AUTHOR of "LETTERS FTOM WANKIE" and "21 ALDGATE"  PATRICIA FRIEDBERG 

AT WORK IN THE AFRICAN BUSH

AUTHOR PATRICIA FRIEDBERG  (*Note: the thatched roof on the rondavel and the Remington typewriter).  Friedberg is on location for the fledging RTV Rhodesian Television in then then, Rhodesia (ZIMBABAWE) circa 1960 working on a documentary film.

 FROM THE AUTHOR - DECEMBER 2020

It has been close to ten years since 21 Aldgate was published and seven years since Letters From Wankie cmae out.  I've given book talks in Europe, Africa, and America; on ships, in cafes, in private homes and pubs. And because I no longer communicate with the readers of my book personally I'll use our blog to tell you how I'm coping with the Covid epidemic and the ridiculous political situation we find ourselves in here in America. I have dual citizenship - born a Brit, hence the story told in 21, and a resident in the USA, .- which brings me to what I am witnessing now.

Covid has isolated us - we are informed by our television broadcasters depending on the channels we watch. The party in power won't give an inch.  The opposition remains resolute. Education is interrupted. Social gatherings where opinions could be given, limited to just a few and they mostly agree with each other. The internet has taken over.  Tweets are the new information deliverers. Our Ma and Pa shops are closing. We are cut off from our families and cannot safely travel.  A curse has been put upon us and the world and we're only just beginning to work out how to deal with it. And worse of all science is ridiculed and magical thinking has taken its place.

History should have taught us we are heading for yet another disaster.  We have re-entered the era of the thirties.  We have half the population indoctrinated and the other half trying to bring some normality back into our lives.  You only have to watch documentaries of how the Nazis came into power to realize the similarities we're experiencing now.  It's the same - find someone, something, anything to blame and keep repeating the same lies and you have all the converts you need.  Then send money to the loudest voices, pass disinformation onto those who have swallowed the Kool-Aid and make sure your children and grandchildren get the message. And so it grows and becomes a movement which has every possibility in time of overthrowing democracy and the promise of the very reason America came about. If this doesn't sound like the period leading up to the Second World War then we are deafened by the rhetoric and blinded by the images set before us.

I haven't opened 21 Aldgate for many years, but I'm thinking of reading it one more time - why? Because it will remind me of my youth and what it led to in the 1940s, of my life as it was then, and I need a refresher course.  Perhaps you do, too.

PATRICIA FRIEDBERG

A TIME TO CELEBRATE ZIMBABWE.....37 Years under Dictator Robert Mugabe is finally over.

21 Aldgate / Letters From Wankie / Author Patricia Friedberg

Upcoming book JOURNEY FROM THE JACARANDAS by Patricia Friedberg tells the story of those early years and its impact on the then Rhodesians as the country sought its independence to become Zimbabwe and its decline under the rule of dictator Robert Mugabe.

Rave Reviews for LETTERS FROM WANKIE

Anne Collis, Artistic Director, National Symphony Orchestrs, UK
"Loved 'LETTERS FROM WANKIE'. Read it cover to cover in one day!....definitely a page turner, what a fascinating time she had...and what a trouper!"

Dorothy A, Arizona, US
"I read this book with great delight...what an interesting life and what a wealth of experience. Congratulations!  This book is great!"

Dave Bloom., Tel Aviv, Israel, Founder and Editor of the Zimbabwe Jewish Community website: www.zjc.org.il
LETTERS FROM WANKIE is a terrific read... I highly recommend...a well-written book.  Through her work as Clerk of the Court for the Native Commissioner, the author experiences and provides, with a matter-of-fact humour, a fascinating insight into the culture: a snapshot of life in a remote district of Rhodesia in the early 1950's."

Amy B., Patchoque, NY, US
"Witty and Wonderful!...a captivating, entertaining memoir of one woman's fascinating two-year adventure into a foreign world. It is sure to capture your heart; don't miss it."

Paul L., Jerusalem, Israel
"Delightfully told with light wry humour, and through letters, to give us a real feel of the place, and with the pathos of looking back now at a country destroyed, this is an excellent memoir."

Rafe B, Bradenton, Florida, US
"Friedberg makes a compelling case for the benevolent aspects of pre-independence Africa where there were heroic individuals who were able to make a difference ...LETTERS FROM WANKIE is a valuable insight into pre-independence east Africa and one woman's positive impact.."

Gillian E., Tierra Verde, Florida, US
"...the area came alive with the author's vivid descriptions and many challenges - a page turner, and a great follow-up to Friedberg's earlier book, 21 ALDGATE.

Leila D., London, England
"...a truly great read!  I loved and enjoyed every word of this wonderfully written, memoir, which I strongly recommend

E & C., Basel, Switzerland
"what a fascinating adventure...we read it together and so enjoyed the story and the style. It's a must read!"

Barbara Y., Bradenton, Florida, US
"I really enjoyed this book especially after reading and loving "21 ALDGATE" by Patricia Friedberg.
This story follows on with the life of the child in "21 ALDGATE" and her married life in an unusual setting.

James, A., Johannesburg, South Africa 
"By chance I came across your latest book called "LETTERS FROM WANKIE"and, as I grew up in that town...resident from 1954-1969, I acquired your book and thoroughly enjoyed the read...brought back some good memories, albeit as a child my life was carefree...Thanks for writing your wonderful memories of Wankie."

B&C, M., Springfield, MA, US,  (formerly of Johannesburg, South Africa
"A brilliant read... I felt the author's voice as if she were in the room with me!  We loved it and laughed at the good humour.  Wonderfully written."

LAST OF THE TRILOGY ... by Ptricia Friedberg

LAST OF THE TRILOGY ... by Ptricia Friedberg

JOURNEY FROM THE JACARANDAS

The trilogy beginning with the Historical novel, 21 ALDGATE set in the 1930's and the buildup to WWII.

The Memoir, LETTERS FROM WANKIE set in the 1950's the post-war years, in a colonial government post in Southern Rhodesia

Set at the end of the Colonial period in Southern Rhodesia and contemporary Zimbabwe, and soon to be released:

  JOURNEY FROM THE JACARANDAS

UPCOMING BOOK TALKS

COMPARATIVE MAPS of RHODESIA renamed ZIMBABWE