The succulent and Nama-karoo form part of the arid south-western zone of Africa, a vast region of rugged landscapes and low treeless vegetation. Studies of this unique biome have yielded fascinating insights into the ecology of its flora and fauna. This book, originally published in 1999, is the first to synthesise these studies, presenting information on biogeographic patterns and life processes, form and function of animals and plants, foraging ecology, landscape-level dynamics and anthropogenic influences. Detailed analyses of the factors distinguishing the biota of the Karoo from that of other temperate deserts are given and generalisations about semi-arid ecosystems challenged. The ideas expounded, the ecological principles reviewed, and the results presented are relevant to all those working in the extensive arid and semi-arid regions of the world.

The unnecessary scenes that a successful Hollywood script doctor has effortlessly cut from other people's screenplays seem to be threatening his own life. The ultimate fixer must now find an emotional and intellectual solution to the problems of his own life.

The Karoo is a vast semi-desert region that extends across parts of the Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This environmentally important area is the largest ecosystem in the country and is abundant in wildlife, vegetation, and ancient history. The Plains of Camdeboo is a celebration of this remarkable landscape. At first encounter the Karoo may seem arid, desolate and unforgiving, but to those who know it, it is a land of secret beauty and infinite variety. For generations author Eve Palmer's family have lived on the Karoo farm of Cranemere, situated on the Plains of Camdeboo. This family have battled for decades against this harsh desert; they have had to adapt to it, learning to fear, respect, and ultimately love it. First published in 1966, The Plains of Camdeboo has become a classic in South African literature. Here is a book that is not autobiography, not history, not botanical study, but all of these and more, blending into a uniquely vivid and personal account of life in the Karoo. The animals, the insects, the wealth of fossils, the countless flowers that spring miraculously to life after rain - all are woven into this rich and engaging story.

To many people, especially those driving along the N1 national road at high speeds, the Karoo represents nothing more than a monotonous, hot and arid landscape to be passed through as quickly as possible. But in this vast, open region, history is everywhere, if visitors would only look for it. And that is exactly the purpose of this book: to point out all the many places, buildings, objects and associated personalities of historical interest in the Karoo. The Karoo has been the world of travellers, writers, statesmen and scientists, figures as diverse as Olive Schreiner, Rudyard Kipling, Winston Churchill and Dr Chris Barnard. It has also been the scene of serious conflict, of which the many old British blockhouses, forts, grave sites and memorials dating from the Anglo-Boer War are vivid reminders; and it still boasts old examples of vernacular and industrial architecture, and engineering, in the form of corbelled houses, water mills and bridges. The Historical Karoo is ordered according to three main routes that people drive through the area. It provides short histories of the towns along the way, and points out the sites, buildings and other aspects of interest that can be found there. Enlivened by historical and current photographs and informative side panels, this book is a collector’s item.

The Karoo is big sky country; a land of vast open plains punctuated by flat-topped mountains, conical hills and secluded valleys, a land of scrubby bushes and hardy trees, where pioneers carved roads out of rock to set down roots in an unforgiving environment. Here dreams are born, legends are made, and outcasts find sanctuary. It is also an ancient place, whose story is revealed through geology, fossils and artefacts, and whose human lineage predates any written history. Today, the people who inhabit it must manifest the same fortitude that sustained those who left their footprints in the primieval mud. In Hidden Karoo you will find all this, and more. Through a series of superb photo-essays, this majestic place is revealed as a land where conservation and neglect are seldom far apart, where one town boasts splendidly restored buildings, while along a dusty back road lie forgotten villages waiting for ... something. Could it be a renewal, or a slow death? There’s nothing novel about the movement of people from country to city, and the Karoo mimics other parts of the world where rural areas become derelict as they are depopulated. Hidden Karoo presents a snapshot of the region as it is now, offering a glimpse into towns and villages, farmsteads and churches, important buildings and humble homes, all against a backdrop of awe-inspiring landscapes. Through words and pictures, it prompts us to consider what was, what is and, perhaps, what might be. One constant about the Karoo is change. A book can do no more than capture a moment in time or depict fragments of a place, but in doing so, it bears witness to the past and offers the hope that there may yet be a future for this unparalleled part of our country.

Sonic Spaces of the Karoo is a pioneering study of the sacred music of three coloured (the apartheid designation for people "not white or native") people's church congregations in the rural town of Graaff-Reinet, South Africa. Jorritsma's fieldwork involves an investigation of the choruses, choir music, and hymns of the Karoo region to present a history of the people's traditional, religious, and cultural identity in song. This music is examined as part of a living archive preserved by the community in the face of a legacy of slavery and colonial as well as apartheid oppression. Jorritsma's findings counteract a lingering stereotype that coloured music is inferior to European or African music and that coloured people should not or do not have a cultural identity. Sonic Spaces of the Karoo seeks to eradicate that bias and articulate a more legitimate place for these people in the contemporary landscape of South Africa.