Presented in the form of biographies centering on a number of men, women and families varying in status and race, Cape Lives of the Eighteenth Century provides a vivid survey of the Cape of Good Hope at the end of the Dutch period, during a period of rapid and dramatic development and change for the colony. The book's aim is to sketch the development of the Dutch colony at the Cape in the eighteenth century through the lives of eighteen individuals and families, primarily for the benefit of non-specialist and non-South African readers. Schoeman has published a great number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, including a general survey of the period covered here, with special emphasis on slavery.

Well-known television anchor and media personality Ruda Landman talks to a wide variety of South Africans about their life choices and how change has affected them.

A colourful mosaic of diverse experiences emerges as people share life stories and lessons. The book includes insights by the likes of John Kani, Ferial Haffajee, Pieter-Dirk Uys, Katlego Maboe, Gugu Zulu, Zapiro, ProVerb, Arno Carstens, Mam' Khanyi (who takes in street children and orphans), Nick Binnedell and Marc Lottering.

Revealing, sad, funny and filled with hope as well-known and ordinary people equally show how each one of us always has options and can make a difference by how we respond to what we encounter.

Robben Island best known as the place where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for eighteen years has been a place of harshness and brutality; its history steeped in the suffering of those banished there. Yet it has also become a universal symbol of hope, forgiveness, and triumph.With a storyteller s sensibility, combined with rigorous research, Charlene Smith charts the evolution of the Island s political and social history, from mail station, place of exile, and military defence post to maximum security prison and World Heritage Site.Fully revised, this new edition of "Robben Island" provides absorbing accounts of daring escapes, maritime disasters, lepers ostracized from mainland society, the fates of the great Xhosa chiefs of the nineteenth century, and the unique bonds of friendship and compassion forged among the political prisoners confined on the Island during the apartheid era.Today Robben Island is recognized for both its environmental riches and its cultural significance. More than just a geographical location or a tourist attraction, it is an enduring tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. Sobering and uplifting, Robben Island is an essential read for anyone interested in South Africa s turbulent journey to democracy and the people who made it possible."

In this new biography of Chris Barnard we not only learn about the life of South Africa’s most famous surgeon, from his Beaufort West childhood through his studies locally and abroad to his prominent marriages – and divorces – but James Styan also examines the impact of the historic heart transplant on Barnard’s personal life and South African society at large, where apartheid legislation often made the difficulties of medicine even more convoluted.

The role of black medical staff like Hamilton Naki is explored, as is the intense rivalry that arose between other famous heart surgeons and Barnard. How did Barnard manage to beat them all in this race of life and death? How much did his famous charisma have to do with it all? And in the light of his later years, his subsequent successes and considerable failures, what is Barnard’s legacy today?

Styan covers it all in this fascinating new account of a real heartbreaker that coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first heart transplant.

Painting a Life in Africa is the vibrant story of Joan van Gogh, who has lived an unusual and adventurous life close to nature – even making her home amidst ancient caves and under majestic trees that thrive in the heart of the untamed bush. As a direct descendant of legendary artist Vincent van Gogh and an artist herself, Joan wielded the adversities and trials she encountered as her very own brushes, painting a vivid and extraordinary existence: from being a city girl who adapted to roughing it, to exploring some of the most remote and secretive places in southern Africa.

With artful descriptions and a sprinkle of humour, you will be immersed in the wonderful feeling of sleeping under wild and silent African skies and experience a wilderness with few fences and many friendly people. The story also touches on anthropology, archaeology, the fascinating customs of Africa's tribal heritage and is altogether a kaleidoscope of one life.

Painting a Life in Africa paints a mesmerizing portrait of one woman's remarkable journey through a land teeming with wonder and uncharted horizons.

1970 was a time when there were no GPS’s, no electronic calculators or notebook computers, no communication via VHF or SSB radios and satellite phones, no accurate quartz watches, no access to weather forecasts, no EPIRB (emergency position indicating radio beacons), no lightweight small-boat refrigeration, no water makers, no disposable napkins (except cotton wool wadding), no yellow margarine and only limited dehydrated foods. At that time, a young Johannesburg couple fulfil a dream adventure in a 25-foot yacht.

This is a story of survival at sea, a husband's resourcefulness in the face of huge difficulties, running out of food and water and an amazing reunion with the author's Danish roots. It reaches a climax when they have a baby and decide to return to South Africa when he was just four months old. The wooden sloop’s voyage of 23,000 nautical sea miles concluded with the return to South African shores after a 53 day passage in the Southern Ocean.

The story is a faithful rendition of the author’s log and letters which allow the reader to step back into the past and relive the thoughts, feelings, fears and faith of a young wife, mother and sailor.

In this inspiring autobiography, Barry Cohen unveils the struggles and triumphs of facing societal pressures, overcoming self-doubt and following one's dreams.

Discover the profound lessons learned from encounters with luminaries in music, theatre, business, politics, and sports, gaining a glimpse into a world where every setback becomes an opportunity for personal growth.

Journey of a Muizenberg Boy is a testament to the human capacity for resilience, determination, and boundless potential. Join the author on a captivating journey of self-discovery and empowerment, where the pursuit of passion leads to extraordinary experiences beyond imagination.

Anneli Drummond-Hay's autobiography is a fascinating insight into the making of an equestrian champion through her struggle for survival.

It is a heart-warming story of a war baby with aristocratic connections, who grew up with very little money and even less love. She never went to school, she had no friends growing up, but she did have a gift with the horses in which she sought solace.

The big love story of her life was one particularly special horse, Merely-AMonarch. He was invincible in eventing, but as female eventers were not permitted to compete in the Olympics in that era, Anneli switched to show jumping. She came so close to going to three Olympics but was foiled at the last moment each time, despite winning just about everything else in the sport.

Besides her wonderful horses, Anneli gives an amazing account of the people she met - from Harvey Smith to the Queen, in front of whom she was asked to lend her horse for the British Olympic effort, and refused; to her asking a favour, in person, of Colonel Gaddafi.

The jet-set life of an elite show jumper may be glamorous but there are more lows than highs, whether it's her top ride being stolen, a potential plane disaster above the Alps, or the sudden death of a star horse.

As The Princess Royal so rightly says in the foreword to this book: 'Thank goodness Anneli decided to write her story.'

This is the sensational insider story of Oscar Pistorius, by the acclaimed author of Playing The Enemy (which inspired the movie Invictus.)

The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius will rivet the world's attention in a way no other case has since another famous sportsman, O. J. Simpson, was tried for the murder of his ex wife in 1994. John Carlin brings his own extensive knowledge of South Africa and access to Pistorius himself, as well as to his friends and family, after the death of Reeva Steenkamp to tell the story of the rise and fall of a classically tragic hero.

It is the most remarkable sports story ever told - about a man whose legs were amputated at the age of eleven months and ended up running in the Olympic Games - and it is a story too about crime and punishment, love and death that follows Pistorius' trail from South Africa to London, to the United States, to Iceland, to Italy and has at its heart a richly varied and compelling set of characters, among them the beautiful victim, two brilliant rival lawyers and the fascinatingly complex figure of Oscar Pistorius himself.

In the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013, Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, shooting her multiple times while she cowered behind the locked door of their bathroom. His trial has attracted more international media attention and public scrutiny than any since that of OJ Simpson. What went on behind the scenes though? And what was the real Reeva like, away from the photo shoots and the attention of the media?

A beautiful 29 year old from Port Elizabeth, Reeva graduated as a lawyer and campaigned for human rights causes before deciding to try the world of modelling in South Africa's most vibrant city. Her relationship with international hero Oscar Pistorius seemed like a fairy tale of triumph over adversity - double amputee turned champion athlete meets small town girl with beauty and brains wanting to make her mark on the world. No one could have predicted the tragic and horrifying conclusion to that fairy tale.

Reeva's mother, June Steenkamp, has kept a dignified silence throughout the long months since she received the phone call every mother dreads. In this painfully honest and unflinching account of Reeva's life, she talks about what really went on in her mind as she sat in the packed Pretoria court room day after day and how she is coping in the aftermath of the verdict.

Reeva: A Mother's Story is the only true insider's account of this tragic story.

Lionel `Rusty' Bernstein was arrested at Liliesleaf Farm, Rivonia, on 11 July 1963 and tried for sabotage, alongside Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and other leaders of the African National Congress and Umkhonto we Sizwe in what came to be known as the Rivonia Trial.

He was acquitted in June 1964, but was immediately rearrested. After being released on bail, he fled with his wife Hilda into exile, followed soon afterwards by their family. This classic text, first published in 1999, is a remarkable man's personal memoir of a life in South African resistance politics from the late 1930s to the 1960s.

In recalling the events in which he participated, and the way in which the apartheid regime affected the lives of those involved in the opposition movements, Rusty Bernstein provides valuable insights into the social and political history of the era.

Anna de Jager het in KwaZulu Natal grootgeword. Dit was nog altyd vir haar ʼn passie en selfopgelegde uitdaging om oomblikke vas te vang deur te skryf en te skets. Sy is in 1990 met Gert de Jager getroud en woon in Centurion. Hulle het twee dogters, Anita en Gerda en ‘n skoonseun, Marco. Daar het al verskeie vakpublikasies uit haar pen verskyn, maar hierdie is haar eerste memoires.

Kort nadat sy haar PhD voltooi het, is sy met borskanker gediagnoseer.

Chemo, koekies en tee is ’n openhartige deel van ʼn eiesoortige perspektief, baie genade en dankbaarheid.

Novelist Andre Brink married Karina Szczurek when he was 71 and she was 29. They were together for 10 years before he died on a plane, beside her, high above Africa in February 2015.

Selected and edited by Karina M. Szczurek, the love letters between herself and the writer Andre Brink included in You Make Me Possible tell in detail the story of how they met in Austria in December 2004, fell in love, and decided to forge a future together. The intense correspondence which followed in the weeks after their fateful encounter recounts their courtship in words, revealing their initially unacknowledged attraction, their fears and longings, and writing a new world of recognition and togetherness into being.

The letters chronicle the time between their first meeting and Karina's decision to relocate to South Africa to be with Andre in 2005.

A riveting memoir of the Great War from a uniquely African perspective.

The author helped suppress a rebellion in South Africa, defeat German West Africa, fight in German East Africa, and fight in France, where he commanded a Scottish battalion at the end of the war.

King George V told the author in later years that he kept this book at his bedside in Windsor Castle.

At Close of Day is the author's thoughts and meditations about old-age, aging and the end of a life, together with memories of a general nature to give a stirring depiction of the author’s life of almost eighty years. The series of autobiographical books that started with ’n Duitser aan die Kaap, Merksteen and Die laaste Afrikaanse boek is concluded with this work.

It is a highly personal book about old-age, the process of writing and self-determination with commentary about aging and being old in a modern society, and was updated for the last time on 26 April 2017, a few days before his death. He gives practical hints and information about the possible and probable end of his life. The element of farewell and acceptance are obvious throughout the text. He realizes that old age becomes the main theme of his thoughts and his daily life.

The references and quotations are poignant and speak of someone who made his reading world his living word. In the end he explains his liberating decision about his planned suicide.

The Unlikely Mr Rogue is the story of the quiet man behind the so-called ‘rogue unit’ at SARS, who has become a lightning rod for so many in politics today.

It takes the reader on a journey – Ivan’s growing up in Merebank, KZN, his politicisation, his friendship with Pravin Gordhan and his running of Operation Vula from Lusaka, reporting to Oliver Tambo. In some ways, the setting up of SARS was Operation Vula revisited. Many of the same operatives were now working for a higher purpose. And this higher purpose, of providing the money to reduce inequality in the state, was a daily mantra for Gordhan, Pillay and others. They really believed in it.

Groenink tells of the early 1990s in Lusaka, of their falling in love, of the insecurity in coming back to the country, and the times when Ivan was in charge of stationery in the bowels of Shell House. This is the story of a good man, an unlikely man, a quiet man, determined to use SARS to fund the post-liberation nation-building, and his downfall at the hands of his enemies and a scurrilous Sunday Times.

Fully revised and updated, in a biography the Sunday Times described as 'a fitting epitaph to an extraordinary career', Martin Meredith details the life of Nelson Mandela, one of the most admired political figures of the twentieth century.

It was his leadership and moral courage above all that helped to deliver a peaceful end to apartheid in South Africa after years of racial division and violence and to establish a fledgling democracy there.

Now Meredith has revisited and significantly updated his biography to incorporate the reaction to his death, as well as giving perspective and hindsight on the man and his legacy and to examine how far his hopes for the new South Africa have been realised.

Hermann Giliomee, top historian, is seen as the world expert on the history of the Afrikaners. This book presents the essence of his previous, longer academic work in readable language. Many controversial aspects of South Africa’s past and the role therein of the group of people who in time would refer to themselves as “Afrikaners” are told in colour and flavour in story form, leaving readers with a fresh, sometimes challenging perspective on our past .

When opportunity strikes, television producer Deon Maas joins the boatloads of migrants heading for Germany. Faced with the choice of taking all his possessions along or selling everything, he opts for the latter. With a duffel bag and his four dogs, he departs for the First World.

Decadent Berlin blows his mind but also leaves him at a loss for words. As he criss-crosses the city, scratching at its pulsating underbelly, he marvels at German idiosyncrasies, and is roped into this new world by an array of vegan anarchists, eclectic musicians, football hooligans and graffiti artists.

As he tries to settle in, he has to deal with everything from obnoxious bureaucrats to nosy neighbours. In the process, Maas debunks a few myths about the First World: it’s not a perfect place where everything works, and German efficiency is definitely overrated.

By confronting the loss of his support network and adapting to a different political and social context, he learns exactly how deep his African roots go and what it takes to find your place in Europe as a white African.

Reflecting on South Africa's achievement of majority rule, this book takes a critical and searching look at the country s past. It presents South Africa s past in an objective, clear, and refreshing manner.

With chapters contributed by ten of the best historians of the country, the book elaborately weaves together new data, interpretations, and perspectives on the South African past, from the Early Iron Age to the eve of the mineral revolution on the Rand. Its findings incorporate new sources, methods, and concepts, for example providing new data on the relations between Africans and colonial invaders and rethinking crucial issues of identity and consciousness.

This book represents an important reassessment of all the major historical events, developments, and records of South Africa written, oral, and archaeological and will be an important new tool for students and professors of African history worldwide.

This compilation of accounts of people, events and incidents reflects how they shaped and continue to shape the future of South Africa. Now, as history is brought back into perspective, the unbiased stories, the stories of foolishness, bravery, happiness and sadness, can be correctly told.

On 2 February 1959, a musical about the life and times of heavyweight boxing star Ezekiel Dhlamini (known as 'King Kong') opened in Johannesburg to a packed audience that included Nelson Mandela. King Kong was not just South Africa's first ever musical, but one that grew out of a collaboration between black people and white, and showcased an all-black cast.

It was an instant hit, bursting through the barriers of apartheid and eventually playing to 200,000 South Africans of every colour before transferring to London's West End. Pat Williams, the show's lyricist, was at the time an apolitical young woman trying to free herself from the controls and prejudices of the genteel white society in which she lived. Here she recounts her experience of growing up in a divided South Africa, her involvement in the musical, and its lasting impact both on herself and on the show's cast, many of whom went on to find international fame, like South African jazz legends Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela. Her memoir takes the story up to the present day.

It is both a vivid evocation of a troubled time and place as well as a celebration of a joyous production, in which a group of young people came together in South Africa's dark times - to create a show which still lives on today.

Ronnie Kasrils's memoir reflects on compelling questions as to what turned a white youngster from a modest background into a lifelong revolutionary of note. A tiny minority who abandoned a life of privilege were the antithesis of conventionality and toeing the line. What made those such as Kasrils break all the rules and confront white power with such courage, unbridled spirit and yearning for the truth? This is a challenging and fascinating conundrum but Kasrils will claim he is no aberration of history. The answers to that question, which unravel through twenty years, will beguile readers as he peers back with endearing frankness into the origins and experiences of his formative years. A Yeoville-born boykie with Yiddish roots; heartfelt empathy for the underdog; an instinctive rejection of authoritarianism in school and wider society were influences informing his adult life as revolutionary activist. With a remarkable memory and flair for the written and spoken word the narrative revels in the social, sexual and political awakening of a roguish boy's adventures with girls, rock music, bohemian culture and leaping across the colour barrier. Kasrils's tadpoles of the memoir's title represent the submerged often illusive tracts of memory he searches for as he delves into the mystery of his metamorphosis. This stylistic element adds to the creativity of this fourth memoir.

Twee vroue, een uit Nederland en die ander een uit die Vrystaatse Goudvelde, ontmoet mekaar in 'n hospitaalsaal in Bloemfontein. Vyftig jaar later vertel Hester die storie van hoe die lewe hulle gevorm het as verpleegsters, gemeenskapswerkers, bakkers en kunstenaars.In hierdie memorie vertel Hester van der Walt van die sleutel oomblikke in haar lewe wat haar daartoe gedryf het om kulturele en etniese grense oor te steek om sodoende uit te vind wie sy werklik is.

Haar besluite neem haar vanaf die Vrystaat na Distrik Ses en Venda, na Nederland en die Verenigde Koninkryk, na Heideveld en Hanover Park en uiteindelik na McGregor. Haar nederige storie vertel van die geestelike isolasie van alle "vlugtelinge" wat die onversoenbare waardes van hulle "tuiste" (hetsy fisies of idologies) verlaat en nuwe maniere moet vind om 'n lewe te skep.

Dit vertel ook van die wonder om 'n metgesel langs die pad te vind.

Patrick van Rensburg (1931-2017) was an anti-apartheid activist and self-made 'alternative educationist' whose work received international recognition with the Right Livelihood Award in 1981. Born in KwaZulu-Natal into what he described as a 'very ordinary South African family that believed in the virtue of racism', Van Rensburg became a self-styled rebel who tirelessly pursued his own vision of a brighter future for emerging societies in post-colonial southern Africa.

His emotional and intellectual struggle against his upbringing and cultural roots led him to reject his life of white privilege in South Africa. Determined to prevent the emergence of a privileged black elite in post-colonial society, he devoted his life to implementing an alternative, egalitarian approach to education, focusing on quality and functional schooling for the majority. Rewarded with the internationally prestigious Right Livelihood Award for his unique contribution to education, he saw this work as a 'necessary tool of development'.

Exiled from South Africa in 1960 because of his involvement in the London boycott campaign that gave birth to the Anti-Apartheid Movement, Van Rensburg moved to Botswana (then Bechuanaland). There he founded cooperatives, provided vocational training and was among the earliest educationists to espouse the discipline of development studies. Perhaps his best-known legacy is the Swaneng Hill School, which he founded to provide an educational home for primary school 'dropouts' through a curriculum that combined theory and practice, and academic and manual labour. He involved his pupils in building their school, running it, providing their own food, and making their own equipment and furniture.

Van Rensburg was an innovative and charismatic visionary who captured the zeitgeist of the late twentieth century, and whose work and vision still have resonance for debates in educational policy today.