audiobook The Lost World of the Kalahari by Laurens Van der Post in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Exploring Africa's southern desert in search of its original human populationBy Barbara ShawIn the 50s; van der Post organized a group to find the last surviving bushmen living in their traditional way; entirely dependent on what they knew of the desert; untainted by modern thought and technology. On his parents' farm; he'd grown up with bushman workers who taught him their language and touched his heart with their stories of slaughter and abuse of their people by black tribes and whites. After immense frustration with his film team; and fruitless weeks in the great swamp in the north of modern Botswana; they start again and contact a family living in the dune country south of there. What they learn; about the very able and intelligent ancestors of all humanity; is both poignant and fascinating to anyone with an interest in culture and the earliest history of people.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. One of the last eye-witness accountsBy LindaWell-written and accurate; Laurens managed to meet one of the last truly "wild" bushman groups before this amazing people became overwhelmed by modern "civilization" (to understand how they were ten years before and 20 years after Laurens' visit; I recommend "The Harmless People"). By the time anthropologists and; later; dna-scientists became fascinated by Bushmen; they could no longer hunt as they could when Laurens visited them. Laurens describes the Bushmen and their way of life with intimate care; relating to them as one human being to another. Not like a scientist studying an "object". He is also a good writer; for example when he describes the eland-hunt. I loved to read this book while travelling through Southern Africa. Especially for travellers to Okavango surroundings; this is a must-read.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Everyone should read this bookBy John AppsA book everyone should read as it describes the fate of a people; a fate which many other peoples have suffered in the past; the big difference being here that the Bushman has been around for longer than most others