Product Description

An exploration - part travel writing, part personal quest - of the Bushmen of the Kalahari, Africa's oldest and most famous population The Bushmen have long been mythologized and are firmly entrenched in the Western mind. But what is it about hunter-gatherers that is so attractive us, and why do we need these myths? Fascinated by this disappearing population, Rupert Isaacson has been venturing into the Kalahari since he was a child and his book is a search for this truth about the Bushmen through Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. Part travel writing, part history of the Bushmen, part personal quest, it records what he finds there, the landscapes he travels through, the wildlife he hunted and eaten, the characters, corruption and confusion of a people who have wrenched themselves out of the Stone Age (it wasn't until 1948 that it became illegal to kill Bushmen) into a cash economy over the past ten years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1107191 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
'The story is a familiar one, but it has never been told quite this way, by a narrator so open-hearted, optimistic and vulnerable to enchantment . . . This is a very sweet book, full of mystery, magic and strange coincidence, and it even has a happy ending, unusual in Africa. Highly recommended.' Rian Malan

About the Author
Rupert Isaacson was born in 1967. He has written guide books to many African countries and is about to publish a guide to outdoor adventure in Britain. He writes for the Telegraph, the Independent on Sunday and does features for Radio 5.

Customer Reviews

A breath of fresh african air.
I read The Healing Land with great delight. I felt that the author was carrying me with him into the desert, so that the wonder of these experiences with the Bushmen and the pain of the seemingly insurmountable difficulties with which they live, touched me very deeply. Rupert Isaacson's way with words is fresh and vibrant. The prose flowed in an easy relaxed manner. For anyone who wants to experience the Kalahari and its people, their past and possibilites for the future, their rituals and culture, all presented from a deeply personal perspective, please read this book. It is wonderful.

A journey into the lives of the Kalahari Bushmen
I bought this book expecting an interesting history on the Bushmen of the Kalahari and their plight and a geographical insight into the region. While there is no shortage of fact, both historical,political and geographical, The Healing Land is so much more than an informative read. It is personal journey and a mission, written with such skill that it takes you to the very heart of a proud people and their homeland. Rupert Isaacson brings it alive and makes it possible for the reader to see and hear the beauty of the wild landscape, the hunts, the dances, the wildlife and the tragic demise of tradition and the pain of a displaced people. I loved this book and truly could not put it down. I as disappointed when the journey was over, saddened that its ending had not been happier but moved by a driving need to to do something; if only to rush out and buy it for friends to share the knowledge that the book provides and the thought it provokes and mostly the passion that the author inspires. I would recommend it everyone..... (and their friends)

I found this book entertaining and highly informative.
This book was a present from my daughter so I did not know exactly what to expect. However, as is the case with all well written novels, once I begin reading, I couldn't put it down. The personal adventures of the author during his "quest" are interesting enough in themselves, however, as with all novels which I truly enjoy, I also recieved an education as to the plight of the "bushman" and, in fact, an explaination of the development of the highly fragmented society which exists in southern Africa today.

I also feel that the author does not let "enthusiam for a cause" run away with an honest and objective evaluation of all parties involved in the bitter struggle which inevitably follows countries, and peoples, trying to regain the rights and lands which were stripped from them by colonialism.

Upon completion of this book, I had the feeling that the "healing process" between the parties involved in any normalization process of this nature is more important than that of "winning or losing".

All in all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative book which I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in advancing their understanding of one of the oldest and most interesting cultures on our planet and of one of the most important issues of our time.