INTO AFRICA BY MARQ DE VILLIERS AND SHEILA HIRTLE IN SOUTH AFRICA

 Marq de Villiers, whose family has been in South Africa for more than 300 years, has travelled to every corner of Africa in search of ancient empires which cut across modern national and traditional boundaries: Great Zimbabwe, at its height before the end of the Crusades; the Land of the Zanj, which the Arabs traded with for centuries before Europe had ever heard of it; the kings of the Kongo, who so impressed the Portuguese in the late 15 century; the Ashanti kingdoms; the ancient kingdom of Benin; the great empires of the Sahel. In his travels, Marq flies in an old plane piloted by an arms smuggler, travels downriver on a barge through some of the least explored jungles in Africa, hires an armed-to-the-teeth four-wheeler driven by a mercenary, and sails in a dhow manned by 4 Swahili teenagers - all through a landscape inhabited by villians and heroes, rascals and saints, and ordinary people.  He tells their stories of what it is like to live in this 'place of prodigies, of great amazements'.  Amplifying and giving context to these tales are the legends, folktales and histories collected by his co-author, Sheila Hirtle. Soft cover, fairly good condition.  The cover has a minor crease at the corner.  Pen inscription on the first page.  399 pages.