1. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. Set in Ethiopia and epic story that takes place over many years about the lives of two brothers and their careers in medicine.
2. Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Set in the Congo. The story of five women in a family living in Africa because of the misguided father/husband who wants to save the "heathens." Told in five voices.
3. West with the Night by Beryl Markham. Set in Kenya, before it was Kenya. True stories from a remarkable woman. I read this book because I enjoyed the book Circling the Sun by Paula McLain, which is a fictional account of the life of Beryl Markham.
4. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. Set in South Africa before the end of apartheid.
5. The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. Set in Botswana. This book feels like the Africa I remember. Funny, too. (First book in a series.)
6. Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein. Set in Ethiopia about the Italio-Ethopian war. Very revealing.
7. Things Fall Apart by Chenoa Achebe. Set in Nigeria. I know just about everyone has to read this book in school but it is truly a book I think about just about every day. Who has the right to say my way is right and your way is wrong?
8. Golden Boy by Tara Sullivan. Set in Tanzania. An albino boy has to escape the hunters who are hunting him.
9. The Bitter Side of Sweet also by Tara Sullivan. Set in Ivory Coast, it highlights the negative side of cocoa plantations and the near slavery conditions for the workers.
10. Playing the Enemy by John Carlin. Set in South Africa. About Nelson Mandela and the game (Rugby) which helped bring about the peaceful end of apartheid.
11. Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron. Set in Rwanda during the Rwandan Genocide.
12. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell. Set in Egypt during the time when the Middle East was being carved up for political reasons. A novel which includes real life characters like Lawrence of Arabia and Winston Churchill.
