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Johannesburg
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(South Africa)


Johannesburg is the place to feel the pulse of the Africa.

A city of astonishing contrasts, a huge metropolis where opulent wealth and desperate poverty live side by side: Johannesburg is the intriguing, dynamic heart of this turbulent country. If you want to see the real South Africa - and try to understand it - Jo'burg has to be on your itinerary.


Jo'burg, Jozi, eGoli or 'the city of gold' (never Johannesburg) is by far the largest city in South Africa. It's brash, fast-growing and often ugly, but it has got wealth, energy and a beautiful climate. If you take reasonable precautions and listen to the locals, you can enjoy it in safety.

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Books
Not Home Yet 
(Justin Cartwright)

A Booker Prize-winning author's illuminating study of trips home to South Africa between 1994 and 1996.

South Africa: From the Early Iron Age to the 1970s 
(Paul Maylam)

A detailed and fascinating general history of South Africa.

A Burning Hunger: One Family's Struggle Against Apartheid 
(Lynda Schuster)

An extraordinary recounting of a black family's fight against apartheid, from the Soweto uprisings in 1976 until liberation in the early 1990s.

Long Walk to Freedom 
(Nelson Mandela)

Mandela's 750-odd page autobiography is a compelling and inspiring read.

Indaba My Children 
(Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa)

An interesting book of folk tales, history, legends, customs and beliefs.

Every Secret Thing 
(Gillian Slovo)

The novelist daughter of Joe Slovo and Ruth First, who were key figures in the struggle against apartheid, writes movingly about her family's turbulent life.

South Africa: A Guide to Recent Architecture 
(Christina Muwanga)

A handy pocket guide to 20th-century South African architecture.

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