A wide-ranging history by Britain's ambassador to Madagascar in the 1970s, the first to appear in English. In this anecdotal and often entertaining book, Sir Mervyn Brown covers the full history of the island from the origins of the Malagasy people though the 1990s focusing on his own enthusiasms and interests, including the Merina kingdom, early pirates and adventurers, European contact, struggle for independence and personal memories of the government of President Didier Ratsiraka.  (MAD33, $32.95)