Written for speakers of English who are learning Amharic, this book helps them to understand the basic grammatical terms that they may not be familiar with. The bulk of the manual focuses on nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and objects. It also provides a detailed explanation of clauses, sentences, interjections and prepositions. Index, 119pp, USA. NATIONAL AFRICAN LANGUAGE RESOURCE CENTER.

Presents a citizen's guide to the complex issues and conflicts in Africa, addressing such underlying trends as the growth of democracy, the rising activity of China, and the political and economic prospects for the countries of Africa. Index, 252pp, USA. BROOKINGS.

Written 30 years after the Cote d'Ivoire's Declaration of Independence from France in 1960, this is an illuminating political allegory which resonates in many ways with the contemporary scene and current crisis in that country. Yet, this multi-layered narrative comprises a series of short stories and poetic texts threaded together that can be read across temporal and geographic boundaries both within and beyond continental Africa. Veronique Tadjo explores multiple themes, issues and questions, which are interwoven into a compelling narrative of love and renewal. Translated from the French by Janis Mayes. 106pp, UK. AYEBIA.

The first dedicated guidebook on both Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the People's Republic of Congo (PRC) in well over a decade, the Bradt guide provides full coverage of the major cities and parks of the two countries. The Congo possesses some of Africa's densest jungle terrain along with most of the continent's last remaining intact rainforest and endangered mountain gorillas. Index, apps, 15 col photos, language guide, 30 maps, 328pp, UK . BRADT PUBLICATIONS.

New in paperback. Former US Marine Brian Steidle arrived in Southern Sudan in January 2004 looking for adventure and ready to provide military support for the ceasefire ending Africa's longest-lasting civil war. Hired as one of only three Americans on the ground in areas of Darfur inaccessible to journalists or even humanitarian aid workers, he spent six months there, witnessing first-hand the on-going genocide, and documenting every day of his experience using email, audio journals, notebook after notebook and nearly 1000 photographs. 242pp, UK. PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

Journal of a Jesuit priest who spent nine months in 2004 and 2005 working in three of the overcrowded, desolate desert camps along the Chadian border. Patrick Samway's diaries, deeply informed by his perspective as a religious scholar, are an unflinching eyewitness account of one of the greatest tragedies of our time. Charged with the considerable task of setting up schools for refugee children, Samway recounts his experiences with scarce food and water, non-existent educational resources, and the remarkable people he encounters along the way. Col photos, 293pp, USA. SCRANTON UNIV PRESS.

Acclaimed debut novel, new in paperback. It is 1971, a year after the Biafran War, and Nigeria is under military rule - though the politics of the state matter less than those of her home to Enitan Taiwo, an eleven-year-old girl tired of waiting for school to start. Will her mother, who has become deeply religious since the death of Taiwo's brother, allow her friendship with the new girl next door, the brash and beautiful Sheri Bakare? Charts the fate of these two African girls, one born of privilege and the other, a lower class of mixed race; one who is prepared to manipulate the traditional system while the other attempts to defy it. 336pp, UK. NEW INTERNATIONALIST.

Hans Olofson is the son of a Swedish lumberjack. His childhood was unsettled: an alcoholic father, and a mother disappeared, only alive in old photographs. His adolescence was no easier as he lost both his best friend and his lover tragically. Alone and adrift, as a young man his only desire is to fulfil his lover's dream and visit the grave of a legendary missionary who survived alone in the remote hills of Northern Zambia. On reaching Africa, Olofson is struck by its beauty and mystery. After fulfilling his initial quest, an opportunity of employment in the region tempts him to stay. Time passes quickly. Though dismayed by the attitude of the white population to their adopted country, which is compounded by their vulnerability to alcohol and malaria, he is interested enough to take up sole responsibility for the farm he manages. For almost two decades Hans Olofson battles with a hostile environment and a placid, but resistant workforce. Set in the 1970s and 1980s, this novel explores the relationship between the white farmers and their Zambian workers. 315pp, UK. HARVILL SECKER.

With a curmudgeonly stepmother who harasses her even as she spoils her own biological daughter, Mungeu, the protagonist, blazes a path for herself in the face of many odds. But things go terribly wrong when she falls pregnant. The dilemma of whether or not to keep the baby, given society’s expectations, flings this young woman into direct confrontation with a life that is beyond her years. 209pp, CAMEROON. LANGAA RPCIG.

A wide selection of Mabuza's poems from a period of over thirty years. In this collection she explores the nature of South Africa's journey to democracy and her own personal role in the struggle. 130pp, SOUTH AFRICA. PICADOR AFRICA.

Educational practices vary widely in Sub-Saharan Africa, due to political instability, economic pressures and availability of resources. This volume examines the history, educational philosophies and current practices of schools in the region, including a special Day in the Life feature that shows readers what an average student's school day is like for that country. All educational levels are covered, from primary through to secondary school, and both public and private systems are examined. The book covers: Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Index, bib, tables, 239pp, USA. GREENWOOD.

Highlights problems and challenges for governance issues under centralised state agencies, which base their authority and legitimacy on a dominant party and its influence. 65pp, SWEDEN. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE.

A single reference source on over nine hundred institutions in forty-seven countries, with reliable and up to date information on higher education throughout Africa. Also includes details of national education systems and agencies. 600pp, UK. PALGRAVE.

Reports the results of a survey of health professionals in South Africa conducted in 2005-6 by the Southern African Migratory Project (SAMP). 56pp, SOUTH AFRICA. IDASA.

New in paperback. One day, Sieta's teacher takes the children to see the orphan elephants in a nearby elephant park. The moment Sieta sees the baby elephant Satara, and he looks soulfully at her, each recognises the sadness in the other. How Satara helps Sieta to forget her sadness and start living life afresh is sensitively told and warmly illustrated in a book which children will love both for its emotional impact and for its endearing portrayal of elephants. 32pp, UK. FRANCES LINCOLN.

Contains over 280 detailed drawings and meticulously presented reproductions of Zimbabwean rock art made by Lionel Cripps between 1938 and 1940. Southern Africa is one of the richest rock art areas in the world, and more than 10,000 sites are found in Zimbabwe. He copied figures from 600 sites that he visited, in many different areas of Zimbabwe. His collection of eleven volumes of annotated drawings and paintings has been archived in Harare at the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, since his death. This book thus provides the first opportunity for a wider public to see his careful representations. Col illus, 182pp, ZIMBABWE. WEAVER PRESS.

Looks at the present state of Theatre for Development in Tanzania: its organisational frame-works, methodologies, intentions, themes and aesthetic forms. Apps, b/w illus, 193pp, GERMANY. BAYREUTH A S.

First biography, since his death in 2006, of Naguib Mahfouz, the Arab world's celebrated novelist and Nobel Prize-winner. 194pp, UK . HAUS PUBLISHING LIMITED.

Designed to develop the linguistic and communicative skills of learners of Akan (Twi), this manual will help them to have a balanced, functional knowledge of linguistic structures and a sound vocabulary, as well as the ability to use their skills appropriately in real life situations. It also encourages students to be systematically involved in activities requiring the communicative use of all four language skills: speaking, listening, writing and reading. Culture and language are integrated in the book in a way to enable students to achieve both linguistic competence and cultural awareness. Index, 357pp, USA. NATIONAL AFRICAN LANGUAGE RESOURCE CENTER.

Examines the extent to which recent poverty reduction strategies and policy in Southern Africa reflect the current understanding of migration and its dynamics. The analysis also provides some insight into the prevailing assumptions about migration and development of regional organisations, governments and donors that have shaped poverty reduction strategies in the sub-region. 140pp, SOUTH AFRICA. IDASA.

Special issue of the journal AFRICA, Volume 78, Number 1 (2008), this collection focuses on the rise of vigilantism and the privatization of armed security in Nigeria from a number of fresh perspectives that move beyond the 'collapsed state' thesis to grasp the more productive and dynamic dimensions of sociality and security both today and during the colonial period. Vigilantism has become an endemic feature of the Nigerian social and political landscape, especially so since the return to democratic rule in 1999. Vigilantes have assumed a status synonymous with the fractured and violence-ridden image of Africa's most populous nation. Beyond fighting crime, vigilante groups such as the O'odua People's Congress, the Bakassi Boys and the shari'a implementation committees represent divergent aspirations for Nigeria's future, and spearhead contemporary political contests over the country's most intractable issues - the politics of democracy, ethnicity and religion. 152pp, UK. EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Issue 19 of Accord explores the instruments external actors use to influence conflict parties and recommends ways they could be used more effectively. Faced with the problem of how to respond to the challenges of armed conflict, international policymakers frequently turn to incentives, sanctions or conditionality in the hope that these tools can alter the dynamics of the conflict and influence the behaviour of the parties involved. While these instruments have in some cases helped to tip the balance towards settlement, in many other incidences they have been ineffective in encouraging parties to engage in a sustained peace process. The publication draws on experiences in conflicts as varied as Bougainville-Papua New Guinea, Côte dIvoire, Cyprus, El Salvador, Georgia-Abkhazia, Israel-Palestine, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Sudan. 104pp, UK. CONCILIATION RESOURCES.

New fiction. Madam Essin stood watching the young people holding each other. She looked at the young man who was her son. How handsome he looked. When he smiled he had that elusive curve on his lips that reminded her of her husband. She had been unable to resist that curve of the lips even after eight years of marriage. When her husband smiled she had the feeling he was looking down on her in amused condescension. This used to annoy her but she could not resist the charm he exuded. Now here she was an abandoned wife with an estranged son. Her thoughts roved as she watched them, plunging into the past, the present and the future. The girl brought back the past. She wished she could obliterate that past from her life and her sons. 186pp, CAMEROON. LANGAA RPCIG.

Story of a young man from Cameroon who tries hard to reconcile the ways he had grown up with, and those he experiences in Britain. Dion Ekpochaba, a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick, loses an amulet, a cherished heritage of his ancestry. He meets an elderly Englishman, who reveals the amulet had just been desecrated by his dog and thrown into the depths of a lake in the campus. The two strangers attempt to understand each other to no avail. However, the misfortunes of time bring them together in friendship, where they learn mutual understanding and respect for each others ways. 117pp, CAMEROON. LANGAA RPCIG.

Argues that the 30th anniversary of the Alma Ata declaration on primary healthcare will bring a greater focus on health in Africa in 2008. Missing from this heightened focus is a synthesis of evidence and analysis by people within Africa of how to tackle inequalities in health. This regional equity analysis offers a comprehensive, yet accessible, resource presented through text, tables, figures, case studies, quotes and images. Evidence is drawn from published literature and formal government data, as well as from less commonly documented experience within the region from grey literature, interviews and testimonials, gathered through participatory processes. Index, tables, charts, col illus, 228pp, ZIMBABWE. WEAVER PRESS.

The 'Cradle of Humankind' (COH), bordering Gauteng and the North-West Province, was declared a World Heritage Site for the wealth of the human and animal fossils found there. Research based on fossils found in the area as well as signs of early human habitation have shed new light on the evolution of humankind and on the significant role that Southern Africa played in the development of modern humans. This book provides an overview of the history of the COH, and of the important discoveries that have been made there, for a non-specialist audience. 4Index, bib, col illus throughout, 313pp, SOUTH AFRICA. WITWATERSRAND UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Although modern agricultural science was the key to reducing rural poverty in Asia, modern farm science, including biotechnology, has recently been kept out of Africa. This book explains why poor African farmers are denied access to productive technologies, particularly genetically engineered seeds with improved resistance to insects and drought. It traces this obstacle to the current opposition to farm science in prosperous countries. Foreword by Norman Borlaug and Jimmy Carter. Index, bib, 235pp, USA. HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Specialists on the Tonga-speaking people from such disciplines as anthropology, history, political science, and economics, among them American anthropologist Colson herself, present 15 essays. Index, 390pp, USA. UNIVERSITY PRESS OF AMERICA.

The Southern African Migration Projects policy paper 46, draws conclusions from women's descriptions of their experiences as migrants and provides a forum for the voices of women themselves to be heard. 99pp, SOUTH AFRICA. IDASA.

An evocation of childhood, this tells the story of two young sisters, Nyree and Cia O'Callohan, who live on a remote farm in what was Rhodesia in the late 1970s. Beneath the dripping vines of the Bvumba rainforest, and under the tutelage of their heretical grandfather, Oupa, theirs is a seductive world laced with African paganism, bastardised Catholicism and the lore of the Brothers Grimm - until their idyll is shattered forever by their orphaned cousin, Ronin. His arrival at the farm sets in motion a chain of events that result in tragedy and the loss of innocence. Gloss, 245pp UK. VIRAGO.