After a lifetime's close observation of the continent, one of the most highly-regarded contemporary Africa correspondents delivers a landmark book on life and death on this most misunderstood and mishandled of continents. He has been present at each of the continent's major crises and writes illuminatingly about them, but he is as passionate about the warmth, wisdom and joy he has encountered in peacetime, and the diversity of habits, attitudes and purposes to which he has been one of Britain's best witness. Index, 576pp, UK. PORTOBELLO BOOKS.

Now in paperback. This memoir describes the life setting for fergal Keane's extraordinary war reporting and journalistic integrity. From his childhood in Ireland, covers the years he spent in South Africa and the experience of reporting the Rwandan genocide, so painfully described in his 1995 title Season of Blood. Index, b/w photographs, xvi, 396pp, UK. HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS.

Now in paperback. Reportage account of the betrayal and greed of the West aided and abetted by Africa's own leaders leading to the increasing exploitation of Africa's natural and human resources. Coarse self-interest and outright greed once generated a need for the continent's rubber, cotton, gold and diamonds, not to mention slaves; now the attractions include offshore oil reserves and minerals like coltan. Reports from Nigeria, Liberia, Mali and the Congo, examining the legacy of colonization in the lives of contemporary Africans. Index, b/w photos, 280pp, USA. VINTAGE USA.

Now in small format paperback. Meeting in Cambodia in the early 1990s while working for the Red Cross and the UN, the authors maintain their friendships through successive postings to war-torn countries, describing a a decade of conflicts in Cambodia, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Rwanda and Liberia. Endnotes, 312pp, UK. EBURY.

Written in prison in South Africa, Ireland and the United States, Enemy of the Empire is an overview of an exotic, colourful and secretive life. A trained aviation engineer, up-to-date with the latest technology, Eamon McGuire worked in countries that were extricating themselves from the last bonds of empire such as Kenya and Malaysia. His mission was to keep ahead of the British army in terms of weapons and detection by procuring and designing systems. His activities forced him to Mozambique. He was captured by the CIA in South Africa and subsequently spent several years in various prisons where he started to write what became the basis of this book. 304pp, IRELAND. O'BRIEN PRESS.

New in paperback. Looks at five countries, in each of which a long struggle for freedom has taken place; in each the people, having shed blood and dreams, are still waiting. In Afghanistan, Iraq and South Africa there has been the promise of hope, and even an 'official' freedom, but the reality of these divided societies is that they are still waiting for real freedom. In Palestine, the cycle of violence continues with no resolution in sight. And the island of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, is a microcosm of the ruthlessness of great powers. 352pp, UK. BLACK SWAN.

Now in paperback and updated. Photographic account of Saint Bob's African journeys, illus-trated with his own photos and essays. Includes over 350 photographs. 320pp, UK. ARROW.

Second volume of humorous essays which satirise life in Africa on themes such as the ‘Sa-damaization’ of African Presidents, the ‘Mugabe method’ and the Africanization of France. 187pp, USA. TRAFFORD PUBLISHING.

Fresh voices from the continent, including: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Segun Afolabi, Daniel Bergner, Helon Habila, Moses Isegawa, Adewale Maja-Pearce, Sanuta Mofokeng, John Ryle, Geert van Kesteren, Ivan Vladislavic, Binyavanga Wainaina, Kwame Dawes and Nadine Gordimer. Col & b/w photos, 256pp, UK. GRANTA.

Africa is huge, internationally vital, potentially rich and powerful yet mired in failure - political, economic, social and even cultural. Yet the story of contemporary Africa is not just one of global tragedy but also of enormous hope for the future. This stimulating and unconventional book on Africa today and its relationship with the West explores the many complex reasons behind Africa's failure to fulfil its potential - it is a continent blighted by colonialism, exploitation and the interference of great powers in the international relations of the region - and offers some genuinely original and well-argued suggestions for ways forward. Index, bib, 185pp, UK. IB TAURIS.

Osei G Kofi, having visited 47 of Africa’s 54 countries in his capacity first as a journalist (he was foreign news editor at Nairobi Times and the Reuters East Africa correspondent), then as senior communications officer for UNICEF and latterly as communication consultant. He has a unique depth of knowledge and perspective. He pulls no punches in his criticism of the megalomaniacs and despots who have too often held sway in Africa, but he equally takes Western governments and multilateral institutions to task. He is unstinting in his praise of those Africans who have succeeded, gloriously and often against all odds, in offering to their people and the world a new possibility, the possibility of a fully realized African Renaissance. 453pp, SOUTH AFRICA. HELLO AFRICA PUBLISHING.

New in paperback. George Alagiah was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in Ghana. His family came to Britain in the 60s. This is his story, going to school in Portsmouth (where his friends were all white and teased him in the shower room for not having a summer tan) and gradually discovering his immigrant identity. 288pp, UK. ABACUS.

A journalistic portrait of the continent based on interviews with traditional healers, chiefs, business innovators, scientists, generals, doctors, poets and politicians. The author presents an optimistic view of a rising force of activists and innovators taking control of their lives in ways that are ingenious and inspirational. 'Both well informed and comprehensive, bearing witness to an experience of Africa both deep and wide. Above all, a very balanced book, reflecting a real human understanding'. Abiola Irele. Notes, index, 278pp, USA. WILEY [JOHN] & SONS LTD.

Special Offer. After the colonial empires crumbled, few Europeans chose to stay in the new independent states. The descendents of those who did however, occupy an uncomfortable strata in the society in which they live, not belonging to either the indigenous population or the affluent new white immigrants. These lost people are the subject of the author's journey. He describes their lives and attempts to both integrate and preserve their perceived uniqueness in countries as diverse as Namibia, Jamaica, Sri Lanka, Guadeloupe and Haiti. 271pp, UK. SECKER & WARBURG.

Photojournalistic view into an unprecedented and extraordinarily diverse present-day Africa, one also sharing Bonn's personal context of being born and raised there and how this history informs his remarkable photographs. We see Bonn's great grandfather in military uniform during an expedition to Niger and Sudan, or his grandfather hunting a giant crocodile in Madagascar or his father wearing a colonial era-pith helmet while being cradled by his nanny. 94 col illus, 144pp, USA. EMPIRE.

Memoir by the Washington Post correspondent describing the period when, based in Johannesburg as bureau chief, she covered news across the continent. Duke's particular identity as an African American woman engages thoughtfully with the African communities she describes and explores. Index, x, 294pp, USA. DOUBLEDAY ANCHOR (USA).

New in paperback. Attempts to answer the question, What is Africa to Me? Explores the transformation of post-apartheid South Africa and the continent as a whole as it struggles towards democracy and towards a more stable position within global community. Foregrounds Hunter-Gault's ideas about the challenges and responsibilities of reporting on Africa, the foreign media's role in representing Africa, and reflects on the dangers African journalists face in their own countries. 208pp, USA. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.

A record of the journalist's forty year career, reporting and living in Africa. He interlaces his reports with history and personal experiences of life in Africa punctuated by five wars and being detained four times. 346pp, SOUTH AFRICA. Jonathan Ball, 1868421236

2002 Paperback

A black American journalist assigned to cover Africa is disillusioned as he finds he identifies more with American values than with repression, starvation and brutality that seem to characterise the land of his ancestors. 'He has written a courageous book that is at once moving and disturbing, an African journey of the heart that I will not soon forget.' David Lamb, author of The Africans. Index, 248pp, USA. HARVESTER .

The former BBC Africa Correspondent emigrated with his family to Ghana in 1960. This book combines both autobiography and commentary - and includes brutally honest views of the genocide in Rwanda. 34 b/w photos, bib, index, 286pp, UK. TIME WARNER PAPERBACKS, 0751532142

A collection of 14 stories from the hotspots that have made the headlines worldwide, shifting the focus from despair to hope and reconciliation. The authors criss-crossed the continent to meet the ordinary people that have suffered and survived through war and genocide and are now making a positive difference for the new generation. Illustrated with colour photographs. 143pp, SOUTH AFRICA. DOUBLE STOREY BOOKS.

An examination of the role of the journalist in wartime and the contemporary nature of war reporting in Africa, the Balklans, the Middle East and southern Asia. The essays also address the tensions between objectivity, patriotism and empathy with suffering. The major focus is on the second Iraq War. Index, notes, 374pp, UK. ROUTLEDGE.

The autobiography of Michael Buerk, the journalist whose broadcasts from Ethiopia during the 1984 famine shocked the world. Describes why was drawn to journalism and the impact of re-porting from South Africa during the last years of Apartheid, from Buenos Aires at the start of the Falklands War and Ethiopia and Eritrea during the Civil War. Illustrated with colour photo-graphs. Index, 453pp, UK. HUTCHINSON.

Now in paperback. Seeks answers to the question why Africa is the only continent to have grown poorer over the past three decades and why it is so much at the mercy of conflict, AIDS and failed development programmes. Finds answers in corruption, state mismanagement and an absence of private property laws. Some glimmers of hope in Uganda's curb on the spread of AIDS and South Africa's democratic transition. Guest is the African editor at The Economist magazine. Index, notes, 290pp, UK. PAN MACMILLAN.

Now in paperback, the widely acclaimed account of the author's extensive travels in Africa over a 40 year period beginning with Ghana's independence. 'I avoided official routes, palaces, im-portant personages, and big politics ... I preferred to hitch rides on passing trucks, wander with nomads through the desert, be the guest of peasants from the tropical savannah ... This is therefore not a book about Africa, but rather about some people from there; about encounters with them and time spent together.' 325pp, UK. PENGUIN BOOKS LTD(UK), 0140292624

Now in paperback, the acclaimed autobiography of one of Britain's most highly regarded newsmen. Covers twenty five years of firsthand observations of key world events and includes extensive African material from his experiences in Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia and South Africa. Index, b/w photos, 395pp, UK. HARPER PERENNIAL.

Since 1964, the author has witnessed twenty-seven revolutions and coups across the world. Here he brings together his reportage and memoirs from countries including The Congo, Algeria and Ghana. 234pp, UK. GRANTA PUBLICATIONS LTD, 1862071063

A tribute to fallen colleagues, this book comprises a veritable United Nations of writers, photographers, producers and camera operators - 25 nationalities in all. This collection of their experiences in 38 countries reflects the gamut of emotions crowding the collective psyche of these witnesses of history. Funds raised from sales will be used for an annual award for humanitarian journalism and plans are to build an orphanage for girls in Abidjan. Contributors include CNN's Christiane Amanpour and the BBC's Fergal Keane. With a foreword by Desmond Tutu. 278pp, SOUTH AFRICA. JACANA MEDIA.

Now available in paperback. A vivid account of an Italian journalist's quest to find and interview former dictators in their new lives after being exiled or deposed from the countries they ruled. He meets amongst other, Idi Amin living as a Muslim in Saudi Arabia, Jean Bebel Bokassa, and Colonel Mengistu. 200pp, UK. SECKER & WARBURG, 0099440679

Now in paperback. An anthology of investigative journalism covering the major events of the last fifty years, beginning with Martha Gellhorn's reports from the liberation of Dachau in 1944 and ending with a selection of journalism by Edward Said written between 1997 and 2002. Each piece of reportage is placed in its political and historical context. Also includes pieces by Linda Melvern on the Rwandan Genocide, Max Du Preez and Jacques Pauw on Apartheid Death Squads, and Robert Fisk on Iraq. Index, sources, 626pp, UK. VINTAGE.

Now in paperback. The author combines philosophy, journalism and personal reflection to file a series of gripping first-person reports and travel narratives from forgotten war zones in Sri Lanka, Angola, Sudan and Columbia. Notes, xxiii, 371pp, UK. DUCKWORTH.

New in paperback. In 1998, bored and rather broke, John Burnett heard that the World Food Programme were looking for small-boat handlers to help deliver aid to the flood-stricken and starving people of Somalia and that the money was good. On the lookout for adventure and willing to take a risk, Burnett was nevertheless completely unprepared for the realities of working in a country without government or law where the only authority that matters comes from a loaded gun - and where hippos, crocodiles and green mambas offer alternative means of violent death. Countries experienced include Somalia, Angola and Sierra Leone. Notes, bib, 368pp, UK. ARROW.