana. Illustrated with b/w photographs. Index, maps, 348pp, BOTSWANA. LEITLHO PUBLICATIONS.

2001 9991203451 Paperback

New smaller format edition. When Robyn Scott was six years old her parents abruptly exchanged the tranquil pastures of New Zealand for a converted cowshed in the wilds of Botswana. There, they set off in the pioneering and unconventional footsteps of Robyn's eccentric grandfather, who had served as pilot to Seretse Khama, Botswana's first president. Their three small children, mostly left to amuse themselves, grew up collecting snakes, canoeing with crocodiles and breaking in horses in the veldt. This is the story of the family's fifteen years in Botswana, during which Linda Scott haphazardly and single-handedly home-schooled Robyn, Damien and Lulu, while Keith ran a flying doctor practice and attempted, with erratic success, to adapt to the unique demands of rural clinics and the growing burden of AIDS. 464pp, UK. BLOOMSBURY.

Journalistic sketches, essays and personal notes form a biographical study of South African born Bessie Head's complex existence. Born in 1937, the result of an illicit union between a black man and a white woman, Bessie spent her early years in South Africa, a period of exile in Botswana (1964-79) and was a Botswana citizen before her death at the age of 49. New edition with an introduction by Craig MacKenzie. Chronology, 137pp, UK . HEINEMANN AFRICAN WRITERS SERIES