Most Popular Books by Alan Paton

A novel depicting the racial ferment in the beautiful country of South Africa in 1948.

Alan Paton''s novel tells the story of the South African people and their struggles in the wake of colonial rule.

From the author of Cry, The Beloved Country comes a powerful novel of terror and remorse “written in exquisitely balanced prose” (Chicago Sun-Times) about a white policeman who has an affair with a native girl in South Africa. After violating his country’s ironclad law governing relationships between the races, a young white South African police lieutenant must struggle alone against the censure of an inflexible society, his family, and himself.

Ten stories dealing with social injustice in South Africa.

For millions of readers worldwide, Alan Paton''s books have vividly described life in contemporary South Africa. Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful revolves around the everyday experiences of a group of men and women whose lives reflect the human costs of maintaining a racially divided society. Writing at the peak of his powers, Paton delivers a masterpiece.

In 1956, seven amateur adventurers set off from Natal (South Africa) in a decrepit five-ton truck named "Kalahari Polka," on "the craziest expedition ever to enter the unknown." The goal was to make archaeological history by locating a mythical Lost City in a remote range of mountains deep in the Kalahari Desert. Included in the party was Alan Paton, acclaimed author of Cry, the Beloved Country, chairman of the newly-formed South African Liberal Party, and a leading political voice of his time. Lost City of the Kalahari is Paton''s hitherto unpublished account of the odd adventure. Recounted with dry, self-deprecating wit and supplemented by hand-drawn maps, provisions lists, photographs, 8mm film stills, and other fascinating memorabilia from the period, this entertaining travelogue brings to life the quirky cast of characters, rough discomforts of the journey, tedium of unvarying landscape, vast desert vistas, and encounters with wild Bushmen and other Kalahari people. And through it all, emerges Paton''s own deep love for the austere landscape that "one can never have too much of because it is like breathing."

Instrument of Peace: Meditations on the Prayer of Saint Francis is a series of reflections by Alan Paton based on the beloved prayer of the mystic Italian friar.

The first volume of Paton''s autobiography, Towards the mountain was published in 1980. This second volume, completed before his death on April 12, 1988, begins in 1948 and ends in 1968. It covers the period in which all of his writings were published, and covers as well his part in founding and nurturing the Liberal Party of South Africa, of which he became National Chairman. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR