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Changed By a Changing Land "By focusing on the stories of daily existence in her
travels, Hopkins opens a window onto this remarkable moment of
history, and finds in that view a parable of hope for all human
societies." During Martha B. Hopkins's five-month stay in southern Africa, great changes were happening. Nelson Mandela had been president of South Africa for just two years, and the new South Africa was forging its historic post-apartheid constitution. Namibia hadn't celebrated its fifth birthday. It was also a time of great change for Martha Hopkins, a writer and adventurer blessed with wide-eyed curiosity and the courage to examine herself as she examined the world. Aside from almost being killed in a car accident, she found herself on the edge of a diamond smuggling scam, was the "Auntie" on remote Karoo sheep farms for weeks, met with ordinary people and such notables as Bishop Tutu, the Director of the International Library of African Music, and the Speaker of the Namibian Parliament. She spent time in shanty towns and jazz clubs, attended upscale cocktail parties and several autopsies and the first AIDS-related case heard before the South African Supreme Court. This is an entertaining and sometimes disturbing account. Hopkins writes with a blend of humor and anger, in a voice that's altogether personal without being self-absorbed. |
| Martha B. Hopkins is a widely published writer of newspaper and magazine articles. She has also been a geologist, a real estate broker, and the director of several influential organizations. She lives in Tucson, AZ. |
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Second Chances A Travel Narrative of Southern Africa Martha B. Hopkins ISBN 1-56474-316-0 176 pages, paperback, $12.95 For ordering information, click here or phone (800) 662-8351 or order this book now! |