Mayombe is not a novel about politics and dogma or revolution but it is about the effect of these elements on the caracters not too far from ourselves or certain parts of us as people and role-playes in our societal contexts. It is about the metamorphisis of the commisar from a state of inadequacy as a man (which is why his woman cheats on him) to a, for lack of a better adjective, completeness. Detailed in scope, rich in text, Mayombe once again demonstrates the superiority of African writers in expression of multiple strattified levels of imagery. Is this a struggle with Mayombe (the forest) itself? That can only be interpretated by the individual. As humanity we battle everyday against the ovewhelming forces of nature as is indicated by the statement "that everything we do is geared towards our suvival as a species." Things such as racism, rhtnicism, classism, sexism, nepotism, corruption, and infidelity are all part of the human condition and touched on in this work of art. I recomend Mayombe for serious readers with open minds, hearts, and EYES!

I read this book twice because it was so unusual. I like the way it blends fiction, poetry, and essays into a congruous whole. Very nice work. I highly recommend this for anyone interested in learning about the Cuban-American experience.

Following the standard Concord publications format, a brief (2 page) overview of the conflict is given. The remainder of this book is made up of images of South African, Angolan, and various guerilla troops active throughout the conflict. As a pictorial record, excellent - as a book, what can you say for 2 pages of text. If you are interested in the subject matter and want to know what it all looked like, this publication is for you. Otherwise, there's not much point, really.

Excellent book! The photography speaks a thousand words to make up for lack of text! This book is not meant to be a blow-by-blow historical account of the war; there are other titles that cover that in detail. This is also an excellent book for uniform collectors to reference, or anybody wanting to visually comprehend the war in Angola.

If you really would like to read this book, I would recommend getting it from the library. It's not worth purchasing. The book looks interesting at the first glance. But you'll be disappointed if you expect this book to be up to par with the others in the "Royal Diaries" series. The book is about Nzingha, who is the eldest daughter of the ruler of Matamba (which is in Africa). The Portuguese are busy trying to take Matamba over, but the natives are resisting Portuguese rule. Nzingha's half-brother, who has about a fraction of her intelligence, is the heir apparent to the throne of Matamba, and she fears that he will lead the country to disaster. However, Nzingha's father, Papa Kiluanji, realizes that his daughter surpasses his son. Therefore, he sends her as an ambassador to a Portuguese city to discuss a peace agreement with the Portuguese governor. In the Portuguese city, the governor orders Nzingha to sit on the floor in a position of deference, but Nzingha chooses to sit on the bent back of a slave to show the governor that she is "equal" to him. In the book, this incident takes place when she is thirteen. It really happened when she was forty. This is only one example of the many historical inaccuracies in "Nzingha : Warrior Queen of Matamba." Most of the characters (key characters are no exception) are fictional. No historical facts about Nzingha are written in the back of the book, as in other books in this series--instead there is some kind of an essay on the lives of the Mbundu people (who inhabited the region) that you could find in a history textbook. The reader won't even learn anything from reading this pathetically short book, which ends abruptly. The book sounds very interesting, but it isn't worth buying.

I am a huge fan of the Royal Diaries. The Royal Diaries is possibly my favorite series ever for young adults. I had seen some bad reviews for this book, and I didn't expect to buy it. Then I realized that if I wanted to have the whole collection, I should just give it a try.
So I bought the book, and I fell in love with it. Nzingha's spirit and spunk seemed to leap out of the pages. It was great, and exciting to read.I didn't know why people hated it so much. Then when the real plot of the book started to show, it got very boring. I don't know how to explain it. The real problem or plot was, like, in the last 20 pages. I felt like I had missed something when I finished it. It was way too short.
I also noticed at the sections at the end of the book, that barely anything is known about Nzhinga, except that she used a servent as a chair (?) and used to hunt. How can you write a good, thorough book about that!? About 60% of Warrior Queen of Matamba is just FICTION. No real historical fact.
I would buy this if you are collecting the whole series, but don't expect much out of this. If you are looking for a Royal Diaries book to buy, get the one about Elizabeth or Marie Antoinette. Those are good starters... not this one.

This book was not like many other of the Royal Diaries because Nzingha was not a well known royal nor was she European. This is one of the lesser known of the series but it worth a look for it's good historical references.

Nzingha's story is worth hearing, she was a powerful leader to her people and a formidable enemy against the Portugese. As with many of the other Royal Diaries, they portray the situations realistically such as the slavery the portugese enforced to the captives of Nzingha's people.

This is recommended for anyone interested in angolan and africain history. It paints a realistic picture of the times when the Europeans were ruthless for power through slavery. It demonstrates to younger readers an inspirational and courageous person such as Nzingha. I am glad I read this book, it was informational and I enjoyed learning about the history.

At least Ms. Brittain acknowledges her prejudices early in the book. She freely admits a bias toward the MPLA government. Unfortunately, she repeats the same falsehoods and half-truths which MPLA partisans have spouted for years.

I was an observer to the 1992 Angolan national elections. Along with others we did witness voter intimidation and ballot box tampering. Thirteen parties, including UNITA, protested to the UN about fraudulent activities of the MPLA. The UN and U.S. had spent too much money to allow for such problems to derail the peace process.

Untruths have attained mythical status. For example, under the Bicesse Accords, UNITA was allowed 600, not 3000, soldiers in Luanda. How could 600 UNITA soldiers attempt a coup in the heart of MPLA Angola? Ms. Brittain, in other places, has written that over 20,000 UNITA supporters were massacred by the MPLA in October 1992 in Luanda alone.

Several times the author mentions UNITA documents, "Operation Timber, and the Chitunda diaries, produced by the MPLA which seem to implicate UNITA in some fashion. Ms. Brittain accepts the authenticity of these documents without question.

THE DEATH OF DIGNITY is well written. Too bad it is so biased. In the Angolan civil war blame can be cast on all, not just UNITA.

This is a very interesting book from someone whos been there. She knows what she is talking about. She talks about the hopes of the angolan people, about their dreams during the cold war period, then she talks about what MPLA and UNITA were back in that period and what they have become. A good introduction book to the understanding of the Angolan Problem longside whith Margaret Anstee's Orphan of the Cold War (the inside story of the collapse of the angolan peace process 1992-93).