The Elephant Within Us By Peter Peeters

A beguiling tale of transformation, romance and environmental politics

Dr John Garfinger is a penniless, jobless about-to-be divorcee, a man with an unwarranted reputation for philandering and a hapless knack for getting himself into embarrassing situations. In desperation he goes to East Africa to start a new life working on a remote elephant reserve - even though he knows nothing about elephants.

But this is Africa where things never quite go to plan. By a bizarre turn of events, the naïve young doctor of biotechnology soon finds himself embroiled in the strange goings-on in a private laboratory where a half-mad German scientist is working on a very unusual time machine. Then John complicates things by falling in love...

Part sci-fi fantasy, part farce, The Elephant Within Us is a beguiling tale of transformation, romance and environmental politics and a fascinating foray into the world of the elephant.

Dr Peter Peeters was born in Belgium where he studied and specialised in high-energy physics. He worked at Brussels University in collaboration with CERN, the European accelerator centre in Geneva, and carried out research at the Argonne National Laboratory in the United States. He has travelled throughout the world and spent a year in Africa with his wife making documentary films, criss-crossing the continent, sleeping in bush and forest in their Land Rover. Dr Peeters has written several non-fiction titles concerned with the future of humanity and the planet. His latest are The Four Phases of Society (1997) and The Global Economy and its Long-Term Future (2008). This is his first novel, and he currently lives in Spain.

FACTFILE:
A witty, entertaining novel that will appeal to readers of the likes of David Lodge and Alexander McCall Smith

The Belgian writer has an intriguing backstory: a doctor of high energy physics and an inveterate global traveller who spent a year in Africa

Peter Peeters is a well-established and respected non-fiction author

£14.99
Hardback

978-1-84624-638-8

Publication date: 27th January 2011

A Heart For Africa By Moira Cooke

What makes an African person? Do they have to have black skin, to have been born there, or to have had African parents? None of which incidentally apply to Moira Cooke, author of ‘A Heart for Africa’.

Being an African person means being tough when faced with situations, like the time an orphaned girl of eight asked Moira if she would be her mother. It means making tough decisions, like why the Tanworth Starfish Fund, the charity run by the Cookes, can pick up this particular starfish but not that one. It means knowing how to react when a wrinkled old villager, or a prisoner on a manslaughter charge, or a community desperate for a school, a clinic and a borehole says, and with absolute conviction, “God has sent you to us!”

Yet, as the title suggests, you have to have a real heart for the place in order to keep going back and back to a continent where there is so much suffering and where, what charity workers like Moira and husband Robert achieve, may at times seem like no more than a drop in the ocean of human suffering

Yet this, Moira’s second book, is no dreary tale of hardship and poverty. Nor is it simply a liturgy of praise for the charity work the Cookes have done in both rural and urban Zambia. Rather it is a warts and all look at life in twenty-first century Zambia.

Think of the insight of Alexander McCall Smith combined with the adventurous spirit of Bill Bryson, and a dash of the passion of Karen Blixen to season the mix. If you enjoyed Moira’s first book, ‘Bwanakula Thandi’, then this second book, telling the story of the rest of the Starfish projects in Zambia, is a more than worthy follow up.

Read about Mr Banda, as slippery a head teacher as you’re ever likely to encounter. Empathise with pint-sized George, the ex high court judge now become chef, who sees off the white opposition. And laugh and cry along with Mr Chipotyo, the size of whose personality is perhaps only surpassed by the size of his glasses. Above all, muddle through with the Cookes as they work out what to do with the gift of a live and kicking goat or get stranded for five hours out in rural Zambia.

‘Moira has an engaging and pacey style of writing, as well as being moving, interesting and thought provoking. ‘A Heart for Africa’ is entertaining too and well worth a read. I know I bought it!’ Val Jennings Team Times November 2011.

An extract from A Heart for Africa is available to read at www.authorsonline.co.uk

Nigerian Prize for Literature reaches shortlist phase

The Advisory Board for The Nigeria Prize for Literature today approved an initial shortlist of six out of the 126 books submitted for the 2011 edition of the prize.

The list parades well-known writers of children’s literature like Uche Peter Umez winner of the 2006 Commonwealth Short Story Prize and runner-up for the 2007 The Nigeria Prize for Literature with his book The Runaway Hero; Philip Begho, author of over 70 books and two-time contender for The Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2004 and 2010 with his Aunty Felicia Goes to School; Ayodele Olofintuade, with Eno’s Story; Chinyere Obi-Obasi, with The Great Fall, Mai Nasara with The Missing Clock. Thelma Nwokeji,’ a new writer, also made the list with her debut, Red Nest.

The list was presented after two months of intensive scrutiny by the chairman of the panel of judges for this year’s prize, Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, a professor of English, University of Lagos and past co-winner of the prize. Other members of the panel are Prof. Lekan Oyegoke of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Prof. Yakubu Nasidi of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. David Ker, Vice Chancellor The Catholic University of Nigeria, Obehi, Abia State and Prof. Ini-Obong Uko, Department of English, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State all well-respected literary critics.

The Advisory Board was represented by its chairman Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo and Dr. Jerry Agada, President of the Association of Nigerian Authors.

This standard this year, even more than other years, is uncompromising. Even though Nigerian writers from all over the world submitted entries for the prize, the six authors on parade are all home-based.

Although the contending books for the prestigious prize sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited are overwhelmingly for the 7-12 age range, rather than the teen or 'crossover' books that sometimes pass for children's books, they did not shy away from tackling gritty or difficult subjects. They are also books that can be enjoyed by both children and adults.

The children’s literature prize does not favour any genre- prose, poetry or drama; only good writing is rewarded. The prize sifts the huge array of children’s books which come out every four years, short listing only the mind-snaring originals.

Professor Akachi-Ezeigbo said the judges were particularly careful to avoid poorly edited books, books with low moral thresholds, junk reads, thrillers or books which can be read on auto-pilot. The emphasis is on good books that stay with you long past the point at which you put them down, she said.

Professor Banjo thanked the judges urging them to ensure that only entries that meet a very high standard of excellence were rewarded. He said a second shortlist of three books will be announced in September and a winner, if any, in October.

African History a Very Short Introduction

African History a Very Short Introduction, is a book in the "a Very Short Introduction" series of books from the Oxford University Press.

African History a Very Short Introduction, by John Parker and Richard Rathbone is a very interesting book.

The authors themselves point out that their task would be a difficult one. After all, it is known, or widely accepted, at any rate, that mankind originated in Africa some time ago. Some experts say 6,000,000 years ago. So... a history on that scale would be a stupendous and most daunting task!

The authors ask many interesting questions. What, exactly, is history? Can the Westernised idea of what history is be transferred to Africa? The authors do raise the very interesting point about oral histories, which are an important part of the cultures of many civilisations, including those in Africa who still value the old ways.

The book also deals with the concept of slavery and wonders if, as part of the history of Africa, the history of slaves and their descendants living in -for example, America- should be included in the history of Africa? An interesting concept, which the authors do not take very far. When I read this point in the book I realised if this were to be taken literally, as mankind originated in Africa and then populated the Earth, surely the whole 6,000,000 years of the history of the world's population should be considered as part of the history of Africa?

The book, for its size, is profusely illustrated with photographs, drawings and maps, all of which are very helpful to bring them to life.

Sadly, what history is related is that of cultural genocide, greed, indifference, hostility from outsiders and problems caused by the interference of people who thought they knew best.

It is a thoughtful and though-provoking little work which will be idea for students of the history of Africa (both ancient and modern) and there is an extremely useful guide to further reading on the subject.

The book is £6.99 the ISBN is 978-0-19-280248-4.