256pp., illus., maps, hardback, d.w., Morija, 1993

"In this portrait of Lesotho's capital city in words and pictures, we are taken back from thronging crowds and congested traffic of modern Maseru to what was to be found on the same site in earliest times.

These episodes in the history of what is now Lesotho's capital city are described in detail in this book, along with the many colourful characters who contributed to Maseru's development. Basotho chiefs and colonial administrators, white traders and Basotho entrepreneurs, all had a part to play. But sadly, the wealth that was Lesotho's in the nineteenth century was gradually eroded. The railway, whose opening in 1905 appears on the cover of this book increasingly was used by migrant workers. Their remittances were needed to keep their families alive at home in a country increasingly short of land. Until the 1970s, migrant workers were notoriously poorly paid. Labour recruiters, by way of contrast, became some of Maseru's wealthiest residents.

Amongst the many photographs in the book are matching pairs of aerial photographs showing how the face of Maseru has changed during the post-Independence period." Taken from the book.

MASERU, an illustrated history

: Ambrose (D.)

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