Forgot the footnote: [1] Dr Moffat was a descendant of this man: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moffat. Wilbur Smith's series about the Ballantyne family is strongly based on the Moffat/Livingstone family.
-- b On 7/16/07, Biju Chacko <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On 7/16/07, Abhijit Menon-Sen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > At 2007-07-16 12:57:36 +0530, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > And Zimbabweans were a lot friendlier and pleasant than the Batswana I > > was living among at the time. > > Say, have you read Alexander McCall Smith's "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective > Agency" books? If so, did you enjoy them? I've read the first one. I thought it was a pretty authentic depiction of mid-80s Botswana. The geography is spot on -- I remembered specific intersections and buildings based on his descriptions. He even mentioned real people -- Iike Dr Moffat [1] in Princess Marina (a local notable who I knew personally). However, I didn't feel any urge to read any of the subsequent books. He makes Botswana seem very exotic or picturesque -- but it's hard to find places you know intimately very exotic. And most Batswana that I knew were far more hard-headed, tough and realistic than McCall-Smith's Mma Ramotswe. -- b
