Beloved African is a story of a great and enduring love -- in the early days of Rhodesia -- of the builders, educators, the history, the triumphs and the troubles of that beautiful country. The story is remarkably intact. It draws upon Nancy Hammond's precise memory for detail; upon hundreds of letters written and lovingly preserved since the early 1900s; on the headmaster's annual reports from Tjolotjo, Mzingwane, Goromonzi and Domboshawa to his Head Office, from 1936 to the early 1960s; and upon a series of tape recordings with John the "Beloved African", 18 months before his death in South Australia in 1996. John Hammond was one of Rhodesia's great educators -- loved, respected, and sometimes misunderstood by black and white alike. The extraordinary role he played is woven against a background of increasing tension as he strode the political and educational stages, fighting for the extra time he needed to educate his schoolboys and girls to the point where they would be in a position to lead the new Zimbabwe with wisdom and integrity. The agonies of what subsequently occurred and the effect it had on him are woven through a wonderful tale of the continuing love story and partnership between John and Nancy. The book gives a not always popular view of what life was like to those who were determined to try and make it work, but whose efforts were so often thwarted by political duplicity.

Beloved African

Biographies & Memoirs

BAKER, JILL

Professionals & Academics

Covos-Day Books

You want a friend, get a dog - Gordon Gekko 'Jeez, look at you, my friend blurted. 'You hardly smile. You used to be hilarious but you haven't laughed in weeks.'She listed the things she thought might help: a bottle of wine, six months at the beach, a year overseas. I was having none of it. Finally, she said: 'Jill, you need something to love.' She was right. I needed someone who cuddled me at night and was still excited to see me in the morning. I just hadn't met him yet. Newspaper editor Jill Baker arrived home to find her husband dead on the bedroom floor. Within weeks, still in shock, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and told her chances of surviving. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment followed in a year from hell. At her lowest ebb, Jill took a chance. She needed something or somebody to make life worth living again. But could it really be a crazy, howling, snoring, digging, chewing, barking orange pup? Turns out Harry and Jill were made to be together. They are an unlikely duo. Jill is quiet, Harry is loud as hell. Jill meticulously plans the day while Harry says let's wing it. She sips pinot while he's an espresso martini guy. Theirs is a beautiful friendship, an unbreakable bond. A DOG CALLED HARRY is the moving story of a dog dubbed Dirty Harry who helped Jill love life again.

A Dog Called Harry

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Pets & Animal Care

Hachette Australia

Basil thinks of himself as nothing but a big, clumsy bear, until disaster strikes the fair and his actions save the day.

Basil of Bywater Hollow

Children's Books

Literature & Fiction

Henry Holt Co.

PARADISE FOUND

Zebra

Copy Prep (Publisher's Guide Series)

Chapman & Hall

A young woman artist leaves her home and husband and goes to New York to follow her dreams. She encounters adventures, romance and some success with her art. But is it enough to make her happy and will she return to her home in Texas? The author treats a subject that may sound trite in an extraordinary way, weaving dreams and observations on what is happening to the characters together in an intricate pattern that creates a tapestry of colorful sensations, high emotion and, as events unfold, bold strands of resignation and hope, as the central character awakens to her true purpose. This novel contains some graphic descriptions of a sexual nature.

My Turn

Parenting & Relationships

Winchester Cottage Print

Geographica

Mynah

Bigger and Wilder: Life, loss and learning to be a pilgrim

Self-Help

Death & Grief

Sacristy Press

The Horns

New edition September 2020. A deeply personal account of being born into what was first Southern Rhodesia, then Rhodesia. Jill Baker grew up as a white child whose best playmates, until she went to school, were three amaNdebele children. The paths each of their lives took could not have been more divergent. THE HORNS is founded on careful historical research into the valuable, but scarce, generational Matebele and Mashona oral histories; the vastly differing and biased accounts from early missionaries, pioneers, hunters, miners and traders; and records from government and parliamentary archives as well as the British South Africa Company. The historical skeleton holds this story firmly in place. What is fictional is for the author to know - and for you the reader to guess! The Horns is presented as storytelling - oral storytelling - as practised in the passing on of oral history in African culture, sometimes indulging in the nostalgic prose of cherished memories, sometimes in the practical narration of the observations of young children making mud cattle, the terror of a teenager in acute distress, or the wise words of experience and learning from an older generation. RESPONSES: "What I have heard you say tonight is reconciliation for our hurting nation." was the comment from an African member of the Harare Rotary Club in Johannesburg.READER REVIEWS hetta2 : 5/5 : The sadness of Zimbabwe :November 19, 2018 Kindle Edition Verified Purchase . . . "If you love Africa you must read this - beautifully written from personal experience and historically accurate. The author was born and grew up in Southern Rhodesia with a keen eye for the nuances of the time -thorough research revealing such facts as Cecil Rhodes was a mentor to the Africans and they wanted to work for himI look forward to books 2 and 3"The Horns is up there with some of the best books on Africa I have read in many years. Eat your heart out Wilbur and you, Mr Ruark, look to your bushlore laurels". Martin McGhee UK"You have a gift of writing and telling the story. I have learned a lot after reading your book and in my view you have captured what I believe is a reflection of the whole history. More importantly, you were using Shona and Ndebele words appropriately. You might as well think of turning the book into a movie!" Kennedy Mavunganidze MEDIA REVIEWS Knysna and Plett Herald: 23rd August 2018 : "Author Jill Baker is currently in South Africa to promote her book the Horns, book one of the Zambezi Trilogy (Porcupine Press). The book is broad in scope and is part memoir/historical fiction set in the then Southern Rhodesia. Baker has conducted meticulous research, scanning original diary entries from the likes of Cecil John Rhodes, gold diggers, "native commissioner" reports and government archival documents. She has peppered these vignettes throughout the text which makes the book come alive. You will laugh out loud, pull out your hair in utter despair and learn a lot. Four friends meet as children and the eventual paths that their lives take could not be more divergent. Carol is the daughter of a native commissioner; Jabulani, son of a Matebele chief; Prune an adopted child of the Scottish nurse in the bush clinic, with guardianship of the African Orderly; and Themba, the son of the district assistant. A must read for anyone who has fallen in love with the precious land between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers." Dabengwa launches Jill Baker's book, The Horns News 24 : September 14th, 2018 - Mthulisi Ncube. "ZAPU leader Dr Dumiso Dabengwa over the weekend launched Jill Baker's Book titled The HORNS through his Foundation at the Bulawayo Theatre. The book chronicles the history of Matebeleland dating back from the time when king Mzilikazi left South Africa, it touches on all the historical background of King Mzilikazi as the king of Matebeleland and later His son King Lobengula. Let's spread this message about this book."

THE HORNS: ZAMBEZI TRILOGY: BOOK ONE

Genre Fiction

Independently published

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