A message in the bottle found on the South African Coast

You would have noticed by now that I am selling among others, history books in my on line store; http://www.bestforreading.com. If you haven not made an effort to visit http://www.bestforreading.com, do so without hesitation. I have many affiliated stores at http://www.bestforreading.com where you can make a choice out of thousands of books and everything else you are looking for. 

My book choice this week is to be found in my on line store at http://www.bestforreading.com

Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction [Paperback]

Allen C. Guelzo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 2012

The Civil War is the greatest trauma ever experienced by the American nation, a four-year paroxysm of violence that left in its wake more than 600,000 dead, more than 2 million refugees, and the destruction (in modern dollars) of more than $700 billion in property. The war also sparked some of the most heroic moments in American history and enshrined a galaxy of American heroes. Above all, it permanently ended the practice of slavery and proved, in an age of resurgent monarchies, that a liberal democracy could survive the most frightful of challenges.

In Fateful Lightning, two-time Lincoln Prize-winning historian Allen C. Guelzo offers a marvellous portrait of the Civil War and its era, covering not only the major figures and epic battles, but also politics, religion, gender, race, diplomacy, and technology. And unlike other surveys of the Civil War era, it extends the reader's vista to include the postwar Reconstruction period and discusses the modern-day legacy of the Civil War in American literature and popular culture. Guelzo also puts the conflict in a global perspective, underscoring Americans' acute sense of the vulnerability of their republic in a world of monarchies. He examines the strategy, the tactics, and especially the logistics of the Civil War and brings the most recent historical thinking to bear on emancipation, the presidency and the war powers, the blockade and international law, and the role of intellectuals, North and South.

Written by a leading authority on our nation's most searing crisis, Fateful Lightning offers a vivid and original account of an event whose echoes continue with Americans to this day.        

Speaking of history! In the late sixties and early seventies my father and brothers went fishing. I being the youngest, always tagged along, but I did my own thing. It was such fun to investigate all the tidal rock pools and to investigate what nature is showing me in abundance. At times I did beach combing to see what the sea pushed out of the water onto the sand dunes.

One such a place where my farther and siblings went fishing is called Buffelsjag Bay http://www.cap.org.za/view.asp?ItemID=51&tname=tblComponent1&oname=News%20/%20Projects%20/%20Stories&flt=stories&pg=front     

This little bay was basically closed to the public as it was a kelp farm, but as my parents knew a few people living there, we were allowed in. On one morning when my farther and brothers were fishing, I decided to do beach combing. I was walking along the beach and whenever I saw an object that could float, I threw it back into the wavers to see it coming out again. Above the high water mark I saw a bottle sticking out of the sand and I was about to through it back into the sea, when I saw a letter inside the bottle. 

This is what I found in the bottle: 

The original letter I found in the bottle. The paper is very flimsy . Look at the longitude and latitude given.  I t was posted near the Philippines and was carried to the coast of South Africa by currents and the Mozambique current coming down from the tropics to Cape Point where it meets up with the Benguela Current   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Point

The letter in English. The left side is written in Swedish.

A few of the letters

A Christmas card from Billy.

One of the letters.

Next week  I will post more wonderful items I have picked up at the very same beach!

My winning recipe of the week comes from "Die Groot Boerekosboek" by Dine van Zyl. (traditional Afrikaans food)

Fish cakes from raw fish    

6 slices bread, crusts removed
1 kg raw minced fish
60 ml (1/4 cup) parsley
60 ml (1/4 cup) grated onions
1.25 ml (1/4 t) nutmeg
10 ml (2 t) lemon juice
1.25 ml (1/4 t) white pepper
1 beaten egg
250 ml (1 cup) flour
Cooking oil for frying

Soak bread in water. Press water out and break into minced fish. Add all other ingredients and mix well. The  food processor does well here. 

Form little balls about the size of a golf ball and flatten slightly. Roll in flour on both sides. Fry in shallow oil and serve with mash potatoes.

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