Lesotho

Books, Maps & Atlases

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Travel Guides
Maps & Atlases
People & Culture
History & Politics
Other Books & Novels


Travel/Country Guides

The Rough Guide to South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland- June 2002  (amazon.com) - USA    (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by Barbara Mccrea, Tony Pinchuck, Donald Reid
This guide to South Africa seeks to provide everything the traveller needs to know. It includes details on the country's national parks and remote regions and hiking, mountain biking and mountaineering opportunities. Other features are a "survival guide" for Johannesburg and a safari guide.

Visitors' Guide to Lesotho :   (amazon.com) - USA     (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by Marco Turco
How to Get There, What to See, Where to Stay (Visitors' Guides)

Lonely Planet South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland
(amazon.com) - USA    (amazon.co.uk) - Europe
A multi country guide to increasingly popular South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. With a full colour wildlife guide and in depth coverage of the music of South Africa. .

Adventuring in Southern Africa : Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Malawi, Lesotho, and Swaziland (1st Edition)   (amazon.com) - USA     (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by Allen Bechky
well researched book and in-depth book that reviews all the parks, animals, flora, and areas of Southern Africa containing all the "need to know" information.

South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho  (amazon.com) - USA    (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by Rupert Isaacson
I found this guide to be really useful, and to give me a really good sense of the places I went and the people I met. The practical info is very good, but unlike some of the other guides which focus mainly on practical info, this book also gave good insights about the different peoples living in South Africa (there's amazing diversity there, and the book helps explain who's who), the landscape, the history, and the animals (it has a wildlife guide that is a real help). (Reviewer: A reader from Denver, Colorado)

Touring Southern Africa : Independent Holidays in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe  (amazon.com) - USA
by Melissa Shales (Editor)
From cosmopolitan cities to the rural splendor of the great Karroo and Mountain Zebra National Park, here's practical information on touring Southern Africa, compiled in a route-based format, with alternate rail transportation suggestions. 16 color photos. 60 maps & plans.

Lesotho Country Study Guide (World Country Study Guide)  (amazon.com) - USA
by USA International Business Publications
This study guide contains basic information on economy, government, business, history and geography, climate, traditions, people, places to visit. Provides information on government, political organizations, and more... Includes basic statistics, information on the most important business contacts and business travel. Updated annually.

South Africa Handbook : With Lesotho and Swaziland  (amazon.com) - USA
by Sebastian Ballard (Editor), Rupert Linton (Contributor)

South Africa: Swaziland & Lesotho  (amazon.com) - USA     (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by Rupert Isaacson

Maps & Atlases

Lonely Planet South Africa Lesotho & Swaziland Travel Atlas (Lonely Planet Travel Atlas)  (amazon.com) - USA
by Lonely Planet Publications(Firm), Jon Murray


South Africa   (Maps Worldwide)
Published by Collins Cartographic Series World Travel Maps
This map covers South Africa & Lesotho. In addition to the road and rail network, the map features a selection of tourist information such as Game Parks and National Parks and places of interest. Detailed maps of major cities. Place name index on the reverse side.

People & Culture

African Painted Houses : Basotho Dwellings of Southern Africa   (amazon.com) - USA     (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by Gary N. Van Wyk
Prayer and protest come in many guises. The Basotho women of South Africa and Lesotho pray to their ancestors for rain, abundance, and peace by painting and slicing brilliant geometric murals on the mud plaster walls of their houses. "If the prayers are successful," says photographer and author Gary N. van Wyk, "the rains arrive and wash away the paintings."

Basali! : Stories by and About Women in Lesotho   (amazon.com) - USA     (amazon.co.uk) - UK   
by K. Limakatso Kendall (Editor
Stories by and about women in Lesotho present tales told orally by Sesotho women who don't speak English. These have been translated by English-speaking friends and relatives to provide insights on women's thoughts and decision-making processes in South Africa.   (Midwest Book Review)

In the Time of Cannibals : The Word Music of South Africa's Basotho Migrants  (amazon.com) - USA     (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by David B. Coplan
The origins of this work go back to 1978, when the author, a professor of social anthropology, was expelled from apartheid-ruled South Africa. In Lesotho, which is surrounded by South Africa and depends on it for jobs, resources, and supplies, he found rich veins of cultural commentary and historical metaphor in the music of migrant laborers. His continuing fieldwork--recording impromptu performances in likely and unlikely settings from parking lots to his own home--is intended to show social scientists and historians that performance is an indispensable resource for understanding processes and events in southern Africa. With two appendixes, b&w photos, and an 11-page bibliography.  (Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title)

Singing Away the Hunger : The Autobiography of an African Woman   (amazon.com) - USA     (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by Mpho 'M'Atsepo Nthunya, K. Limakatso Kendall (Editor), Ellen Kuzwayo

Lesotho Herders Video Project : Explorations in Visual Anthropology  (amazon.com) - USA
by Chuck Scott

Beyond Inequalities: Women in Lesotho   (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by Puleng Letuka, Keiso Matashane, Bantu L. Morolong

History & Politics

The Anti-Politics Machine : 'Development,' Depoliticization, and Bureaucratic Power in Lesotho   (amazon.com) - USA     (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by James Ferguson

Country Review, Lesotho 1999/2000  (amazon.com) - USA
by Robert C. Kelly (Editor), Debra Ewing (Editor), Stanton Doyle (Editor), Denise Youngblood (Editor)

Government and Change in Lesotho, 1800-1966; A Study of Political Institutions   (amazon.com) - USA
by L. B. B. J. Machobane
This study of the history and political institutions of the Kingdom of Lesotho appraises the institutions of the Basotho before colonial rule in 1868, the impact of colonial rule on the old political structure, the introduction of new institutions and the development of new perceptions. Machobane is Minister of Education in Lesotho.   (Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.)

Land Law in Lesotho : The Politics of the 1979 Land Act (The Making of Modern Africa)  (amazon.com) - USA     (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by Anita Shanta Franklin

A South African Kingdom : The Pursuit of Security in Nineteenth-Century Lesotho  (amazon.com) - USA     (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by Elizabeth A. Eldredge
The Basotho kingdom emerged and consolidated in the dramatic and dangerous environment of nineteenth-century South Africa. Elizabeth Eldredge explores its transition from chiefdom to kingdom to the British colony of Basutoland. She provides a rich description of local agriculture and craft industries, including an analysis of the roles of women in production and politics. Emphasizing the resourcefulness of the Basotho, the book describes how they united in their struggle to sustain their society and economy in the face of political and environmental threats.

Studies in the Economic History of Southern Africa Volume II : South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland   (amazon.com) - USA     (amazon.co.uk) - UK
by Zbigniew Konczacki, Jane Parpart, Timothy Shaw (Editor)

Other Books & Novels

One Round Moon and a Star for Me   (amazon.com) - USA
by Ingrid Mennen, Niki Daly (Illustrator)  Reading level: Ages 4-8
A boy watches in excitement as neighbors and kin bearing gifts come to welcome his new sibling. When the boy sees his papa admire the baby's tiny hands, his heart suddenly feels dark like a night with no moon. Heartfelt words and pictures full of wonder, warmth, and reassurance capture a young African boy's yearning to discover his own place in the world. Full color.

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