God's dream, mystery, money and fantasy - Bookshelf

IN this season of spirituality and as we recognize the 10th anniversary of majority rule in South Africa, a number of titles serve to enrich and enlighten. God Has A Dream: A Vision of Hope For Our Time (Doubleday, $16.95) by Desmond Tutu, provides a deeply personal and liberating message drawn from Tutu's own religious background as the former Archbishop of Cape Town and his experience as the former chairman of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is a message of hope in which the Nobel laureate encourages readers to cultivate love, forgiveness, humility, generosity and courage. In this work, Tutu recognizes that, while there is a great deal of suffering in the world today, there is a central morality guiding the universe, ultimately resulting in a world of justice, truth and good.

Also recommended for historical perspective is Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, $17.90) by Nelson Mandela, the moving personal account of Mandela's life, his advocacy, his imprisonment and ultimately his rise to the presidency of South Africa on May 10, 1994. In the end, he writes that his "long walk" has only just gotten underway, stressing his pledge to a full lifetime of commitment. Higher Than Hope: The Authorized Biography Of Nelson Mandela by Fatima Meer, a longtime personal friend of Mandela, draws on letters and reminiscences from Mandela himself as well as his family. Nelson Mandela Speaks (Pathfinder Press, $18.95) is a collection of 31 speeches, letters and interviews following Mandela's release from prison. Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa (Free Press, $14.00) by Mark Mathabane is a powerful memoir of the author's rise from the desperate and violent conditions under apartheid, finding a new life through a scholarship to an American university. Makeba: My Story by Miriam Makeba with James A. Hall is the autobiography of South Africa's famed singer, who ultimately was banned from the country during apartheid for her outspokenness. Defending the Spirit: A Black Life in America (Plume, $14.00) by Randall Robinson is a memoir by the apartheid opponent and former president of TransAfrica, providing, among other things, a unique African-American perspective on Africa generally and South Africa in particular.

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