30 Degrees South: 22 books

Interest in KwaZulu-Natal’s battlefields – especially those of the Anglo-Zulu War – has soared since the film Zulu first screened in 1964, followed by Zulu Dawn in 1979 (the centenary of the Anglo-Zulu War). During the centenary, the famous battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift...

In the Underberg village of Hillman, population 237, something has disturbed the peace. Situated 199½km from Durban (the extra ½km being of critical importance when you wish to distance yourself from city folk), Hillman is having an identity crisis. A debate is raging about whether or not to change...

‘Mzee’ is the Swahili word for an ‘old timer’, a respected elder. Mzee Ali Kalikilima was born near the present-day town of Tabora in western Tanzania, probably in the 1870s (there is mention of ‘The Doctor’—Dr David Livingstone) to black Muslim parents of noble birth. Aged 14, Mzee...

The kingdom of Swaziland is a friendly, compact and enchanting country to visit. Its landscapes range from dramatic mountain peaks to deep river valleys, from lush rolling hills to evocative bushveld plains. Add to this a thriving cultural heartbeat, a traditional monarchy going back hundreds of years...

Kurt Christianson is a natural military strategist and survivor. Independent, unorthodox, resilient and resolute, he displays skills which flout established procedures. His courage and insight whilst in Special Forces in ‘Nam’ unwittingly unravel a traitorous alliance, making him a threat to his...

The heart and spirit of rugby described in Graham’s book is still evident today, but the way the game was played—on a Saturday afternoon, on a dusty field, after a long day ploughing—is not. Somehow all this became overshadowed by the glamour of large clubs and competitions, fuelled by modern...

A woman is mutilated and left for dead inside her Pretoria apartment, a baby is kidnapped and team of assassins embark on a murderous plan. Nothing prepares Ayesha for the string of transgender murders and truth behind South Africa's history

Why does the zebra have stripes and the elephant a long trunk? How did the giraffe acquire a long neck and why does a hippopotamus lie in muddy water all day? How does an acacia tree kill grazing wild? Do wild animals speak to each other and do they have feelings? In The Greatest Safari, the...