Here are 100 books that South Africans versus Rommel fans have personally recommended if you like
South Africans versus Rommel.
Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.
War is a horror story, laying bare the harm that humankind is capable of. Being a stubborn historian, I set myself the task of finding humanity in the face of conflict. I am especially intrigued by first-hand accounts that leave little to the imagination, yet I am not drawn to record the distress of the individual, but rather the ability to live through a war and find peace. I am a South African historian with a PhD from Stellenbosch University. I write about individuals in war, and I am determined to give a voice to those South African servicemen who were forgotten when they came home in 1945.
Starting with the battle between the Brits and the Boers at the turn of the twentieth century and ending with a Cold War battlefield in Angola, Van der Waag’s record of the development of South African military history is an interesting and invaluable aid for researchers and military enthusiasts.
I like this book because it gives a holistic picture of the country’s military. It is also evident that thousands of hours were spent in the archives, something I find reassuring, as the book is, for me, a reliable source of information.
Twentieth-century South Africa saw continuous, often rapid and fundamental socio-economic and political change. The century started with a brief but total war. Less than ten years later Britain brought the conquered Boer republics and the Cape and Natal colonies together into the Union of South Africa.
The Union Defence Force (UDF, later SADF), was deployed during most of the major wars of the century as well as a number of internal and regional struggles: the two world wars, Korea, uprising and rebellion on the part of Afrikaner and black nationalists, and industrial unrest. The century ended as it started, with…
War is a horror story, laying bare the harm that humankind is capable of. Being a stubborn historian, I set myself the task of finding humanity in the face of conflict. I am especially intrigued by first-hand accounts that leave little to the imagination, yet I am not drawn to record the distress of the individual, but rather the ability to live through a war and find peace. I am a South African historian with a PhD from Stellenbosch University. I write about individuals in war, and I am determined to give a voice to those South African servicemen who were forgotten when they came home in 1945.
Andrew Stewart’s book left me in no doubt that the Second World War still holds many hidden tales.
The "first victory" he writes about, is the victory of the British and Commonwealth forces over the Italian colonies in East Africa. I loved the way Stewart describes the complex relationships between men like Churchill and Generals Wavell and Cunningham.
Yet, for me, it is the setting: African bush, rivers, and mountains–and their effect on the military strategy in this war theatre that held my interest.
A riveting new account of the long-overlooked achievement of British-led forces who, against all odds, scored the first major Allied victory of the Second World War
Surprisingly neglected in accounts of Allied wartime triumphs, in 1941 British and Commonwealth forces completed a stunning and important victory in East Africa against an overwhelmingly superior Italian opponent. A hastily formed British-led force, never larger than 70,000 strong, advanced along two fronts to defeat nearly 300,000 Italian and colonial troops. This compelling book draws on an array of previously unseen documents to provide both a detailed campaign history and a fresh appreciation of…
War is a horror story, laying bare the harm that humankind is capable of. Being a stubborn historian, I set myself the task of finding humanity in the face of conflict. I am especially intrigued by first-hand accounts that leave little to the imagination, yet I am not drawn to record the distress of the individual, but rather the ability to live through a war and find peace. I am a South African historian with a PhD from Stellenbosch University. I write about individuals in war, and I am determined to give a voice to those South African servicemen who were forgotten when they came home in 1945.
Many war graves in Italy are inscribed with South African names, attesting to the hard-won victories and the tragic losses of the 6th Armoured Division in Italy.
As a stickler for detail, I was impressed by Bourhill’s descriptions and meticulous attention to the minutia that makes for an immersive reading experience. It is especially the first-hand accounts of servicemen that bring this book to life and give a clear picture of what it was like to fight and live in Italy during the war.
Using archival sources and private documents recently unearthed, Come Back to Portofino chronicles the journey taken by volunteers in the 6th South African Armoured Division. From training camps in Egypt through to the blissful summer of 1945 the 'Div' left its mark on towns and villages across Italy. From Monte Cassino to the outskirts of Venice and the River Po, the campaign lasted exactly twelve months.
During the advance through Rome up to Florence, it was a case of constant movement and violent contact with the enemy. Experiences which left an enduring impression on returned soldiers included the periods of…
War is a horror story, laying bare the harm that humankind is capable of. Being a stubborn historian, I set myself the task of finding humanity in the face of conflict. I am especially intrigued by first-hand accounts that leave little to the imagination, yet I am not drawn to record the distress of the individual, but rather the ability to live through a war and find peace. I am a South African historian with a PhD from Stellenbosch University. I write about individuals in war, and I am determined to give a voice to those South African servicemen who were forgotten when they came home in 1945.
South Africa was a divided country at the start of the war, with many Afrikaner nationalists showing support for the Nazi cause. As such, it should perhaps not be a surprise that many of them acted as spies for Adolf Hitler’s regime.
I found this book valuable in that it brought a little-known piece of history into the public sphere. I also love that the book does not shy away from controversial matters and confronts several myths.
The story of the intelligence war in South Africa during the Second World War is one of suspense, drama and dogged persistence. In 1939, when the Union of South Africa entered the war on Britain's side, the German government secretly contacted the political opposition, and the leadership of the anti-war movement, the Ossewabrandwag.
The Nazis' aim was to spread sedition, undermine the Allied war effort, and - given the strategic importance of the Cape of Good Hope sea route - gain naval intelligence. Soon U-boat packs were sent to operate in South African waters, to deadly effect.
My ultimate read is when the action is fast, but the character's discovery of self is slow. Besides, being engrossed in the challenges of others makes my own pale by comparison. The author needs to get me to empathize with the characters - even if their struggles are nothing like my own - and once they’ve done that, I’ll be in for the long haul! Journeying through life’s mire and finding the rainbow with a character you believe - and believe in - makes for the ultimate in vicarious living. And ‘Heck, YES’ to a satisfying ending!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it’s set in South Africa and has all the elements that move me as a human being: pain, pleasure, violence, mysticism, and adventure. There was also enough drama to keep my nose immersed in this book for hours on end. To say I loved Peekay is an understatement. It takes a hellofa writer to make me feel.
I ached for Peekay, was excited for him, humiliated for him, thrilled for him, and proud of him. I felt Peekay. I agree wholeheartedly with a literary critic who said of this book: “Unabashedly uplifting…asserts forcefully what all of us would like to believe: that the individual, armed with the spirit of independence–‘the power of one’ can prevail.”
“The Power of One has everything: suspense, the exotic, violence; mysticism, psychology and magic; schoolboy adventures, drama.” –The New York Times
“Unabashedly uplifting . . . asserts forcefully what all of us would like to believe: that the individual, armed with the spirit of independence–‘the power of one’–can prevail.” –Cleveland Plain Dealer
In 1939, as Hitler casts his enormous, cruel shadow across the world, the seeds of apartheid take root in South Africa. There, a boy called Peekay is born. His childhood is marked by humiliation and abandonment, yet he vows to survive and conceives heroic dreams–which are nothing compared…
Even though I’m an engineer and accountant by education, I love to write and growing up, I read many historical fiction and murder mysteries. History spanning from the Victorian Era until the mid-twentieth century has always fascinated me, and I’ve studied various events from that period. Therefore, I wrote A Bloody Hot Summer, a crime novel using some historical events as a background. The interwar years were the heyday of crime fiction, and that is why I set my novel during that period. While researching, I get to expand my knowledge regarding history, culture, art, language, and values of those times, which I add to the novel.
If you love a rags-to-riches story, set in exotic lands, then this is a must-read book. It goes into detail about how European prospectors mine diamonds and build a business while facing a lot of challenges. Since a portion of my novel takes place in South Africa, it helped me with information on how life was during that period at the turn of the twentieth century. It is also a family saga spanning four generations, but most importantly focuses on the daughter of the man who goes to South Africa to mine diamonds, and the various challenges she faces from her family and enemies who want to destroy her.
Kate Blackwell is the symbol of success—a beautiful woman who has parlayed her inheritance into an international conglomerate. Now, celebrating her 90th birthday, Kate surveys the family she has manipulated, dominated, and loved: the fair and the grotesque, the mad and the mild, the good and the evil—her winnings in life.
I’m a former journalist. I’m nosey. I like to know what’s going on around me. I like to know how the place I live in has evolved. I was born in the UK, but was taken to southern Africa as a child, so grew up with English parents in a colony of the former British empire. I moved to another former colony - Australia. I worked and lived in London for several years. In all of these places I have been fascinated by the history that shaped them. The books I have recommended and the research I did on my own have all helped me understand my place in the universe.
This Pulitzer prize-winning book tells the tale of three white men who worked with Nelson Mandela and his cohorts striving to end the brutal rule of Apartheid.
They were arrested, tried, and convicted of ‘terrorism’, alongside Mandela. This granular narrative is the story of their capture and trial, the impact on them and their families, the hostility of the state and white South Africans towards these ‘radicals,’ who in any Western society would be considered human rights activists.
It has resonance for me because I grew up in Southern Africa; I was opposed to the rigid racial policies but didn’t do much more than grumble about it. So I admire these intrepid men and women.
Frankel, a staff writer and editor for The Washington Post , tells the story of a handful of white activists, many of them Jewish, who risked their lives to combat apartheid in South Africa during the 1960s. Their underground headquarters was in Rivonia, a Johannesburg suburb, and it was there that their dream of revolution was shattered after a police raid in 1963. Nelson Mandela and nine others were tried for sabotage, leading to the birth of another generation of activists and the miracle of racial reconciliation. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
I believe deeply that, as messy and painful as life is, there is always joy, and usually humor, to be found. The book I wrote, Leaving’s Not the Only Way to Go, pulls from some of the painful experiences I’ve had, and I often find myself following my description of the book, about two women who meet in a grief group, with “but it’s not a downer!” It’s true, because Leaving is also inspired by all the joy and connections I’ve made for myself, even in the midst of loss. I learned how to balance the two sides of life through books like the ones on this list.
Two Asian women living in South Africa in the 1950s meet and take hold of a beautiful opportunity to care for each other, despite both personal struggles and the broader challenges of trying to build a life during Apartheid.
There is tragedy and loss, and also hope and defiance; the two of them have little victories, both personal and political, that build toward a promising future, even if they haven’t quite made it there yet.
In 1950's South Africa, a free-spirited café owner falls for a young wife and mother. Their unexpected attraction pushes them to question the cruel rules of a world that divides white from black and women from men, but a world that might just allow an unexpected love to survive.
I am a South African travel writer and novelist with a particular passion for the sublime landscape, wildlife, oceans, and wilderness of our corner of Africa. Growing up in Cape Town, I have spent the last 25 years travelling around the subcontinent writing and photographing for travel and wildlife magazines, and writing books about the landscape and its people. My two latest novels are set in the Cape, and although they are World War II adventure stories, they are also celebrations of our unique coastline, maritime culture, and the oceans that wash our shores. All my writing, whether fiction or non-fiction, ends up being a love letter to the landscape.
Bosman is one of South Africa’s finest short story writers and these funny, gentle, poignant tales are set in the wild northern reaches of the country where farmers struggle to make ends meet. I am particularly drawn to the way Bosman captures the landscape of bushveld and Kalahari, of wild animals and a hardy pioneering way of life. It’s also a corner of South Africa that I love to go on safari to enjoy the Big Game experience, encountering elephants, rhinos, lions, and the like…
While my childhood in a coastal community in South Africa contributed to my deep appreciation and love for nature, I was born and grew up as a person of colour in the apartheid era when barricades divided humans, the land, and the sea. I developed a profound understanding, rooted in my lived experience, of the interlinkages between justice, equity, and sustainability. I've remained actively involved and interested in developing and profiling transformative and inclusive approaches to sustainability from community to the international level. I've maintained this focus on the nexus between climate, nature, and inequality throughout my career, where I've led transformative and inclusive approaches to nature and climate policy and practice for 20+ years.
This book has been timely as policymakers in the carbon-intensive economy of South Africa is in the throes of a developing framework and plan for implementing a just transition to a low carbon economy.
It brings some of the best thinkers and doers in science, policy and academia to unpack the key shifts – social, economic, and technological and builds on thinking in earlier works on transitions.
Deliberations on the just transition in South Africa have intensified and will continue to do so for the next few years and decades. Climate change, widening socio-economic inequality, the precarious future of work and emergent approaches to financing arrangements have brought new urgency to the issues. It therefore remains critical to interrogate how South Africa can ensure a just transition to a low carbon economy.
This book underlines the fact that the low carbon transition in South Africa has to grapple with complex historical, social, economic, cultural and political factors. The main message is that the transition to a low-carbon…
