Recounts famous ghost stories from Africa.

A sprawling, epic saga of adventure, romance, war, and resistance based on the savage conflict in East Africa during World War I. In German-occupied East Africa during World War I, British forces have arrived. In defiance of his orders, German military commander Paul von Lettow enlists soldiers, civilians, and African rebels to fight against the British, forming the first modern guerrilla uprising of the time. Amid his political battles, Lettow is embroiled in a romantic relationship with an American woman who loves him, but who objects to his war. To complicate things, Lettow’s actions draw the attention of the brilliant but brutal chief of British intelligence who plots to defeat him. Amid all the action, Zionists fight for influence in the region, rival tribes have to be appeased with diplomacy, and an African princess serves as a spy for the rebels. Amazingly, these colorful characters and eventful plots are firmly based on real-life personas and historical events during the war. In the gripping style of narrative fiction, Stevenson relates the often overlooked German resistance in East Africa and their inventive use of guerrilla tactics. As a former foreign correspondent in the region, Stevenson paints an astonishingly accurate and detailed picture of the geography and political climate of East Africa. A thrilling read, The Ghosts of Africa packs history, military tactics, romance, and adventure into a single epic tale that will both entertain and inform. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

In West Africa, the Iroko tree is known for its strong wood. But cutting it down may not be a good idea. The Yoruba people believe this could bring a curse! In this title for reluctant readers, engaging text and creepy images combine to tell three ghostly stories from the African continent. Maps highlight the origins of each story, while other features offer possible explanations and introduce a related story.

Arthur Goldstuck made the world of South African urban legends his own with four best-sellers during the 1990s. Now he returns to this landscape, but from a very different angle: looking at the extent to which ghost stories are really urban legends - stories spread by word of mouth (and the media) as absolute truth, but falling short on evidence and reality. In exploring ghost stories as urban legends, Goldstuck makes a fascinating discovery: the ghostly beliefs of each culture across South Africa have had a profound impact on the supernatural beliefs of every other cultural group in the country over the past four centuries. The result is the story of the South African ghost: a unique and complex character that reflects a turbulent history and a harsh existence and sheds a fascinating light on the nature of supernatural experience throughout the world. For instance, what do the Flying Dutchman and the Uniondale Ghost have in common? Why do the ghosts of so many of the country's fallen soldiers wander the earth seeking their forbidden lovers? How do our religious beliefs affect the way we see ghosts? How many ghosts of Daisy de Melker are really out there? Arthur Goldstuck has some of the answers in a book that challenges much conventional thinking about the supernatural.

With an introduction by award-winning novelist Barbara Kingsolver In the late nineteenth century, when the great powers in Europe were tearing Africa apart and seizing ownership of land for themselves, King Leopold of Belgium took hold of the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. In his devastatingly barbarous colonization of this area, Leopold stole its rubber and ivory, pummelled its people and set up a ruthless regime that would reduce the population by half. . While he did all this, he carefully constructed an image of himself as a deeply feeling humanitarian. Winner of the Duff Cooper Prize in 1999, King Leopold’s Ghost is the true and haunting account of this man’s brutal regime and its lasting effect on a ruined nation. It is also the inspiring and deeply moving account of a handful of missionaries and other idealists who travelled to Africa and unwittingly found themselves in the middle of a gruesome holocaust. Instead of turning away, these brave few chose to stand up against Leopold. Adam Hochschild brings life to this largely untold story and, crucially, casts blame on those responsible for this atrocity.

A penetrating look at the South African transition and what is wrong with it, by a prominent commentator

A haunting adventure through the raw and unforgiving landscape of East Africa, Pulitzer Prize winner Caputo's "Ghosts of Tsavo" is hailed by the "Washington Post Book World" as "engrossing, amusing, and fast-paced." 8-page color photo insert.