The Cape Town Book presents a fresh picture of the Mother City, one that brings together all its stories. From geology and beaches to forced removals and hip-hop, Nechama Brodie, author of the best-selling The Joburg Book, has delved deeply into the hidden past of Cape Town to emerge with a lucid and compelling account of South Africa’s fi rst city, its landscape and its people. The book’s 14 chapters trace the origins and expansion of Cape Town – from the City Bowl to the southern and coastal suburbs, the vast expanse of the Cape Flats and the sprawling northern areas. Offering a nuanced, yet balanced, perspective on Cape Town, the book includes familiar attractions like Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch and the Company’s Garden, while also giving a voice to marginalised communities in areas such as Athlone, Langa, Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha. Many of the images in the book have never been published before, and are drawn from the archives of museums, universities and public institutions. This beautifully illustrated, information-rich book is the defi nitive portrait of the wind-blown, contradictory city at the southern tip of Africa that more than three million people call home

Cape Town is a place between two oceans, between first and third worlds, between east and west. The majority of its citizens: a people between black and white, native and settler, African and European. How can we understand a city that is most assuredly in Africa, though not””seemingly””of it? By exploring this city’s tween-ness, we can begin to understand the soul of this town””haunted by its past, unsure of its future. A short book just over 100 pages, it allows readers to quickly identify the unique pulse of the city, its throbbing historical, social, cultural and political beat that underlies the transactions between all Capetonians. This is not a substitute for a traditional guidebook, but a perfect companion to one, filling in the intimate details that other books leave out.

The South African novel of identity that "deserves a wide audience on a par with Nadine Gordimer."

Simultaneously city and wilderness, Cape Town is a place of haunting natural beauty and captivating urban charm. This insightful portrait of the city's history, architectural heritage, scenic wonders, people and diverse cultures will appeal to all those who share an interest in and a love for South Africa's mother city.

This study provides a window into the lives of ordinary South Africans more than ten years after the end of apartheid, with the promises of the democracy movement remaining largely unfulfilled. Catherine Besteman explores the emotional and personal aspects of the transition to black majority rule by homing in on intimate questions of love, family, and community and capturing the complex, sometimes contradictory voices of a wide variety of Capetonians. Her evaluation of the physical and psychic costs to individuals involved in working for social change is grounded in the experiences of the participants and illu-minates two overarching dimensions of life in Cape Town: the aggregate forces determined to maintain the apartheid-era status quo, and the grassroots efforts to effect social change.

A "gorgeous, thoughtful, heartbreaking" historical novel, The Cape Doctor is the story of one man’s journey from penniless Irish girl to one of most celebrated and accomplished figures of his time (Lauren Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Send for Me). Beginning in Cork, Ireland, the novel recounts Jonathan Mirandus Perry’s journey from daughter to son in order to enter medical school and provide for family, but Perry soon embraced the new-found freedom of living life as a man. From brilliant medical student in Edinburgh and London to eligible bachelor and quick-tempered physician in Cape Town, Dr. Perry thrived. When he befriended the aristocratic Cape Governor, the doctor rose to the pinnacle of society, before the two were publicly accused of a homosexual affair that scandalized the colonies and nearly cost them their lives. E. J. Levy’s enthralling novel, inspired by the life of Dr. James Miranda Barry, brings this captivating character vividly alive.

It provides a window through which the lovely face of the Mother City can be viewed, as it passes in a panorama of landscapes, coastal wonderland, imposing mountains, people, imposing architecture and floral wonders. The beauty and grandeur of Cape Town, a city endowed with varied cultures, a remarkably rich floral kingdom and magnificent beaches and mountains, are portrayed in this guide in photography, making it without a doubt a visual celebration of this vibrant cosmopolitan city.

"Far from the crowds and the usual clichés, Cape Town is a reserve of well-concealed treasures, revealed only to those residents or visitors prepared to wander off the beaten track. An indispensable guide for those who think they know Cape Town well and those who would like to discover the hidden face of the city"--Page 4 of cover.

Inspired by the artistic vision of world-renowned landscape painter Thomas Kinkade—and imbued with the light of his uplifting message—this heartwarming novel introduces us to the quaint town of Cape Light, and those who call it home… Nestled in New England is the picturesque seaside hamlet of Cape Light, where everyone knows everyone, and folks still care about one another. But Cape Lighters have their share of hidden dreams, desires, and doubts, too. Like Mayor Emily Warwick, who sometimes feels that her job and her identity are inseparable, and her sister and rival, Jessica, who has torn herself away from the big city’s excitement and sophistication to come home and care for their ailing mother. Or Reverend Ben, who counsels and consoles an entire town while coming to grips with his own private sorrows, and Charlie, the owner of the local diner, who isn’t shy about letting the mayor know that he is after her job. They are friends and neighbors, doers and dreamers. They laugh and love and build their lives together in the town of Cape Light—and they will work their way into your heart...

Historian, Zara Black, is far from home, trying to come to terms with her family's past. The unearthing begins with her grandfather who concealed his race to escape the harsh realities of the diamond mines before ultimately changing his name to Isaiah Black. Subtly and astutely, C.A. Davids weaves a narrative that shifts between past and present and contemporary South African and American politics, to examine betrayal and displacement. Historian, Zara Black, is far from home, trying to come to terms with her family's past. The unearthing begins with her grandfather who concealed his race to escape the harsh realities of the diamond mines before ultimately changing his name to Isaiah Black. Subtly and astutely, C.A. Davids weaves a narrative that shifts between past and present and contemporary South African and American politics, to examine betrayal and displacement. - See more at: http://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/the-blacks-of-cape-town#sthash.JMkB7hOh.dpuf Historian, Zara Black, is far from home, trying to come to terms with her family's past. The unearthing begins with her grandfather who concealed his race to escape the harsh realities of the diamond mines before ultimately changing his name to Isaiah Black. Subtly and astutely, C.A. Davids weaves a narrative that shifts between past and present and contemporary South African and American politics, to examine betrayal and displacement. - See more at: http://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/the-blacks-of-cape-town#sthash.JMkB7hOh.dpuf Historian, Zara Black, is far from home, trying to come to terms with her family's past. The unearthing begins with her grandfather who concealed his race to escape the harsh realities of the diamond mines before ultimately changing his name to Isaiah Black. Subtly and astutely, C.A. Davids weaves a narrative that shifts between past and present and contemporary South African and American politics, to examine betrayal and displacement. - See more at: http://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/the-blacks-of-cape-town#sthash.JMkB7hOh.dpuf