![]() |
![]() |
Your cart is empty |
||
Between 1960 and 1989 in South Africa, more than 130 people were
executed for crimes that had a political motive. Who were they, what
did they do, and why did they do it?
In the heart of a village untouched by the world’s chaos, five-year-old
Popina took solace in the simple joys of childhood – climbing mango
trees, chasing baby baboons, and exploring the fields. But her
innocence was shattered in an instant when a group of strangers invaded
the village, bringing with them a terror that a young girl could never
have imagined.
A charming, moving account of one man's race to save a herd of elephants. When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of 'rogue' elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, his common sense told him to refuse. But he was the herd's last chance of survival - dangerous and unpredictable, they would be killed if Anthony wouldn't take them in. As Anthony risked his life to create a bond with the troubled elephants and persuade them to stay on his reserve, he came to realize what a special family they were, from the wise matriarch Nana, who guided the herd, to her warrior sister Frankie, always ready to see off any threat, and their children who fought so hard to survive. With unforgettable characters and exotic wildlife, this is an enthralling book that will appeal to animal lovers and adventurous souls everywhere.
In this captivating collection of essays, Tinyiko Maluleke invites his readers on a journey that begins with his eventful boyhood in Soweto and his life-changing sojourn in Limpopo. His reflections on the roles of his mother, maternal grandmother and aunts in his upbringing will melt many hearts. In a deep sense of the word, this is a ‘feminist’ book with large sections profiling and promoting the contribution of women in national development. Included in this memoir is the story of Maluleke’s journey through academia, his rise through the ranks, and the many lessons he learnt along the way. All the while, Maluleke presents his story as a microcosm of the human story of all South Africans, challenging his readers to rethink the history of the country, villages, townships and their own selves. Maluleke does not pull any punches in the essays where he provides analysis of critical issues facing the country. Deploying solid scholarship, to undergird a variety of literary genres and writing strategies, Maluleke’s book is also a compendium of and an ode to the moments, places and people – celebrated and ordinary – who have shaped and continue to shape his outlook. His profiling of a few fellow university leaders is particularly riveting. Faces and Phases of Resilience will make you think, laugh, yell and cry. In a way, this book is not merely an individual memoir, it is the memoir of a country, a memoir of a historical epoch and a memoir of a people – it is an invitation to the tragedy, the beauty and the hope that define South Africa. The book ends, forty-nine chapters later, with a heart-rending essay on the bane of xenophobia, foretelling the death of Maluleke, chillingly titled, ‘The Day I Die’.
The son of pastors and gospel artists, PJ Morton grew up in church,
singing gospel music, grounded by its soulful sound. As he was drawn to
R&B and pop, PJ experimented in combining genres to create his own
sound that record labels struggled to categorize. Pressured to align
with industry standards but committed to his own dream of his original
music, he defied expectations and risked launching his own label,
Morton Records. Under it, he developed six self-released and
self-produced albums that garnered twenty Grammy nominations and
awards, and included collaborations with such acclaimed artists as
Stevie Wonder, Kirk Franklin, and Lil Wayne.
From the day that Bobby Zimmerman first turned on the radio in his parents' home in Hibbing, he'd had a pretty good idea that big things were happening, that old values were changing, that something new was on the way. Bob Dylan arrived in New York one winter morning in 1961. His music and spirit would go on to capture the hearts and minds of a generation, but what no one knew then was that, like so many before him, Dylan was concealing his Jewish origins. For Harry Freedman, Dylan's roots are the key to grasping how this complete unknown burst onto the scene and reinvented not only himself, but popular music. The instinct for escape and reinvention has defined Dylan's long career. In this insightful biography Freedman traces the heady atmosphere of the 1960s and the folk-rock revolution spearheaded by Dylan. Right up until the moment in 1966 when Dylan stepped out onto the stage and went electric – exploring how his musical decisions, genius for reinvention and his Jewishness go inescapably hand in hand.
No murderer should ever be the keeper of their victim's story …
As Samsung Africa’s former President and CEO, Sung Yoon was a first-hand witness to the company’s journey to becoming a global brand. Despite challenges, he turned Samsung’s Africa business into a success over four years. In a career spanning more decades, he contributed in numerous capacities, heading up sales not only in Africa but in three different overseas assignments. Yoon offers insights that shed light on the challenges of making business decisions and taking calculated risks.
Jonathan Ball, the founder of Jonathan Ball Publishers, died on 3 April 2021 after a short illness. This collection of essays, commissioned in tribute to him, is edited by Michele Magwood. Jonathan Ball left a deep impression on many different people in different ways. The forty or so essays reflect the many facets of Jonathan. The chapter headings would read husband, father, businessman, friend, brother, colleague. But it is in the subheads that we begin to understand the shape of him: publisher extraordinaire, history expert, gourmand, liberal thinker, suitor, philosemite and so on. It cannot be exaggerated how deep an imprint Jonathan has left on the political and cultural life of South Africa, too. The shelves of Jonathan Ball Publishers are weighted with serious history and biographies of eminent figures, with books that other publishers didn’t have the boldness, the sheer guts, to take on. But there are many smaller, more finespun stories that tell us too who we are as a people and as a nation.
Samuel Daniell can be described as one of the most accomplished yet least-known artists from the era of British exploration. He travelled around southern Africa between 1800 and 1803, and lived in Ceylon until his death in 1811. His vivid sketches, drawings and watercolours are individuated and accomplished art works. Daniell’s representations of people of colour are remarkable for their perceptiveness and are perhaps unmatched in their sensitivity in the colonial era. He also produced many drawings and paintings of animals that are noteworthy for their accuracy. His biography is a fascinating example of how art contributed to the accumulation of scientific knowledge and the extension of British imperial power. Daniell’s drawings are widely scattered, and mostly unpublished. This biography reconstructs his life and travels by bringing together his known works from collections across the world.
Tony Blair learnt the precepts of governing the hard way: by leading a
country for over ten years. In that time he came to understand that
there are certain key characteristics of successful government that he
wished he had known about when he started.
This is the first full biography from childhood of the eminent British
Architect Sir Herbert Baker. Written with the full cooperation of his
family and with access to his archive and private papers, it gives an
account of his remarkable life as the leading architect to the British
Empire. From London, through the commemoration of the empire's war dead
in France, via South Africa and Australia to India, he celebrated the
might of an empire that once ruled a quarter of the world. He was an
intimate friend of many of most fascinating men of his age, including
Cecil Rhodes, Lawrence of Arabia, John Buchan, Jan Smuts and, of
course, his fellow architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. After a Victorian
architectural apprenticeship in London and on to becoming the most
prolific architect of his age in South Africa, he built the new
imperial capital of New Delhi in India with Lutyens, before returning
to London. These built or rebuilt such landmark buildings as the Bank
of England, South Africa House, India House, Rhodes House, and the
stands for Lords Cricket Ground, as well as numerous churches and
private houses.
We Two from Heaven is a singular memoir, a four-part fugue on the tricks and traps of memory, a shuffling of the cards of time. Episodes from the early life of writer James Whyle are interwoven with the letters of his father from the Western Front during the First World War. Their formative experiences – war, conscription, injury, desertion – flash by, juxtaposed, as if in counterpoint. How do we know who we are? Upending the reader’s expectations of a memoir, Whyle then explores the violence and madness of apartheid society as the narrator passes through boarding school and university and takes his first steps to become a writer. Raw and rhythmic, lyrical and caustic, this is an unsparing, formally inventive dissection of human vanities and illusions. At the end of history, on the shores of a blue bay, the voices of the past can be heard as we await the arrival of the barbarians – or the baboons, whoever comes first.
This first comprehensive biography of Cecil Rhodes in a generation
illuminates Rhodes’s vision for the expansion of imperialism in
southern Africa, connecting politics and industry to internal
development, and examines how this fueled a lasting white-dominated
colonial society.
In her first-ever memoir, Knowles presents a celebration of feminism,
identity and pursuing your dreams.
Baek Sehee could never have predicted how many people I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki would reach across the world. A runaway bestseller in South Korea, Japan, China, Indonesia and the UK, this record of conversations with her therapist demonstrated the realities of anxiety and depression in a uniquely intimate way. But Baek's battle with dysthymia did not end there. Grappling with mental health is an everyday struggle. In I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki, Baek's experiences become more complex, as she demonstrates that striving contentment is an ongoing journey.
‘I wanted to be who I felt I was. Broken. A wreck. A nobody.’
Maria is a young woman raised as a Jehovah’s Witness in South Africa, and this book documents her experiences of gender victimisation, sexual abuse and cover-ups within the church, as well as her eventual ‘escape’ from its doctrines and control. Maria’s freedom came at a price, however – she can never see her mother and sister again. A worldwide, Christian-based religious group that professes an unparalleled dedication to Jehovah (God), the Jehovah’s Witnesses have a strong sense of community and appear to embrace a disciplined yet loving way of life with the promise of eternal salvation for those who follow the way of Jehovah. It is a seemingly benign religious movement, claiming to be politically neutral, racially and ethnically transcendent, with a membership of eight million people worldwide. Yet, at its core, many former Witnesses claim that it is a fear-based doomsday cult that considers itself above all other belief systems. Allegations of secular, cultish behaviour, homophobia, money laundering, brainwashing and countless accusations of institutionalised sexual abuse abound. It seems that membership is managed and retained mostly by way of information control and manipulation, extending to the shunning of higher education and preaching their own version of the Bible. Entering the church is easy, but leaving it can be a matter of life or death, as Maria and countless others discovered...
An updated and abridged edition of Bono’s bestselling memoir, including
a new introduction by the author, Stories of Surrender is an
unforgettable love story, a tribute to fatherhood, friendship, faith
and music. Honest, irreverent, and intimate, it’s a backstage pass to a
frontman's remarkable life, from Bono’s childhood in Dublin to the rise
of U2. A companion to the Apple Original Film of his critically
acclaimed solo theatre show, Stories of Surrender is a luminous
autobiography of one of the great voices of our time.
This is a memoir about the life of an extraordinary South African poet, educator, and activist that tells a lesser-known social history of people, families, communities and places. Poli Poli is intentional in grounding Masekela’s experiences in a social history of the country over generations. Masekela uses her life story to illustrate the features and characteristics that typified life in particular places, like Kwa-Guqa in the 1940s, Johannesburg, Alexandra Township, and Inanda Seminary School (for Coloured girls) in Mpumalanga. This memoir is filled with intimate details about the growing pains of a childhood inhibited by strict beliefs and systems, first-hand experiences of struggle and sacrifice, violence and other forms of inhumanity and the deep scars they etch, while also telling the story of the author’s life-giving relationship with her siblings. Poli Poli is a remarkable history that speaks to issues of then and now – belonging, African identity, women’s rights, and femininity, and is written in the lyricism and transporting detail of one of the country’s greatest wordsmiths.
In The Eight Zulu Kings, well-respected and widely published historian John Laband examines the reigns of the eight Zulu kings from 1816 to the present. Starting with King Shaka, the renowned founder of the Zulu kingdom, he charts the lives of the kings Dingane, Mpande, Cetshwayo, Dinuzulu, Solomon and Cyprian, to today’s King Goodwill Zwelithini whose role is little more than ceremonial. In the course of this investigation Laband places the Zulu monarchy in the context of African kingship and tracks and analyses the trajectory of the Zulu kings from independent and powerful pre-colonial African rulers to largely powerless traditionalist figures in post-apartheid South Africa.
Discover the tales behind the ties in Stephen Fry's witty companion to our most distinguished accessory, the perfect gift for the tie-wearer in your life. 'A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life' Oscar Wilde 'What do ties matter, Jeeves, at a time like this?' 'There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter' P.G. Wodehouse Every single one of Stephen Fry's ties - whether floral, fluorescent, football themed; striped or spotty, outrageous or simply debonair - tells an intimate tale about a moment in Stephen's life. Inspired by Stephen's hugely popular Instagram posts, this book will feature beautiful, hand-drawn illustrations and photographs to celebrate his expansive collection of man's greatest clothing companion: The Tie, in all its sophisticated glory. Distinctively funny and offering witty asides, facts and personal stories, this book will make the perfect gift for anyone who has ever worn a tie.
This is a story of a simple idea that turned into a global movement. This is the story of parkrun, told for the very first time from the man who started it all. Growing up in the brutal care system of South Africa, Paul Sinton-Hewitt had a lonely, difficult childhood. Yet he found solace in running – a simple pleasure that taught him resilience and offered a young boy a sense of self-worth. With dogged determination, Paul built a stable family life for himself and eventually settled in the UK. But by 2004 he was struggling to hold it all together. He’d lost the successful career he’d worked so hard for, his marriage had broken down, and now a devastating injury threatened to cut him off from the running club which had been a lifeline. In search of connection and purpose, Paul came up with a simple idea. He would start a weekly time trial run every Saturday morning in his local park. There would be no winners or losers, it would always be free and Paul would be there every week – even on Christmas Day – whether or not anyone else came. Little did he know that from just thirteen runners on that first Saturday, parkrun would grow into a 10 million strong community across five continents. Twenty years on parkrun continues to grow, bringing together people from all walks of life in search of health, happiness and community. Filled with hope and optimism, One Small Step is a powerful affirmation of how coming together in simple ways can change our own lives and might even change the world.
A searingly honest, funny and moving family memoir in which David
Baddiel exposes his mother’s idiosyncratic sex life, and his father’s
dementia, to the same affectionate scrutiny.
With exclusive band interviews and over a decade of deep research, in The Book of ABBA, renowned music journalist Jan Gradvall explores the secret to ABBA's success. Over half a century after their songs were recorded, ABBA’s songs still make people the world over dance and sing every day, and their ability to evoke every emotion has made them the ultimate soundtrack to major life events, from birthday parties and weddings to heartbreaks and memorials. Since interviewing the four members of ABBA for an article in 2013 – at which time the band had not been interviewed for 30 years – a relationship was sparked between writer Jan Gradvall and the band, and he was granted unique access for the next decade. He has interviewed each of them exclusively, and they share their thoughts and opinions with him here more openly than ever before. Gradvall places ABBA at the centre of the musical universe, and alongside his fascinating interviews, he gives readers the socio-cultural context of how the band’s sound was formed – including the melancholic hints of Swedish folk music and the dansband culture of their formative years – and shows how the story of ABBA is also the story of Sweden and the internationalisation of pop culture. This remarkably intimate, approved biography brings readers a few steps closer to one of the world’s most famously private bands. |
![]() ![]() You may like...
Disciple - Walking With God
Rorisang Thandekiso, Nkhensani Manabe
Paperback
![]()
Herbal Bioactive-Based Drug Delivery…
Inderbir Singh Bakshi, Rajni Bala, …
Paperback
R4,215
Discovery Miles 42 150
Understanding Urban Ecosystems - A New…
Alan R. Berkowitz, Charles H. Nilon, …
Hardcover
R4,672
Discovery Miles 46 720
Hiking Beyond Cape Town - 40 Inspiring…
Nina du Plessis, Willie Olivier
Paperback
|