Journey Into Russia

Laurens Van Der Post takes us behind the iron curtain of Soviet officialdom in a quest to discover the real Russia - a land full of enigma and secrecy, but treasured by its ordinary people.

In A Province

Last year the rain went away. It became very dry; there was no water and the sun killed the crops of my father. 
 
Leaving the kraal and misty Valley of a Thousand Hills, Kenon has come to Port Benjamin in search of work. In Johan he finds a master and a friend. For a time it seems their unorthodix friendship can break down the barrier between black and white. But storm clouds are gathering and the forces of love and politics will explode into tradedy.

An Anthology of Laurens Van Der Post

Feather Fall

The essential Van Der Post - a selection drawn from the best and most important of his writings, which is the perfect introduction for the new reader and a must for his thousands of fans worldwide.

This Van Der Post 'reader', thematically organised to reflect the patterns and themes which have influenced his life and his writing, distils the essence of the writer, thinker, spiritual guru and man of action. This evocative and thought-provoking selection, combining short paragraphs and longer passages is chosen with love and insight from his published and some unpublished writings, (books, introductions, lectures, essays, ) and will give pleasure and inspiration to generations of readers the world over.

A Story Like the Wind

Laurens van der Post was born in South Africa in 1906, the thirteenth of fifteen children in a family of Dutch and French Huguenot origins. He grew up in the heart of Bushman country, a thousand miles from the sea, before going on a long voyage to Japan that was a to prove a formative experience and vital in later life. He settled in England in the 1930s, writing and farming until the outbreak of the war, when he joined the British army and served with distinction in the Western Desert, Abyssinia, Burma and the Far East. Taken prisoner by the Japanese, he was held in captivity for three years before returning to active service as a member of Lord Mountbatten's staff in Indonesia and, later, as military attaché to the British minister in Java. 
 
Since 1949 he has taken part in many official expeditions and missions to Africa, and his journey in search of the Bushmen in 1957 formed the basis of his famous documentary film, 'The Lost World of the Kalahari'. Other television films he has made include 'A Region of Shadow', 'All Africa Within Us'. And a three-part series on the life and work of Carl Gustav Jung, whom he met after the war and grew to know as a close personal friend. The highly acclaimed film 'Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence', released in 1983, was based on his book The Seed and the Sower. 
 
Laurens van der Post was awarded the C.B.E for services in the field, and in 1980 he was knighted. With his wife, Ingaret Giffard, Sir Laurens divides his time in England between his home in Chelsea and a cottage in Suffolk.

This is a story of an almost vanished Africa; a world of myth and magic in which the indigenous peoples of the continent lived for uncountable centuries before the Europeans came to shatter it. 
 
The main character is a boy who has a relationship with this Africa not unlike Kipling's Kim with the antique world of India. François Joubert, whose Huguenot ancestors settled in Africa three hundred years ago, lives as a solitary child on his father's farm. 'Hunter's Drift'. Here, in the far interior of Africa, he experiences the wonder and mystery of an ageless, natural primitive life, his perception of it heightened by the influence of three people in particular - his Bushman nurse, the head herdsman of the local Matabele clan (his father's chosen partners in the pioneering of Hunter's Drift), and a hunter of legendary fame, now the chief ranger of a vast game reserve nearby. 
 
François' meeting with an untamed Bushman, Xhabbo, whose intuitive teaching nourishes his spirit; his strange pilgrimage to the distant krall of a powerful witch-doctor; his dramatic encounter and relationship with the daughter of a retired colonial governor; all are examples of African point and European counterpoint, in a highly original theme, moving to a strangely presaged and omened climax.

A Far Off Place

The whole of A Far- Off Place is charged with the power and magic and beauty of Africa. Driven with appalling violence from his home by "freedom fighters" François Joubert, a boy about to become a man, who is deeply learned in the life and ways of the bush, embarks on a long and terrible journey. He is accompanied by Nonnie, the young daughter of a retired colonial governor, murdered by the terrorists, Xhabbo, a dearly beloved Bushman whom François had once saved from death, and Xhabbo's wife, Nuin-Tara. 
 
Every effort is made by the attackers, swarming everywhere in the bush, to prevent the little foursome, sole survivors and witnesses of the brutal massacre of Europeans and their Matabele partners, from reaching the outside world. The sustained ferocity of the pursuit appears only too likely to overwhelm them, for François and Nonnie have only their own aristocratic spirit and faith in each other, the native skill of Xhabbo and Nuin- Tara and the courage and intelligence of the noble hunting dog, Hintza, to help them against the most fearful odds. 
 
Not only the bush but also a great desert of a thousand miles of sand and scrub lies between them and any hope of safety. Yet the manner in which this little band and one dog take on this great adventure, turns it into something of a pilgrimage. 
 
Through their physical suffering and almost unbearable agony of heart and mind, they achieve both an unimagined knowledge of the resources of their bodies, and far more important still, find an inner way to an understanding of man's proper place in the natural universe - an acceptance of the right of every living creature to exist alongside him. As a result, whatever the tragedy and disaster of the story, the travail and traffic of their young lives reach out beyond fear and darkness towards an intimation of concord and light. 
 
In contrast to the profound understanding of the land and its birds and animals implicit in the characters of each of the imperiled foursome, the "freedom fighters", promising life, bring only death and in the name of liberty do mortal injury to the innermost spirit of Africa. 
 
A Far-Off Place, though complete in itself, accomplishes with A Story Like the Wind, a unique voyage of discovery into a hidden and hitherto unrecorded core of Africa. Not least of its by-products is an insight into what is committed in that vast continent in the name of liberation and independence.

Flamingo Feather

Laurens van der Post was born in South Africa in 1906, the thirteenth of fifteen children in a family of Dutch and French Huguenot origins. He grew up in the heart of Bushman country, a thousand miles from the sea, before going on a long voyage to Japan that was a to prove a formative experience and vital in later life. He settled in England in the 1930s, writing and farming until the outbreak of the war, when he joined the British army and served with distinction in the Western Desert, Abyssinia, Burma and the Far East. Taken prisoner by the Japanese, he was held in captivity for three years before returning to active service as a member of Lord Mountbatten's staff in Indonesia and, later, as military attaché to the British minister in Java. 
 
Since 1949 he has taken part in many official expeditions and missions to Africa, and his journey in search of the Bushmen in 1957 formed the basis of his famous documentary film, 'The Lost World of the Kalahari'. Other television films he has made include 'A Region of Shadow', 'All Africa Within Us'. And a three-part series on the life and work of Carl Gustav Jung, whom he met after the war and grew to know as a close personal friend. The highly acclaimed film 'Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence', released in 1983, was based on his book The Seed and the Sower. 
 
Laurens van der Post was awarded the C.B.E for services in the field, and in 1980 he was knighted. With his wife, Ingaret Giffard, Sir Laurens divides his time in England between his home in Chelsea and a cottage in Suffolk.

Flamingo Feather, which Laurens van der Post dedicated to the 'fast vanishing Africa' of his boyhood, is a story of adventure - adventure unfolded in the great tradition of story-telling. 
 
It is the tale of two white hunters - one old, experienced and wise, one young and resolute - who suspect that something evil is being prepared on a vast scale in their country and who, with little to guide them, set out to track down its source. In the unfolding of their story, the immense scene of bush, forest, jungle, lake and mountain, the untamed wildlife and vivid animal beings, and the background mind and culture of the indigenous people in all their archaic reality, are evoked as never before. Indeed so deeply does the story draw on Laurens van der Post's knowledge of the country, so directly does it touch on vital elements in African life, that it carries the conviction of an authentic personal experience. Africa itself lies at the heart of the story, Africa as it has been and as it may yet become.

A Mantis Carol

Presented together now for the first time, Laurens van der Post's collected writings will reveal as never before the fullness of his perceptive, wise and remarkably consistent vision. In all of them his inspiration has been that of an adventurous pioneer exploring not just the outward aspects of a turbulent and troubled world but, at a deeper level, the patterns and paradoxes of human life, the myths and dreams of the human mind, the values and cultures of different peoples, the elusive springs of our own people.

The Hunter And The Whale

This is the story of a South African boy, Peter, who grows to manhood through a hard course of physical and emotional experiences. 
 
The scene, a heroic one, is set both on sea and on land. Peter is exposed to the conflicts set up by other characters, chief amongst whom are a dedicated and fanatical whaling captain, a Zulu stoker, a famous white hunter and his daughter. He learns how men can become obsessed by greed and the will to power; and he witnesses the struggle of natural man to come to terms with the demands of contemporary life. 
 
Peter's developing relationship with captain and crew; the fury and beauty of the chase; the fanaticism of the two great hunters - these are the leading motifs in Laurens van der Post's stirring narrative. His remarkable knowledge of whaling, and the force of his imagination sounding deeper then leviathan himself, carry the reader irresistibly forwards.

With 'The Great and the Little Memory'

The Lost World of the Kalahari

In this enthralling book van der Post establishes his role as a distinguished explorer and writer describing the rediscovery of the Bushmen, outcast survivors from Stone Age Africa.

The Lost World of the Kalahari (1958) and The Heart of the Hunter (1961)...are loathed by San scholars and serious ethnologists. But they matter. Van der Post gave a face and a story to a discarded people before anyone else thought to do so.

A master storyteller, he had the knack of identifying the significant, poetical image

Laurens van der Post was born in Africa in 1906. Most of his adult life was spent his time divided between Africa and England. His professions of writer and farmer were interrupted by ten years in the army, behind enemy lines in Abyssinia, the Western Desert and the Far East where he was taken prisoner by the Japanese while commanding a small guerrilla unit. He went straight from prison back to active service in Java. He was awarded the CBE for his services in the field.

Laurens van der Post was fascinated and appalled at the fate of this remarkable people.  Ostracised by all the changing face of African cultural life they retreated deep into the Kalahari desert. His fascinating attempt to capture their way of life and the secrets of their ancient heritage provide captivating reading and a unique insight into a forgotten way of life.

Jung and the Story of Our Time

'The fascination of Jung is inescapable and van der Post has given us an excellent book - eloquent, learned and most impressive in its evocation of a devilishly provocative man' - The Nation

For the first time the whole man is presented to the world. We are made aware not merely of his psychiatric achievement, but of the slow and painful self-development, the humour and warm humanity, the vital relevance to our troubled time, and the essential loneliness of this man of genius. An unforgettable portrait of a great man

Laurens van der Post was born in Africa in 1906. Most of his adult life was spent his time divided between Africa and England. His professions of writer and farmer were interrupted by ten years in the army, behind enemy lines in Abyssinia, the Western Desert and the Far East where he was taken prisoner by the Japanese while commanding a small guerrilla unit. He went straight from prison back to active service in Java. He was awarded the CBE for his services in the field. He died in 1996, aged 90.

Laurens van der Post was a long-time friend of Jung and here presents Jung as he knew him: Jung the man, the discoverer and explorer of a new dimension in the human spirit, rather than Jung the psychologist. Calling him a 'universal personality, one of the greatest since the Renaissance', van der Post writes much more than simply a biographical study of Jung. 
 
Jung is a full-scale, unflinching attempt to convey the creative, pioneering greatness of the man and to show how his far-seeing vision has so greatly enlightened and enriched the spiritual poverty of modern man.

A Walk with a White Bushman

A Walk with a White Bushman offers a tempting preamble to many longer explorations. For those who have, it offers the kind of renewed inspiration of which there can never be too much.

I rank Laurens van der Post with the best writers of English - this book confirms my constant admiration and the nobility of his mind

Bushmen, Africa, the relation of man to animals (beautiful stories about elephants), Japan and Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, the forgiveness of enemies, June, spiritual growth, Churchill, Smuts, Mountbatten... Such a rapid catalogue must omit much of what he talks about, but may give some impression of the book's riches

A deeply thoughtful, engrossing book about his fascinatingly varied life and unusual ideas... Refreshingly unconventional, inspiring, optimistic, wise and true

Overflows with ideas and insights gained during a long and eventful life

No one can write more feelingly of Africa... An experience not to be missed

Laurens van der Post was born in Africa in 1906, the thirteenth of fifteen children in a family of Dutch and French Huguenot origins. Most of his adult life was spent his time divided between Africa and England. His professions of writer and farmer were interrupted by ten years of soldiering in the British Army, serving with distinction in the Western Desert, Abyssinia, Burma and the Far East. Taken prisoner by the Japanese, he was held in captivity for three years before returning to active service as a member of Lord Mountbatten's staff in Indonesia and, later, as Military Attache to the British Minister in Java. 
 
After 1949 he undertook several official missions exploring little-known parts of Africa, and his journey in search of the Bushmen in 1957 formed the basis of his famous documentary film and The Lost World of the Kalahari. Other television films include All Africa Within Us and The Story of Carl Gustav Jung, whom he met after the war and grew to know as a personal friend. In 1934 he wrote In a Provice, the first book by a South African to expose the horrors of racism. Other books include Venture to the Interior (1952), The Heart of the Hunter (1961), and A Walk with a White Bushman (1986). The Seed and the Sower was made into a film under the title Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, and, more recently, A Story Like the Wind and A Far-Off Place were combined and made into the film A Far-Off Place. 
 
Sir Laurens van der Post was awarded the CBE in 1947 and received his knighthood in 1981. He died in 1996.

Explorer, novelist, writer and film-maker, Sir Laurens van der Post was one of the most influential figures of our era. Here, in conversation with Jean-Marc Pottiez, he records his ideas and insights into a wide range of issues and personalities, forged by a lifetime of vast experiences and challenges.

Yet Being Someone Other

Yet Being Someone Other is the most revealing book that Laurens van der Post wrote about his extraordinary and eventful life, and the most far-reaching; it is a distillation of the experiences that have moved him at the deepest level of the imagination and made him the exceptional person and writer he was.

Venture To The Interior

An account of a journey on foot across the mountains to the two lost worlds of Central Africa.

An outstanding book... I rank Laurens van der Post with the best writers of English... This book confirms my constant admiration and the nobility of his mind

I hope all those who are appalled by the destruction of Hiroshima will read this book-for a greater understanding of what man is capable of doing to his fellows in time of war

No one can write more feelingly of Africa-an experience not to be missed

One of the noblest books of travel written in our time, and one destined, I imagine, to have a permanent place in English literature

Inspired... Some of the poetic descriptions of the scenery are most beautiful and fill me with envy. The book is magnificent

Summoned to Whitehall in 1949, Laurens van der Post was told that in old British Central Africa there were two large tracts of country that London didn't really know anything about, and could he go in there on foot and take a look, please? Venture to the Interior is the account of that journey, a journey filled with adventure and discovery, flying from London across Europe and Africa, and after days in small aircraft, on foot across the mountains to the two lost worlds of central Africa.

The Night Of The New Moon

Laurens van der Post was in a POW camp in Java when the bombs that ended the war demolished first Hiroshima and then Nagasaki

This book is the remarkable story of his experiences in the prison camp, but it is also a meditation on the morality of the Bomb, a compassionate and moving contemplation of human violence.

The Seed and the Sower

This is war as experienced in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Java in 1942, but, above all, war as experienced in the company of the prisoners and oppressors.

What follows is the story of two British officers whose spirit the Japanese try to break. Yet out of all the violence and misery strange bonds are forged between prisoners - and their gaolers. In a battle for survival that becomes a battle of contrasting wills and philosophies as the intensity of the men's relationships develop.

The Heart Of The Hunter

The moving sequel to The Lost World of the Kalahari.

The Bushmen's legends are sheer poetry; their imaginative power is tremendous, their humour and compassion deeply moving

I hope all those who are appalled by the destruction of Hiroshima will read this book...for a greater understanding of what man is capable of doing to his fellows in time of war

Laurens van der Post was born in Africa in 1906, the thirteenth of fifteen children in a family of Dutch and French Huguenot origins. Most of his adult life was spent his time divided between Africa and England. His professions of writer and farmer were interrupted by ten years of soldiering in the British Army, serving with distinction in the Western Desert, Abyssinia, Burma and the Far East. Taken prisoner by the Japanese, he was held in captivity for three years before returning to active service as a member of Lord Mountbatten's staff in Indonesia and, later, as Military Attaché to the British Minister in Java. 
 
After 1949 he undertook several official missions exploring little-known parts of Africa, and his journey in search of the Bushmen in 1957 formed the basis of his famous documentary film and The Lost World of the Kalahari. Other television films include All Africa Within Us and The Story of Carl Gustav Jung, whom he met after the war and grew to know as a personal friend. In 1934 he wrote In a Province, the first book by a South African to expose the horrors of racism. Other books include Venture to the Interior (1952), The Heart of the Hunter (1961), and A Walk with a White Bushman (1986). The Seed and the Sower was made into a film under the title Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, and, more recently, A Story Like the Wind and A Far-Off Place were combined and made into the film A Far-Off Place. 
 
Sir Laurens van der Post was awarded the CBE in 1947 and received his knighthood in 1981. He died in 1996.

In this moving sequel to The Lost World of the Kalahari van der Post records everything he has learned of the life and lore of Africa's first inhabitants. The Heart of the Hunter is a journey into the mind and spirit of the Bushmen, a people outlawed by the advance of blacks and whites alike.

Laurens Van Der Post

From the beginning, Lauren Van Der Post has been aware of a dimension in life far longer and more significant than the outer eventfulness of everyday living. His perception of life's mysterious power began with the Bushman, the first people of his native Africa, and grew in the universal imagery of dreams, the fertile legends and stories of ancient civilization, the intuitive teaching of prophets, poets and other pioneers of human awareness. In this book he has brought together two of his most deeply felt and far reaching essays, and has extended their message with great imaginative insight, exploring the potential in all men and women to acquire self-knowledge and to live life according to its fundamental precepts.

Laurens Van Der Post

Books by Laurens Van Der Post

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter