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Cargando... The Covenant: A Novel (1980 original; edición 2015)por James A. Michener (Autor), Steve Berry (Introducción)
Información de la obraThe Covenant por James A. Michener (1980)
   Historical Fiction (835) Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro.  zmagic69 | Mar 31, 2023 |  Great storytelling and well researched, per usual for Michener. Some conflict surrounds the book: Errol Lincoln Uys, researcher for Michener, said he wrote much of it (  ) MGADMJK | Aug 27, 2021 | The epic saga of the settling of South Africa by the Javanese and British; of course, native Africans already lived there. This was violent and gory from the beginning and didn't get much better, finishing in 1980. Unfortunately, most of the book was the battle between the Dutch and the English. About 250 pages in the middle depicted the once brilliant, but ultimately mad-man, Shaka Zulu. Although I know skin color was very important as pertains to how South Africa became "South Africa", much of the book repeated the same story of how the browns looked down on the black, the mixed looked down on the browns, etc. I could have substituted names and the events were identical. I did learn some South African history, but this work of Michener's was not as enjoyable as other sagas that I have read. (Chesapeake, Texas, Hawaii) 1200 pages ( ) Tess_W | May 5, 2021 | Read for the second time and still a wonderful epic Michener saga. Beginning with the early San peoples of the region and ending with the story of Apartheid, this covers the history of South Africa through several families: one Dutch (Afrikaner, one English, one native). Over 1200 pages cover a lot of territory, but there are few details that I would have omitted as this is an excellent blend of fictional characters painted over the factual history of the nation of South Africa. (  ) maryreinert | Sep 13, 2019 | Michener certainly goes for the grand sweep of history, covering some 500 years of South African history in one, admittedly large novel. This gives an instructive continuity to the story, but sadly at the expense of depth. Instead we get a long series of vignettes, usually from a narrow view point and rarely with any exploration of the complexities of the conflicting drivers. If this is disappointing, the sheer number of these sketches at least allow an idea of the conflicts to emerge. In my view, not the best use of the novel form as a way of exploring history. 9 March 2019 (  ) alanca | Mar 14, 2019 | sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
James A. Michener's masterly chronicle of South Africa is an epic tale of adventurers, scoundrels, and ministers, the best and worst of two continents who carve an empire out of a vast wilderness. From the Java-born Van Doorn family tree springs two great branches: one nurtures lush vineyards, the other settles the interior to become the first Trekboers and Afrikaners. The Nxumalos, inhabitants of a peaceful village unchanged for centuries, unite warrior tribes into the powerful Zulu nation. And the wealthy Saltwoods are missionaries and settlers who join the masses to influence the wars and politics that ravage a nation. Rivalries and passions spill across the land of The Covenant, a story of courage and heroism, love and loyalty, and cruelty and betrayal, as generations fight to forge a new world. Praise for The Covenant "A prodigious endeavor . . . Nowhere else could an American reader unfamiliar with South Africa get so full an understanding of its problems in so engaging a form."--The New York Times Book Review No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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 Google Books — Cargando...GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Clasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio: (3.88)
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I had this book on the to be read shelf for the last 10 years, and last week I saw there were elections in South Africa and I decided to give the book a try.
I clearly knew nothing of the founding of South Africa, the Dutch and British influence, Calvinism, the Old Testament, the different tribes that were already in the area, who the Boers were, how a people became Afrikaner. This book is wildly in depth and extremely fascinating.
In some ways it’s good that it came out in 1979 because while it doesn’t cover the last 40 years which have been significant in South Africa’s history it does do some detailed and accurate predicting.
Just like many of his other books prepare to learn so much along the way, and plan to have some late nights since the paperback edition is small print and 1200 pages.
This is an excellent book. It is too bad now still writes this type of book anymore.
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