“Op die kombuisvloer sit-lê my man met sy rug na my toe. Sy ledemate hang slap, soos ’n marionet wat pas sy toutjies verloor het. Op die toonbank lê sy haelgeweer. Ek weet dadelik hy is dood.”

Die geskenk is die bekende skrywer Riette Rust se ontroerende ware verhaal, onthutsend eerlik, vol menslikheid en soms selfs skreeusnaaks. Van haar kinderjare in die Paarl, waar haar pa whiskey-bottels in die gangkas wegsteek, haar huwelik met JD, die onbeplande swangerskap en gelukkige gesinsjare, tot dié oggend, toe Riette se hele wêreld aan skerwe spat.

Te midde van die diepste verskrikking gaan soek Riette na kennis. Sy studeer sielkunde en lees wyd oor trauma en rou, en met dié boek deel sy wat sy uitvind. Hierdie is nie net die memoir van ʼn merkwaardige vrou aan wie die lewe groot uitdagings gestel het nie. Dit sal ook van groot nut wees vir elkeen wat deur trauma geraak word, met die nuutste wetenskaplike inligting oor selfdood en die nadraai daarvan, van die waarskuwingstekens tot die skaamte en skuldgevoelens, en ʼn hoofstuk oor die verskillende soorte rou.

Riette, nou skielik “ʼn weduwee”, is blootgestel aan skindertonge, geniepsige pastore, en ʼn huis wat herstel moet word. Met Die geskenk bied sy ons die deurleefde wysheid van iemand wat self daar was. Iemand wat weet dit is moontlik om weer voluit te leef, selfs al het die ondenkbare gebeur.

Hierdie dapper, inspirerende boek sal jou uitkyk op die lewe vir altyd verander.

From 1994 to 2000, when South Africa was a young democracy, the country was stalked by a succession of brutal serial killers. Psychologist Micki Pistorius became the first profiler for the South African Police Service, playing a vital role in identifying and interrogating these killers, as well as training detectives nationally and in other countries. She broke ground with her theory on the origin of serial killers and is considered a trailblazer in her field.

Catch Me a Killer was originally released in 2003 and details the cases she worked on – from the Station Strangler and the Phoenix Cane Killer to Boetie Boer and the Saloon Killer. The book also features legendary detectives such as Piet Byleveld and Suiker Britz, as well as the FBI’s Robert Ressler.

Released alongside a major TV series based on the book, this new edition of Catch Me a Killer includes a new chapter and up-to-date information about some of the cases, such as the parole of Norman Afzal Simons in 2023. This is essential reading for all true crime aficionados.

Too much of South Africa’s history has been lost and suppressed, leaving a void for many South Africans. Sylvia Vollenhoven brings together her life and that of a long-ago ancestor, Kabbo, a respected Khoisan storyteller.

She writes of her experience as being “too black” for her coloured schoolmates, working as one of the early female journalists in the misogynistic environment of the 70s, and of the constant impact on her life of her background – including her ancestors.

Ian: ‘You’re going to run how far?’
Ryan: ‘250 kilometres. But it’s over seven days, though.’
Ian: ‘And the furthest you’ve ever run is …?’
Ryan: ‘42.2 kilometres … on the road. And on trail … 35 kilometres.’
Ian: ‘Ryan, I think you need to reassess this …’

What does it take to run a six-day race through the world’s harshest deserts? Or 100 miles in a single day at altitudes that would leave you breathless just walking? More than that, though: what is it like to win these races? South Africa’s ultra-trail-running superstar Ryan Sandes has done just that.

Since bursting onto the international trail-running scene by winning the first multistage race he ever entered – the brutal Gobi March – Ryan has gone on to win various other multistage and single-day races around the globe. Written with bestselling author and journalist Steve Smith, Trail Blazer – My Life as an Ultra-distance Trail Runner recounts the life story of this intrepid sportsman, from his experiences as a rudderless party animal to becoming a world-class athlete, and includes details on his training regimes, race strategies and aspirations for future sporting endeavours. Sports enthusiasts will enjoy the adrenaline-inducing trials and tribulations of one of South Africa’s most awe-inspiring athletes, while endurance-sport participants – from beginners to aspirant pros – will benefit from his insights and advice.

As Professor Tim Noakes says in the Foreword to this book: ‘However much we might think we know and understand, there are some phenomena which now, and perhaps forever, we will never fully comprehend. We call such happenings “enigmas”. Or even miracles. Ryan Sandes is one such.’

More riveting cases from the files of former police psychologist and bestselling author Gérard Labuschagne.

In this second instalment of The Profiler Diaries, former South African Police Service (SAPS) head profiler Dr Gérard Labuschagne, successor to the legendary Micki Pistorius, recalls more of the 110 murder series and countless other bizarre crimes he analysed during his career. An expert on serial murder and rape cases, Labuschagne saw it all in his fourteen and a half years in the SAPS. Often stymied by a lack of resources, office politics and legal incompetence, Labuschagne and his team were nevertheless determined to obtain justice for the victims whose cases they were tasked with investigating.

Tracking down a prolific serial stalker, linking the murders of two young women in Knysna, assessing a suspect threatening to assassinate Barack Obama and apprehending a serial murderer of sex workers are just a few of the intriguing – and often terrifying – cases he covers in his second book, The Profiler Diaries 2: From Crime Scene to Courtroom.

As Labuschagne says, catching a killer is one thing; getting them convicted in a court of law is an entirely different ball game. This book shows how it is done in fascinating detail.

Just add rice is about Taiwanese cuisine, which seeks balance and harmony in taste, texture and nutritional value. But it’s also about home cooking, about familiarity and comfort and celebrating culture – recipes that connect the author to her parents when they lived in another city and in a distant country.

- Delicious, nutritious food on a budget.

- Comprehensive list of need-to-have pantry items for cooking Taiwanese and Chinese food.

- East Asian ingredients that are available to the South African market, with suggested substitutions.

- Essential information on traditional Chinese dining etiquette, customs and traditions.

- Simple recipes for home cooks.

- East Asians can enjoy their first locally produced cookbook with stories that reflect relatable culture and culinary heritage.

- Anyone who is interested in Chinese home cooking, food and South African food heritage.

In April 2013 a global breaking-news story surfaced on social media and in the world press, and rapidly gathered momentum. A South African man had fallen overboard in the night during a storm in remote Indonesian waters, without anyone else on board realising. Eight hours later a frantic search was underway. The incident caught the world’s attention as readers were instantly transported into the terror of the moment – imagine being left alone, 100 kilometres out to sea in the middle of a storm, watching your friends sail into the distance… Had he been dealt a fraction more bad luck, Brett would have died immediately.

According to the experts, he should have died within 10 to 14 hours. But he chose not to die. Instead for 28-and-a-half hours Brett Archibald endured – the ocean, the elements, the creatures of the deep, and his own inner demons. Alone: The Search For Brett Archibald is the incredible but true story of what it takes to defy needle-in-a-haystack odds and survive what should have been certain death. Outdoor savvy, astonishing imagination, mental toughness, a refusal to give up hope and a canny rescuer with an unbelievable background ultimately saw him through.

Most of all this is a story of the power of the human spirit that defies rational explanation.

When 18 year-old Morné Harmse walked into his Krugersdorp high school, armed with a samurai sword on a Monday in 2008, he had one mission – to commit a massacre. Inspired by the Columbine high school killings, his fantasy to make people "take notice" had been brewing for more than a year. By the time his sword-slashing spree had ended, 16-year-old Jacques Pretorius was dead and three others were brutally injured.

In the aftermath of what was described as “the most barbaric act of schoolboy violence in South African history” the country was left reeling. How does an ordinary boy from a "normal" family become a brutal killer overnight? Was Morné under the influence of a satanic cult? A protégée of mastermind Devilsdorp killer, Cecilia Steyn? Did his obsession with heavy metal band Slipknot drive him over the edge? Now, 14 years later, Morné Harmse is out on controversial parole.Written in mesmerising detail, Samurai Sword Murder finally puts together the pieces of this brutal tragedy.

Ter viering van Dolf van Niekerk se negentigste verjaarsdag verskyn hier ’n versameling filosofiese, bepeinsende en besinnende essays uit die pen van een van Afrikaans se meesterskrywers.

Vanaf sy vroegste gewaarwordinge tot sy kennismaking met groot filosowe soos Nietzsche, Kant en Hegel op universiteit en in sy daaglikse handel en wandel daarna: altyd maar bly die bewustheid van ’n onsigbare “iets” by hierdie aristokratiese gees – en ’n soeke na ’n beter verstaan van dít wat “die sterretyd en die menstyd aan mekaar verbind”.

In 48 essays wat die biografiese tydperk tussen ongeveer sy vyfde en twintigste lewensjaar dek, skryf ’n deurleefde, wyse Van Niekerk oor sy vroegste herinnerings aan sy geboortedorp, sy gesin en sy helderste herinnerings aan die plekke en mense wat hom gevorm het tot die mens wat hy geword het. Want, soos wat hy in die verhaal “Die skinkbord” skryf: Jy kan net wees wie jy is, en jy is wat jy word.

When Amin Cajee left South Africa to join the liberation struggle he believed he had volunteered to serve a democratic movement dedicated to bringing down an oppressive and racist regime. Instead, he writes, in this powerful and courageous memoir, "I found myself serving a movement that was relentless in exercising power and riddled with corruption".

Fordsburg Fighter traces an extraordinary physical journey – from home in South Africa, to training in Czechoslovakia and the ANC’s Kongwa camp in Tanzania to England. The book is both a significant contribution to opening up the hidden history of exile, and a documentation of Cajee’s emotional odyssey from idealism to disillusionment.

In his introduction to the book, Paul Joseph, ex-treason trialist, South African Communist Party member and MK recruiter, writes: ”What happened to them and to the others in that chaotic and confused time is both sad and tragic. But his honestly told story is essential for us to have a fuller picture of our history, if only to ensure, perhaps, that future generations will learn from our mistakes.’

Gloria Tomatoe Serobe, née Ndaliso, married Gaur Serobe in 1987, following a six-month courtship. And so began Gloria’s 26-year relationship with her mother-in-law, Winnie Serobe.

Winnie Serobe was born in Thaba ‘Nchu in 1933, in a deeply racialised South Africa. Yet she transcended all the barriers put in place by the South African government, and society at large, to become a nurse, midwife, community builder, social entrepreneur and leader. In the course of her marriage to Andrew Serobe, for 40 years, during which they became parents to five children, she was never only a wife and a mother.

This book is Gloria’s ode of love, honour and respect to her mother-in-law, whom she referred to as Mama. It brings to life the story of a Winnie Serobe, who we may not read about when we look at the heroes and heroines of this country, but who served those around her every day. She remains memorialised in the hearts and minds of those for whom she fought for the right to be educated; buried with dignity; and provided with the best quality healthcare – particularly for mothers and their unborn and new-born babies. Throughout her remarkable life, Winnie Serobe ‘saw’, ‘heard’, and homed some of the most vulnerable, stigmatised, ostracised and perhaps forgotten members of her community.

Throughout this life well lived, she nurtured and mentored Gloria as a makoti of the Serobe family. She reframed marriage, family and service for the young Gloria, lessons which Gloria shares in the pages of this book

Moshitadi is a mother wound recovery coach.

In The Girl Who Survived Her Mother, she details the years of her torturous relationship with her mother, maps the intergenerational nature of the trauma in her family, and reveals how she was finally able to begin her journey of healing.

Today she helps clients around the world face their most shameful question -- how do I love myself when the person who carried me and gave birth to me cannot?

In what will surely become a classic of South African non-fiction, Led by Shepherds begins with twelve-year-old Jeffrey Rakabe leaving his village to attend an initiation ceremony, believing it to be the key to his manhood. But the weeks-long rite of passage in the mountains is a far cry from the adventure he’d imagined.

Years later, as a student, Rakabe discovers the nurturing world of books and thrives within the hush of the Johannesburg Public Library.

The presence of caring women in his life, from his concerned mother and supportive partner to a librarian who feeds his intellectual curiosity with a steady supply of literature, spur Rakabe to investigate the possible links between the koma ritual, awash with misogynistic language, and gender-based violence in SA.

Part memoir, part manifesto, Led by Shepherds is a moving, vital and controversial book and Jeffrey Rakabe a brave voice for a new generation.

In 2011 while riding his motorbike through Mali, on his way home from London to Johannesburg, Stephen McGown was taken captive in Timbuktu by Al Qaeda. He was held captive for almost six years giving him the unenviable record of Al Qaeda’s longest held prisoner.

Together with writer Tudor Caradoc-Davies, he wrote his book Six Years With Al Qaeda: The Stephen McGown Story. In this inspirational biography Steve uncovers the extraordinary lengths he went through to survive; from learning French and Arabic, converting to Islam and accepting a name given to him by his captors. His aim was to raise his status among Al Qaeda, keep himself alive and hopefully make his way back home.

Thousands of kilometres away in Johannesburg, the shock of his kidnapping hit his wife Cath and the rest of the McGown family. Working every option they could find, from established diplomatic protocols to the murky back channels of the kidnap game, they set to work on trying to free Steve.

Months turned to years and while the captive-captor dynamic was ever-present, Steve witnessed first hand what no westerner has ever seen before, giving him a nuanced perspective on one of the worlds most feared terrorist organisations.

Azille Coetzee gaan studeer in Nederland, kry ’n Nederlandse lover en besluit om in Europa aan te bly. Maar iets voel nie reg nie … Daar is tog altyd die vraag: Watter herkoms hou die styfste vas, Afrika of Europa? Dié is ’n uiters leesbare verhaal van identiteit, reis en liefde: intiem, eerlik en slim.

This is a story about a woman; a story about her struggle. As the survivor of great tragedy; this is a story about triumph.

Despite only being 33 years old, Zoleka Mandela has endured enough to fill several lifetimes. While she may be a member of South Africa's own royal family, Zoleka has not led a sheltered life. She has travelled down paths which most would not dare; from the horror of losing two children within two years, to the shadowy journey through cocaine addiction and rehab, and being diagnosed with cancer. Though she was robbed of her children, stripped of her sobriety, and subject to a disease that necessitated a double mastectomy, Zoleka Mandela is not a victim. She is a survivor, and her story serves as testimony to the strength of the human spirit in fighting against life's challenges. Zoleka is a living example of success in spite of overwhelming challenges.

Zoleka is now clean and cancer-free. Zoleka Mandela had her last session of chemotherapy in April this year, and has been sober for 36 months. Through her story, it is impossible not to have faith in the good things in life, and possible to believe that anything is achievable. Zoleka's book is an ideal read for those exposed to life's challenges and traumas - from a mother who has had to deal with the loss of a child, or families who have had to endure the pains of cancer, or those who have dealt with the stress of addiction - it is a universal read exhibiting the power of healing.

"So here I am, at a psychiatric hospital, looking for myself in a building I’ve never been in before. A few nights ago, I was ready to rid myself of myself. I still am, only, in a different way. This time, I want to do away with what I hope will soon be my former self. I don’t know what is wrong with me, I never have. All I know is that my head is clouded with loud voices screaming in different frequencies; none of them making sense. With only a stony face to hide it all behind, and a pained smile to offer my friends and colleagues."

Patient 12A is Lesedi Molefi’s absorbing memoir, reflecting on his time spent in a psychiatric clinic in 2016. With vulnerability and candour, Lesedi reflects on the moments, large and small, that led him here. It is at once a personal history, an observation of how childhood experiences can have a profound effect on the adults we become, and a commentary on how mental illness remains a difficult conversation in black families.

But more than anything, Patient 12A is Lesedi’s attempt to filter out the noise in his head to find the truth, however uncomfortable that may be.

In April 2017, Pravin Gordan addressed a packed audience in St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town. It was a week after President Jacob Zuma had fired him as Finance Minister, a move that signalled South Africa had been well and truly captured. Gordhan urged the crowd not to give up hope and to ‘join the dots’ in understanding what was taking place. At this moment he became a moral authority to many, someone who could fight the corruption.

Seasoned journalists Jonathan Ancer and Chris Whitfield take a magnifying glass to someone at the centre of South Africa’s most tumultuous period and try to understand the man behind the public image. They go back to Durban in 1949 when Gordhan was born, tracing the significant events and influences that shaped his life and prompted him to become involved in politics as a pharmacy student at the University of Durban-Westville. Ancer and Whitfield have interviewed close former activists to build a picture of his time in the underground and the role he played in the struggle including his detention and torture. It was during this time he worked closely with Zuma, the man who would, on the back of a bogus intelligence report, fire him as finance minister.

The book will examine why Gordhan has been dragged into major controversies like the rogue unit saga, the intelligence report and other smears against him. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s right-hand man has made many enemies: public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, Julius Malema and Ace Magashule to name a few.

Joining the Dots is an in-depth and satisfying read about a man who has been at the centre of South African public life.

In Lucas Mangope: A Life, journalist Oupa Segalwe incisively examines the public and private life of this traditional-leader-cum-elected politician, whose rise and fall coincided with the collapse of apartheid and that of the ill-advised homelands project. Segalwe compellingly traces how complex currents of self-enrichment, duty to his people, and serving the interests of all those he was indebted to played out. A balanced account of the life and times of the enigmatic Mangope.

Widely considered to be the most important biography of Nelson Mandela, Anthony Sampson's remarkable book has now been updated by acclaimed South African journalist, John Battersby.

Over a decade after his presidency of South Africa, Nelson Mandela remains an inspirational figure to millions of people -- both in his homeland and far beyond her borders. He is, without doubt, one of the most important figures in global history. Mandela's opposition to apartheid and his 27 year incarceration at the hands of South Africa's all-white regime are familiar to most.

In this utterly compelling book, eminent biographer Anthony Sampson, who knew his subject since 1951, reveals the man behind the events that rocked a continent -- and changed the world. With unprecedented access to the former South African president -- the letters he wrote in prison, his unpublished jail autobiography, extensive conversations, and interviews with hundreds of colleagues, friends, and family -- Sampson depicts the realities of Mandela's private and public life, and the tragic tension between them.

Newly updated by distinguished South African journalist John Battersby, Mandela is the ultimate biography of one of the twentieth century's greatest statesmen.

Nonkululeko Gobodo made her mark in business as the first black female Chartered Accountant in South Africa, a great and rare feat for a black woman growing up in apartheid South Africa.

If she was told at 17 years old, while pregnant, that she would be a valiant voice of her generation, she would have laughed it off in disbelief. Nonkululeko’s career has always been about embodying black excellence, and in this book, she bares her own perspective on deep-seated issues of racism, prejudice against women, discrimination, and mental brokenness; themes that continue to taunt our minds today.

The book is a culmination of her passion to see black people and women awakened to their true selves. It is a reflective celebration of self, courage and the remarkable spirit of resilience that lies within us all.

The clarity in her voice comes through so well that it feels like she’s in the room with you, narrating her life story in an unhurried conversation. Her discerning view on the ego and one’s ability to be both wise and foolish, strong and weak, is meditative and inspiring. True to the book’s title, she comes into her own through her unordinary journey of trauma, healing and self-love that has awakened her to her true purpose.

Be inspired and motivated, get your copy today.

Ivor Swartz kom van die Gaatjie in Grabouw, 'n hooplose plek. 

Sy pa is vroeg dood en sy ma maak hom en sy sibbe alleen groot. Hulle oudste broer terroriseer die gesin en een aand skiet Ivor en sy vriend sy broer en hy sterf later in die hospitaal. 

Ivor gaan tronk toe en met sy uitkoms begin sy lewe van voor af. Vandag is hy 'n jeugpastoor met 'n passie vir Here wat sy storie gebruik om ander te inspireer. 

'n Storie van die verlore seun wat huis toe kom. 

Werk soos ’n miljardêr vertel die verhaal van Dan, ’n werknemer, wat bloot van salaristjek tot salaristjek leef. Hy streef daarna om sy eie besigheid te begin maar hy staar verskeie uitdagings in die gesig.

Een van dié uitdagings is hoe om, sonder enige geld, ’n besigheid te begin. Maar alles verander op ’n dag toe hy voor ’n groot besluit te staan kom.

Die boek is propvol waardevolle wenke oor hoe om rykdom te skep, jouself beter te leer ken en hoe om volhoubare besigheidsisteme te bou.

Harry Oppenheimer, the international gold-and-diamond magnate, presided over the corporate dynasty of Anglo American and De Beers for more than 25 years. Yet, two decades after his death, the Oppenheimer empire is no more. As the political opposition’s key financial backer, the founder (along with Anton Rupert) of the Urban Foundation after the Soweto uprising in 1976, and a ubiquitous philanthropist, Oppenheimer helped propel the process of reform.

Nevertheless, in some quarters he is demonised as the archetype of ‘white monopoly capital’ and scapegoated, along with Nelson Mandela, for the country’s disappointing democratic dividends. In the first, full-scale biography of Oppenheimer, based on unrestricted access to his subject’s private papers and extensive interviews with family members and close associates, Michael Cardo eschews both the corporate hype and the political propaganda to produce a vivid, fully-rounded portrait.

He brings to life the places, people, events and relationships that shaped Harry Oppenheimer’s long and rich career at the intersection of business and politics. Cardo also tackles thorny questions of legacy and Oppenheimer’s complicity with the oppressive racial order of the past.