Rainbow's End: A Memoir of Childhood, War and an African Farm
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.14 (747 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0743286804 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-03-09 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Jane Tucker said Best memoir of African childhood I have ever read. I love tales of African childhoods and there seem to have been a lot of these books lately. This is the best one I've ever read. All of these books raphsodize about the beauty of Africa but this is the first book that made me see it too. This book made me laugh and cry -- and compelled me to write my first Amazon review. I read two or three books a week and I highly recommend this book.. Rainbow's End - I found the pot of gold! This was a wonderful book with superb descriptions of a world now destroyed. I lived for several years in South Africa, and when I read this book, I was transported back in time to the place I was happiest.. Stephanie-Lea Matulich said Life in Rhodesia. I grew up in Rhodesia and can relate to all the animals and the terrorists and see the Rhodesia troops know someone who was in the army. Fortunately for those who grew up in the Rhodesia Era, have a better understanding of the meaning of life. No computer games, but real life. One thing that I hope to pass on to my kids is the love of animals, and how to survive without all the time spend in front of the TV and computers and be a real kid. Living in Bannockburn, traveling to Bulawayo, or Sal
John and her family returned to Rhodesia: her South African-–born father, Errol, longed to defend his adopted homeland from the nationalist threat. John's memoir is not as tight or pitch-perfect as Alexandra Fuller's Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, she bears witness to a remarkable story. John, who was born in 1966, conveys a 12-year-old's wonder of roaming her own private game park, but the child's voice darkens when she notices the "maroon punctuation mark of dried blood" on her bedroom wall. When not away "fighting black terrorists," he managed a farm called Rainbow's End, where four previous tenants, including the author's classmate, were murdered by guerrillas. In April 1975, after a sojourn in South Africa, St. John's memoir (after 2003's Hardcore Troubadour) of growing up on a farm and game preserve in the 1970s deftly conjures up the smells and sounds of the African bush and the era's climate of unashamed racism and feverish patriotism. <
The house has been the scene of a horrific attack by guerrillas, and when Lauren's family settles there, a chain of events is set in motion that will change her life irrevocably. The constant threat of ruthless guerrillas prowling the land underscores everything, making each day more dangerous, vivid, and prized than the last. At the height of the war, Lauren rides through the wilderness on her horse, Morning Star, encountering lions, crocodiles, snakes, vicious ostriches, and mad cows. And when Robert Mugabe comes into power, he oversees the torture and persecution of thousands of members of an opposing tribe and goes on to become one of Africa's legendary dictators. This is a story about a paradise lost. Lauren's childhood reads like a girl's own adventure story. The ending of this beautiful memoir is a fist to the stomach as Lauren realizes that she can be British or American, but she cannot be African. Many of the animals are pets, including Miss Piggy and Bacon and an elegant giraffe named Jenny. While she and her family believed that they were fighting for democracy over Communism, others saw the war as black against white. Rainbow's End captures the overwhelming beauty and extraordinary danger of life in the African bush. She can love it -- be willing to die for it -- but she cannot claim Africa because she is white.. About an African dream that began with a murder . In 1978, in the final, bloodiest phase of the Rhodesian civil war, el