18 JUNE 2005, page 25

The Last Of The Vintage Wine

Hilary Mantel Q UICKSANDS : A M EMOIR by Sybille Bedford Hamish Hamilton, £20, pp. 370, ISBN 0241140374 ✆ £18 (plus £2.25 p&p) 0870 800 4848 W hen Sybille Bedford was born, in......

Downhill All The Way?

Richard Dowden T HE S TATE OF A FRICA : A H ISTORY OF F IFTY Y EARS OF INDEPENDENCE by Martin Meredith The Free Press, £20, pp. 752, ISBN 0743232216 ✆ £18 (plus £2.25 p&p) 0870......