I had asked this earlier in the week without much success, so I might as well try again here.

What are your thoughts on the works of Ryszard Kapuściński? I happened to pick up a second-hand copy of his The Shadow of the Sun the other day, which is an account of his experience covering certain de-/post-colonization moments in a variety of African nations. The work seems to be very well-reviewed, and I've been enjoying it so far -- but it's very far out of my field, and I am curious as to his (or even just the book's) reputation as far as these subjects go. He seems to have written several books about African matters, including a biography of sorts of the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie that I'd also like to check out.

But before I do that... what do you think?

For a history writing question: One of the things I sometimes notice is that it seems that over the decades transliteration conventions are growing more and more literal--I am even seeing more often the appearance of the dreaded Thoukydides. This even changes the pronunciation significantly, such as the transformation of Montezuma into Moctezuma. It is a process that, as far as I can tell, really only occurs in English (German and French, for example, still uses Peking/Pekin) and it is one I have some trouble justifying to myself. I understand the appeal of getting close to the "accurate" pronunciation, but shouldn't more deference be paid to convention and, more importantly, what sounds natural to the English tongue?

I am curious what people who have some familiarity feel about this--this is really just my perception.

I asked this once before and still don't understand. What is history in the academy.