Literary reviews

Autobiographies of the townships. Gone with the Twilight: a story of Sophiatown. Don Mattera London: Zed Press. 1987. 151pp. £19.95hb/£5.95pb

Kaffir Boy: growing out of apartheid. Mark Mathabane London: Pan. 1987. 354pp. £3.50pb

Subtle dissent: Malawi's poetry of protest. Nightwatcher, Nightsong. Frank M Chipasula Peterborough, UK: Paul Green. 1986. 25pp. £1.50pb

Napolo Poems. Steve Chimombo Zomba, Malawi: Manchichi Publishers. 1987. 55pp n/p

Selective blindness. Women in African Literature Today, Vol. 15. Edited by Eldred Jones, Eustace Palmer and Marjorie Jones London: James Currey/Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. 1987. 162pp. £7.50/$8.95pb

Ngambika: studies of women in African literature. Edited by Carole Boyce Davies and Anne Adams Graves Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. 1986. 298pp. $35.00hb/$11.95pb

Form and content. Reading the African Novel. Simon Gikandi London: James Currey. 1987. 172pp. £8.95pb

West African Poetry: a critical history. Robert Fraser Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1986. 351pp. £35hb/£12.50pb

Textual adventure. Around the Day in Eighty Worlds. Julio Cortázar Translated from the Spanish by Thomas Christensen San Francisco: North Point Press. 1986. 293pp. J22.50hb

A Change of Light and other stories. Julio Cortazar Translated from the Spanish by Gregory Rabassa London: Arena. 1987. 275pp. £3.50pb

Master of the fantastic. The Dream of Heroes. Adolfo Bioy Casares Translated from the Spanish by Diana Thorold London: Quartet Books. 1987. 212pp. £9.95hb

Popular heroes. I Dreamt the Snow was Burning. Antonio Skarmeta Translated from the Spanish by Malcolm Coad London/New York: Readers International. 1985. 220pp. 57.95/£4.95pb

Burning Patience. Antonio Skarmeta Translated from the Spanish by Katherine Silver London/Methuen. 1988. 126pp. £9.95hb

Struggling towards a voice. Angel. Merle Collins London: The Women's Press. 1987. 294pp. £12.95hb/£4.95pb

Nowhere to hide. The Arkansas Testament. Derek Walcott London: Faber & Faber. 1988. 117pp. £3.95pb

Unity of the spirit. Modern Arabic Poetry: an anthology. Edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi New York: Columbia University Press. 1987. 498pp. Hb n/p

Defiant creativity. Let It Be Told: essays by Black women writers in Britain. Edited by Lauretta Ngcobo London: Pluto Press. 1987. 146pp. £12.95hb London: Virago Press. 1988. 176pp. £4.50pb

Charting the Journey: writings by Black and Third World women. Edited by Shabnam Grewal, Jackie Kay, Liliane Landor, Gail Lewis and Pratibha. Parmar London: Sheba Feminist Publishers. 1988. 322pp. £7.95/$10.95pb     

Handbook of the Psychology of Interviewing

Abstract

Handbook of the Psychology of Interviewing. By Memon. A. and Bull, R. (Eds). Chichester: Wiley, (1999). ISBN 0-471-97443-9 (hbk) $65.00.

Investigative Interviewing: Psychology and Practice. By Milne, R. and Bull, R. Chichester: Wiley, (1999). ISBN 0-471-98728-X (hbk) $34.95; ISBN 0-471-98729-8 (pbk) $17.99.

Detecting Lies and Deceit: The Psychology of Lying and the Implications for Professional Practice. By Vrij, A. Chichester: Wiley, (2000). ISBN 0-471-8516-X (pbk) $24.95.     

‘Where the state feared to tread’: Britain,Britons, covert action and the Yemen Civil War, 1962–64

The Egyptian-inspired revolution that overthrew the Imamate in Yemen in September 1962 presented British policy makers with a series of acute dilemmas. While the defence of Aden was regarded by the Chiefs of Staff as central to the protection of British interests in the Middle East, the means by which this was to be achieved exposed deep cleavages among policy-makers chastened by the experience of Suez. While officials in Whitehall condoned a series of official covert operations along the Federation border with Yemen they remained strictly controlled and defensive in nature. By contrast, a group of influential Conservative MPs, having already engaged in what might be termed para-diplomacy that effectively stymied British recognition of the new regime in Sana'a , looked to extend British clandestine activity to include direct aid to, and training of, the Royalist Forces deep inside Yemen itself. With the initial support of key Middle Eastern potentates, a private mercenary organization emerged that, while enjoying the tacit encouragement of some in Whitehall, acted above and beyond the control of London in support of what they considered to be Britain's interest, an interest which, despite the huge political and diplomatic risks involved, came to enlist the help of Israel. At a time when much academic attention has been focused on the rise of the private military organization, the debates over their efficacy, both political and moral, as a tool of foreign policy can be traced to events in the mountains and deserts of the Yemen over four decades ago.     

Lessons of the 1982 English local elections

The 1982 local elections in Britain were the first elections fought on a nationwide basis by the Liberal/Social Democratic Party Alliance. Although there are methodological problems, the results in provincial England can be analysed to provide clues to the character of support for Britain's newest political formation. Although the Alliance achieved a substantially higher vote than the Liberals had in 1980, it proved difficult to achieve a breakthrough in terms of wards won—especially for the SDP who tended to contest poorer prospects than their Liberal partners. There is only weak evidence that the SDP could mobilize new sources of support. The even spread of the Alliance's vote was such as to cast doubt on their ability to win seats at the next general election unless a very high level of support is attained.     

Go to Switzerland, young women, if you want to study medicine

During the second half of the nineteenth century women from all over the world went to Swiss universities to study medicine. The first female doctors to practice in most European countries received their medical education in Switzerland. This article examines possible reasons to explain why Switzerland opened its doors to female medical students when universities in other countries rejected women. Cultural, political and economic motivations are suggested.     

Atypical autoerotic death: part II

Autoerotic fatalities encompass a wide array of means and mechanisms used to attain sexual gratification. The most commonly encountered autoerotic practice, specifically, autoerotic asphyxia, denotes death resulting from failure of a release mechanism of the apparatus designed to attain cerebral hypoxia for heightened arousal. Historically, the majority of victims of autoerotic death are Caucasian males under the age of 30. While autoerotic death is most often associated with a constrictive cervical ligature tied to either other parts of the victim's body or to an inanimate object such as a door, several other methods have been reported. These modalities include ligature around the thorax or abdomen, plastic bags covering the face, electrical current, inhalation of a toxic gas or chemicals, or partial or total submersion, known as aquaerotic asphyxiation. This study highlights 11 cases of atypical autoerotic death, including asphyxia with a plastic bag, electrocution, and inhalation of butane and nitrous oxide (N2O). Whereas the manner of death in the majority of autoerotic death cases is deemed accidental, we present and analyze unique and equivocal cases representing 4 different manners of death: accident, natural, suicide, and homicide. The 11 victims were all Caucasian and between the ages of 17 and 55. Ten decedents were males, 1 female. A comprehensive investigation incorporating a thorough scene analysis, gathering of the victim's history, and complete postmortem examination is necessary to elucidate both the cause and manner of death in these atypical cases.