Geldof in Africa

Occasionally self-agrandizing but nonetheless insightful portrait of a people. It gained great reviews from the UK press, and it is in places brilliant. Slightly self congratulatory though. Monbiot wrote an excellent article here where he quoted:

“Right from the beginning,” says Kofi Mawuli Klu of the Forum of African Human Rights Defenders, “he has acted in his own selfish interests. It was all about self-promotion, about usurping the place of Africans. His message was “shut up and watch me”. Without even understanding the root causes of the problems, he used his role to drown the voices of the African people and replace them with his own. There are many knowledgeable people – African and non-African – who could have advised him, but he has been on his own, ego-tripping.

Nonetheless, Geldof clearly is both knowledgeable and pasionate about Africa and this comes across in his writing.

The Shadow of the Sun

by Ryszard Kapuscinski

One of the best books I've read on Africa. Written by a European with a unique perspective - a Polish journalist who is an outsider both to Africans and to rich western europeans. He is therfore able to empathise with both the social alienation felt by the poorer blacks, and the feeling of otherness whites feel. He has spent decades travelling and reporting on the country. Highly recommended.

The Call of the Weird

by Louis Theroux

I've always thought of Theroux as a compotent film maker, but his writing style is pretty pedestrian. Wheras Jon Ronson manages to make situations come alive on the page, Theroux is only able to desribe what happens methodically rather than comically

The Full Cupboard of Life

Fifth installment of McCall-Smith's series based in Botswana. Again reasonably enjoyable but overly saccahrine with lifeless, not fully fleshed out characters.