Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Travels in South Africa [Paperback]

Gavin Bell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2001

When Archbishop Desmond Tutu dubbed his native South Africa the "Rainbow Nation," he conjured a vision of ethnic diversity and harmony in a country with eleven official languages, two national anthems, and a parliament that shuttled between two cities. As a foreign correspondent reporting on the last days of apartheid, Gavin Bell thought it was a brave image and wondered how long it would endure. A few years later, he returned to find out what had happened to Tutu's rainbow. In his travels he found a country at odds with itself, swinging between hope and despair, buoyed by a sense of freedom and haunted by a fear of violent crime.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Bell, an international journalist who worked for many years and in many different places for Reuters and the London Times, was a correspondent in South Africa from 1988 to 1993. He witnessed the country under apartheid and watched apartheid's demise. A few years after he left, he became curious about the country and returned not only to see the many sites he had missed while working there but also to try to get a feel for how the people have adjusted. What Bell found makes for absolutely fascinating reading. The people remain polarized in many ways, and the newly found freedom and the remaining gap between wealth and poverty have bred widespread, and violent, crime. Bell's descriptions of the land and its wildlife are luscious, and his tales of meeting the people are heartwarming, but the reader also gets tremendous insights into the problems of this country in transition. This is an excellent book for travel buffs and for anyone interested in current events, history, government, and human behavior. Melinda Stivers Leach, Precision Editorial Services, Wondervu, CO
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Wry and deft ... travel writing of a high order, given steel by [Bell's] keen understanding of the country's contradictions DAILY TELEGRAPH A fine, gentle and loving travel book about South Africa which captures the magic of the land and the warmth of its peoples SCOTSMAN Wherever Bell goes, he brings a gimlet eye to the human and unusual YORKSHIRE POST One of life's great wanderers, at home when he is away ... a lucid, deeply informative and highly entertaining piece of travel prose GLASGOW HERALD

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0349112614
• ISBN-13: 978-0349112619
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 5 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,936,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Travelling in South Africa, February 13, 2003

By 

Thelma Batchelor (Surrey, U.K.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Hardcover)

An easy to read book about the author's travels in South Africa. His journey begins in Cape Town and his route takes him up and through the Western Cape to the Northern Cape and across to Johannesburg, to Durban, Port Elizabeth and back to where he began his journey in Cape Town, visiting many interesting and familiar named places on the way. Never boring, and delightful glimpses of a way of life sometimes very different from that perceived here in the U.K.