English People of Zambian Descent - Wilbur Smith, Iain Hesford (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Wilbur Addison Smith (born January 9, 1933 in Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia, now Kabwe, Zambia) is a best-selling novelist currently residing in London. His writings are mostly about southern part of Africa, adventures and international intrigues. His books often fall into one of three series. As a baby, he was sick with cerebral malaria for ten days, but made a full recovery. He grew up on a cattle ranch and spent his childhood hunting and hiking. His mother gave him novels of escape and excitement, which piqued his interest in fiction; however, his father dissuaded him from pursuing writing. After education at Cordwalles Preparatory School, Michaelhouse in Natal and Rhodes University, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, he became a journalist, writing about social conditions in South Africa, but his father's advice to "Get a real job" prompted him to resentfully become a tax accountant. He published his first novel, When the Lion Feeds, in 1964, written while he worked for Salisbury Inland Revenue. The book gained a film deal and its success encouraged him to become a full-time writer. His publisher and later agent, Charles Pick, gave him advice he never forgot: "Write for yourself, and write about what you know best." He married and had two children after he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. The marriage ended in divorce at the age of twenty four. He married again following the publication of his first novel, this too ended in divorce. He married Danielle Thomas in 1971, dedicating his books to her until her death in 1999. He married Mokhiniso Rakhimova, from Tadjikistan, in May 2000. He states that Africa is his major inspiration, and currently he has over 30 novels published. Smith now lives in London, but avows an abiding concern f... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=498574