Live vicariously and share a few of my adventures. This page will lead you to exciting adventures and new reading in my African Memoir series.
Currently four books have been published, with a new one due out in late February 2012. The AFRICAN MEMOIR series consists of:
BRIDE PRICE – ISBN 978-1-906852-11-5 published January 2011
This is the story of Abélé, an orphan to whom I was persuaded to foster when I made my home in a forest village in Zaïre during the reign of President Mobutu. Life became complicated when a man asked me to name
her bride price and I was obliged to follow the local customs and traditions in responding. The man’s subsequent actions were as unexpected as they were dramatic and the matter took some unusual turns. You can find out more and read the first chapter on my website at: http://www.ianmathie.com/booksinprint/brideprice.htm
MAN IN A MUD HUT - ISBN 978-1-906852-12-2 published July 2011
This is the story of Desmond, a government agent who came to visit me in Upper Volts on his way to investigate a taxpayer funded project that was going wrong in Nigeria. There he uncovered foul deeds and rampant corruption but encountered dark forces which frightened out of his skin and made it necessary to rescue him and take him back to my own village. Beset by curses and tropical fevers, Desmond was treated by our village witch-doctor until he recovered enough to join in the work of restoring the village well. His involvement with the villagers generated new understanding, unexpected friendships and valuable insights into the workings of African cultures. You can find out more and read the first chapter on my website at: http://www.ianmathie.com/booksinprint/maninamudhut.htm
MAN IN A MUD HUT - the second book in the series tells the story of Desmond and what happened when he came to visit before going to inspect a programme in Nigeria wherehe fell among thieves and had to be rescused abd brought back to my mud hut to recover. See more about this in my website at: http://www.ianmathie.com/booksinprint/maninamudhut.htm
also on on amazon.co.uk
SUPPER WITH THE PRESIDENT gives you a collection of ten true stories including four Presiendts, a man who kept elephants, a Jailbreak and lots more exciting true adventurese. SUPPER WITH THE PRESIDENT - ISBN 978-1-906852-10-8 first published October 2011
This book is an anthology of nine short tales. It includes encounters with four notable Presidents, a sorcerer with the ability to transport himself by seemingly magical means, a man who kept elephants, a jailbreak and a camel caravan across the wastes of the Sahara to the hellish salt mines at Taoudéni in northern Mali. You can find out more on my website at: http://www.ianmathie.com/booksinprint/supperwiththepresident.htm
THE MAN OF PASSAGE – ISBN 0-9553124-1-8 first published October 2006
This is an anthology of sixteen short tales that take you behind the scenes in Africa and shows you some of the quirkiness that makes the continent so diverse and interesting. You will meet the enigmatic man of passage, discover the complications of African bureaucracy, encounter a man with stainless steel teeth, go to jail and cause a riot, discover unexpected complications at immigration and much more whilst seeing aspects of Africa not seen by most outsiders.. You can find out more about this book on my website at: http://www.ianmathie.com/themanofpassage/index.htm
You can read reviews on: http://www.ianmathie.com/reviews_manofpassage.htm
Although Amazon list the book as out of stock, it is still available and orders should take no more than a few days: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Passage-Other-Stories-Africa/dp/0955312418/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_5
The next book in the African Memoir series will be:
DUST OF THE DANAKIL, to be published in late February 2012. ISBN 978-1-906852-13-9
Prompted by the Current drought in the Horn of Africa, this book is about the great drought of 1974 in Ethiopia which was classified at the time as the worst drought in history. Whilst relief was poured into the mountain communities, nobody wanted to know about the Afar people in the Danakil desert; people with a hostile reputation, inclined to kill first and ask questions later, if at all. Eventually a project was proposed and I was sent to make it work, having to fight incompetence, corruption, and the curiously discursive nature of the Afar themselves as well as insurgent Issa raiders and the hazard of bullets fired at me by a nervous army sentry. When the job was done there was a remarkable reluctance among the aid agencies to look at measures to prevent such a catastrophe recurring. The situation in Somalia today reinforces the urgent need for this and some controversial remedies are proposed. In addition to the African books, I have produced a little book of light hearted verse:
In addrition to the African books I have produced a small book of verse:
KEEP TAKING THE PILLS - ISBN 0-9542844-0-2 first published 2002. This little book of light hearted odes, illustrated with cartoons by Barry Gurbutt, came about as a cure for boredom whilst I was stuck in hospital some time after receiving a kidney transplant. An amusing incident in the next bay prompted a rhyme in my head and I wrote to down. One thing led to another and soon the walls of the ward were covered in sheets of paper with verses on them. Putting the best of these into a book and selling these for the benefit of kidney patients has enabled me to give something back to the system which had helped me so well. At this time only a few copies of the original printing remain, but if demand is there I will reprint it.
