Book excerpt: Over the years many books have been written about the San of southern Africa, who are widely known as the Bushmen and frequently viewed as one entity. This is the first international publication in which the San of today step forward to tell their own story in their own words. Covering eight language groups in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, young San interviewers went out into their communities and collected the thoughts and feelings, knowledge and understanding, dreams and fears, of their elders and their peers. The interviews they transcribed present the spirit of their communities and highlight the traditional differences and similarities between the groups, the shared history of suffering, and their desire and enthusiasm for life and most of all, freedom. Voices of the San provides a glimpse into the hundreds of broad, open-ended discussions held amongst the San themselves. It begins with the story of this book and is then divided into four chapters covering the themes they themselves identified as reflecting their current existence. All of this is richly and beautifully illustrated with over 300 photographs, contemporary artworks and drawings. The photographs are both historic and modern; including images from the Bleek and Lloyd Collection (late 19th century), the Duggan-Cronin Collection dating from the early 20th century and the Denver Expedition of 1925, as well as internationally known photographers such as Jens Bjerre (circa 1955), JÃ1⁄4rgen Schadeberg (1959) and Paul Weinberg (1985- ), and the San organizations within the region.