Books by Peter Sternberg

The author (born in February 1935) and his parents fled Nazi Germany in 1939, after his father had been incarcerated for six weeks in a concentration camp. They made their way to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where the family eventually settled in the town of Gatooma. Peter describes his reminiscences of life prior to departing Nazi Germany, the World War II era and the post-war years that followed. Five years as a boarder at Prince Edward School in Salisbury followed thereafter (1947-1951) and his experiences at 'P.E.' the largest boy's high school in the country are vividly described and documented. This book, amply illustrated, releases a flood of memories of what it was like to live in the 'old' Rhodesia - the strip roads then still in use, visits to the 'bioscope', witnessing Rhodesia's contribution to the Allied war effort, sporting heroes of that generation and much more ...

The original settlement of Gatooma (derived from the Kadoma Hills), situated in the Midlands of Southern Rhodesia (97 miles from Salisbury and 190 miles from Bulawayo) owes its very existence to the rich gold reefs which were discovered by prospectors and miners in the late 19th/early 20th century and, also partially, to the fact that the site of the future town lay in the direct path of the national railway line linking Bulawayo to Salisbury, which had been laid in place in 1902. So begins, Peter Sternberg's very comprehensive and interesting History of the Gatooma/Kadoma Library. His tale outlines the highs and lows in the 100 year old existence of the Library, initiated after the settlement was only about 11 years old. A well-worth read for those interested in the History of Rhodesia and Zimbabwe.