The Cape Town Book

The Cape Town Book presents a fresh picture of the Mother City, one that brings together all its stories. From geology and beaches to forced removals and hip-hop, Nechama Brodie, author of the best-selling The Joburg Book, has delved deeply into the hidden past of Cape Town to emerge with a lucid and compelling account of South Africa’s fi rst city, its landscape and its people. The book’s 14 chapters trace the origins and expansion of Cape Town – from the City Bowl to the southern and coastal suburbs, the vast expanse of the Cape Flats and the sprawling northern areas. Offering a nuanced, yet balanced, perspective on Cape Town, the book includes familiar attractions like Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch and the Company’s Garden, while also giving a voice to marginalised communities in areas such as Athlone, Langa, Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha. Many of the images in the book have never been published before, and are drawn from the archives of museums, universities and public institutions. This beautifully illustrated, information-rich book is the defi nitive portrait of the wind-blown, contradictory city at the southern tip of Africa that more than three million people call home

The South African novel of identity that "deserves a wide audience on a par with Nadine Gordimer."

Simultaneously city and wilderness, Cape Town is a place of haunting natural beauty and captivating urban charm. This insightful portrait of the city's history, architectural heritage, scenic wonders, people and diverse cultures will appeal to all those who share an interest in and a love for South Africa's mother city.

This richly illustrated history of Cape Town under Dutch and British rule tells the story of its residents, the world they inhabited and the city they made - beginning in the seventeenth century with the tiny Dutch settlement, hemmed in by mountains and looking out to sea, and ending with the well-established British colonial city, poised confidently on the threshold of the twentieth century. This social history of Cape Town under Dutch and British rule traces the changing character of the city and portrays the varied lives and experiences of its inhabitants e" black and white, rich and poor, slave and free, Christian and Muslim. The story told in these pages is both immensely readable and endlessly interesting, and is sure to remain for long the definitive history of the city. The volume is illustrated throughout with a wealth of paintings, maps and photographs. The book is written for the general reader as well as academics.

A revealing look at South Africa's Mother City in all her glory: from the impressive mountains and pristine beaches, to the natural and cultural diversity.

The Bo-Kaap contains a wealth of stories; of slavery and emancipation, far away exotic lands, food and spices, music and culture, and most of all everyday life.