Updated edition of this major contribution to Borana and Oromo studies, first published in 1995, and considerably expanded in the intervening decade. The widest lexicon of the Borana language available. Illustrations by Cynthia Salvadori. Bib, illus, 709pp, ETHIOPIA. SHAMA BOOKS.

First in-depth study of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Includes a CD-Rom with the official APRM guidelines, final country reports, survey instruments and governance codes and standards. Index, bib, apps, 406pp, SOUTH AFRICA. SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS.

Theme: Consolidating the Democracy Project in Africa: Cases from South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Somalia. In this issue: Usman Tar discusses some of the major challenges in instituting and sustaining the democracy project in Africa; Dirk Kotzé examines the democratic consolidation process in South Africa; Peter F. Z. Zaizay looks at security sector reform and the fight against crime and disorder in Liberia; T. Debey Sayndee discusses the post-conflict challenges in Liberia; Mats Utas analyses the recent elections in Sierra Leone; Abdurahman Abdullahi examines how Somali women achieved political empowerment in Somalia between 2000 and 2003. In addition there is a range of other contributions, from how to reposition family planning to reduce unmet needs to a discussion of the politics of resistance to dictatorship in Nurudin Farah's novels. 140pp, UK. ADONIS & ABBEY.

New novel by the author of DOG EAT DOG. Bafana (nicknamed Advo for advocate), is a young man with a weight on his shoulders. After flunking his law studies at the University of Cape Town, he now has to find a way to either admit the truth to his family, or somehow find a job that will allow him to continue fooling them. Back home in Soweto he meets up with Nigerian Yomi, who promises to help him solve all his problems. What should Bafana do? Should he bite the bullet and confess the truth to his mother and uncle, or should he rather take up Yomi's suggestion to buy a law degree and start practicing as an attorney? Gloss, 222pp, SOUTH AFRICA. KWELA BOOKS.

Account of the author's eight-year detention by the Derg, allowing insights into the turbulence and brutality of the overthrow of Haile Selassie's regime in 1974. Includes lists of some of the senior figures massacred by the Derg. Translated by Dr. Hailu Araaya. Gloss, apps, diags, b/w photos, 167pp, ETHIOPIA. SHAMA BOOKS.

Updated edition of a collection first published in 1994. It contains 21 short stories about and from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique since 1960. Includes works by GORDIMER, RIVE, LA GUMA, HOMWANA, HEAD, DANGOR, COUTO, WICOMB, MAGONA and MATTERA. 271pp, SOUTH AFRICA. DAVID PHILIP.

New series aiming to translate the collected comic classics of the Adventures of Tintin [Kuifie] into Afrikaans. ORIGINAL DRAWINGS WITH AFRIKAANS TEXT. Large format, SOUTH AFRICA. HUMAN & ROUSSEAU.

Argues that even within anthropology, a discipline that strives to overcome misrepresentations of peoples and cultures, colonialist depictions of the so-called Dark Continent run deep. The grand narratives, tribal tropes, distorted images, and natural histories that forged the founda-tions of discourse about Africa remain firmly entrenched. Explores how anthropology can come to terms with the colonial library and begin to develop an ethnographic practice that transcends the politics of Africa's imperial past. The way out of the colonial library, Apter argues, is by listening to critical discourses in Africa that reframe the social and political contexts in which they are embedded. Index, bib, b/w illus, 171pp, USA. CHICAGO U P.

This is a highly personal book by a genuine hero, a man who has returned into the most desperate and violent places in the world, who has continually risked his life to negotiate relief efforts and cease fires. Jan Egeland deals with the best and the worst of humanity on journeys to the world's hellholes. He describes in scary detail his meetings with guerrilla leaders, war lords, heads of states and besieged aid workers in Darfur, Eastern Congo, Northern Uganda, Zimbabwe, Colombia, Lebanon, Gaza and Northern Israel. Bib, index, b/w photos, 253pp, USA. SIMON & SCHUSTER.

The earlier edition of translations from Ingrid Jonker's work, SELECTED POEMS by Jack Cope and William Plomer, is now out of print, so this new translation by two of South Africa's most illustrious authors, André Brink and Antjie Krog, is doubly welcomed. 128pp, SOUTH AFRICA. HUMAN & ROUSSEAU.

A chef, a portraitist and a barber are taken hostage in a coup to overthrow their boss, the President. They are held captive in a palatial retreat in the mountains high above the capital city. Far below them, chaos tears through the streets. The chef's daughter, the portraitist's wife and the barber's lover watch their men from the shadows. In such precarious times, intimate relationships are as dangerous as political ones. As the old order falls, so does the veil that hides the truth about these men and women's secret passions. Drawing her readers masterfully towards the novel's devastating climax, Ceridwen Dovey reveals how humanity's most atavistic impulses - vanity, vengeance and greed - seethe, relentlessly, just beneath the veneer of civility. 185pp, UK. ATLANTIC BOOKS.

Chronicles Henze's travels to Ethiopia in the 1977 and 1978 as an emissary of President Carter, and on 7 subsequent visits to the country as a senior researcher at the Smithsonian Institute, and his efforts to establish a constructive US-Ethiopian relationship. Index, b/w photos, 302pp, ETHIOPIA. SHAMA BOOKS.

Account of the author's quest to uncover the wealth of historical detail and symbolism contained in the artworks of 18 of Ethiopia's ancient churches. Detailed maps and diagrams of the churches by Bob Friedlander complement the many full colour photographs of these paintings. Foreword by Richard Pankhurst. Index, gloss, apps, 267pp, ETHIOPIA. SHAMA BOOKS.

Account of Ethiopia's diplomatic history by a career diplomat and academic. Bib, app, notes, 187pp, ETHIOPIA. SHAMA BOOKS.

This is one of four projected volumes to emerge from a massive, Pew-funded study that sought to answer the question: What happens when a revivalist religion based on scriptural orthodoxy participates in the volatile politics of the Third World? Is the result a democratic politics of the ballot box, or is it more like an authoritarian politics of command from on high? Does the evangelical faith of the Bible hinder or promote a politics of the ballot box? At a time when the global-political impact of another revivalist and scriptural religion, Islam, fuels vexed debate among analysts the world over, these volumes offer an unusual comparative perspective on a critical issue: the often combustible interaction of resurgent religion and the developing world's unstable politics. The present volume considers six African case studies: Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia and Mozambique. Index, bib, 267pp, UK. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.

The Guro people of the Ivory Coast are renowned for their rich mask and sculpture traditions. These objects are used in a variety of social and spiritual ceremonies. Art ethnologist Eberhard Fischer has spent decades researching the Guro traditions and documenting their way of life. In this book he presents a collection of hundreds of images, many of them published for the first time, of masks and woodcarvings, as well as lively scenes of Guro dances and artisans at work. Numerous interviews with prominent Guro, including religious officials, carvers, weavers, dancers, and cult masters, enhance the appreciation of this society. Notes, bib, 581 illus (383 in colour), maps, 520pp, GERMANY. PRESTEL.

Afrikaans translation of J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. IN AFRIKAANS, 531pp, SOUTH AFRICA. HUMAN & ROUSSEAU.

This up-to-date volume, the first Hausa-English dictionary published in a quarter of a century, is written with language learners and practical users in mind. With over 10,000 entries, it primarily covers Standard Nigerian Hausa but also includes numerous forms from Niger and other dialect areas of Nigeria. The dictionary includes new Hausa terminology for products, events, and activities of the modern world. Its definitions show the use of Hausa words in context, and particular attention is paid to idioms, figurative meanings, and special usages. As a guide to pronunciation, headwords and illustrative sentences are fully marked for tone and vowel length. The book adopts a unique approach to the presentation of verb forms that clarifies lexical relationships and their correct usage. Apps, 243pp, USA. YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

A lot is known about the sexual and reproductive health aspects of sexuality through large-scale surveys, including the World Fertility surveys and Demographic and Health surveys. Anthro-pologists have largely documented the exotic rites de passage and marriage in traditional societies while popular media has, in recent years, made significant inroads in breaking the silence surrounding sexuality. Yet, much remains to be discovered regarding the positive and non-heterosexual expressions of sexuality in Africa. The papers in this book are characterised by a wide-ranging view and tone that is often speculative and best viewed as a provocative introduction to an important field of enquiry, rather than as a scientific assessment of sexuality in Africa. Index, 244pp, SOUTH AFRICA. FANELE.

New series aiming to translate the collected comic classics of the Adventures of Tintin [Kuifie] into Afrikaans. ORIGINAL DRAWINGS WITH AFRIKAANS TEXT. Large format, SOUTH AFRICA. HUMAN & ROUSSEAU.

Argues that the recent resource crisis in the Niger Delta is caused by poor division of resources, underdevelopment, and mismanagement. The failure of the young democracy would have a vehement effect in the country and in Africa as a whole. The government has to consolidate its democracy, uphold unity and sovereignty. To secure democracy it will need support from the Nigerians themselves, the multinational oil companies and the international world. Bib, maps, 359pp, GERMANY. LIT VERLAG.

Reissue of this classic account of life in South Africa, from an early leader of the ANC. New foreword by Kader Asmal. 366pp, SOUTH AFRICA. PICADOR AFRICA.

It has been more than a decade since the last illustrated history of South Africa has appeared. Far-reaching changes have since affected not only the country, but also the writing of history and this authoritative new work brims with fresh insights and a fresh approach to the story of this turbulent and fascinating country. Up-to-date international research is woven into a readable narrative history written by 28 of South Africa's leading historians and edited by two heavy-weight authorities. The book starts with prehistory, through early mankind, the Khoikhoi, slaves, the growing working class, the great migration of the pre-colonial times and later, diamonds and gold, local war at the end of the 19th century and world wars which impacted locally, political organisation and resistance and the transition of 1994, ending with an explora-tion of the unexpected dynamics of a new society. Full colour throughout & illustrated with over 600 images, including maps. 454pp, SOUTH AFRICA. TAFELBERG.

In Cape Town in 1857, with its muddy, smelly streets and weekly horse races on the Wynberg road, colonial progress the need for a harbour, the prospect of railways were the big topics of discussion. These, and expectations of a new war on the eastern frontier as the grim effects of the cattle-killing spread, were the news stories of the day. Into this setting, Bryan Henry Darnell and Richard William Murray introduced yet another newspaper the fourth in the port city that would outlast all its competitors. Quod verum tutum, they wrote, shall be our motto and let those who feel safe in truth support us in acting upon it. This richly illustrated book celebrates 150 years of liberal journalism in the city. 200pp, SOUTH AFRICA. JONATHAN BALL.

Employs the persona of the homeboy minstrel, who returns from distant travels to explore what modern civilization, politics, and technological development arising from oil exploration have done to his Niger Delta environment and people. Throughout the collection, the poet reflects on change: the plight of the present and fear of the future are underscored by nostalgia and longing for the poet's childhood. Gloss, 64pp, SOUTH AFRICA. KWELA BOOKS.

By the time he retires in 2009, Thabo Mbeki will have ruled South Africa, in effect, for the full fifteen years of its post-apartheid democracy: the first five as Nelson Mandela's deputy and the next ten as his successor. No African leader since the uhuru generation of Nkrumah and Nyerere has been as influential. Mark Gevisser's long-awaited biography is a profound psycho-political examination of this brilliant but deeply-flawed leader, who has attempted to forge an identity for himself as the symbol of modern Africa in the long shadow of Mandela. It is also a gripping journey into the turbulent history and troubled contemporary soul of the country; one that tries to make sense of the violence of the past and confusion of the present. As Mbeki battles with his demons, AIDS denialism to Mugabe, this account tracks us back along the path that brought him here, and helps us understand the meaning of South Africa, post-apartheid and post-Mandela. Index, bib, notes, b/w & col photos, 892pp, SOUTH AFRICA. JONATHAN BALL.

New series aiming to translate the collected comic classics of the Adventures of Tintin [Kuifie] into Afrikaans. ORIGINAL DRAWINGS WITH AFRIKAANS TEXT. Large format, SOUTH AFRICA. HUMAN & ROUSSEAU.

Translated from the Afrikaans ONS IS NIE ALMAL SO NIE by Andre Brink. What does a pretty 1950s Afrikaans housewife do when the walls start closing in? When her husband is an embittered Ben Schoeman-supporter who struggles with an asthma pump, and her father sees communists and Catholics behind every bush. When the only relief is the annual ATKV concert in Hartenbos? And when her salt-of-the-earth neighbours are suddenly forced to pack up and move away? Through the eyes of a child, Jeanne Goosen tells the story of how Doris van Greunen tries to break out of her world. 148pp, SOUTH AFRICA. KWELA BOOKS.

The Sandra Laing case serves as an example of the insanity of apartheid's racial classifications. In 1966, nine-year-old Sandra, who was darker than her light-skinned parents, was reclassified as Coloured and expelled from her whites-only school. At 11, she was reclassified as white again, and at 26, at her own insistence, she became Coloured once again. This is her story as told to Judith Stone. B/w photos, notes, 324pp, USA. MIRAMAX BOOKS.