Gebasseer op ‘n ware verhaal van geloof en oorwinning.

As 16-jarige vlug Engela na Bloemfontein, want die leier van die Sataniese Groep 13 wil haar doodmaak. Haar paaie kruis met dié van Pieter, ʼn vriend van haar broer, wat haar aan ʼn bordeel-eienaar uitlewer as betaling vir die geld wat hy hom skuld.

Na ʼn haglike en armoedige kinderlewe raak Engela as rebelse tiener deurmekaar met Satanisme, drank en dwelms en word uiteindelik as seksslaaf aangehou. Haar enigste begeerte is om te ontsnap, maar hoe? Elke aand word die klub se deure dig gesluit. Haar laaste kans op vryheid is die jong student, Jacques, wat in die ontvangslokaal van die klub werk. Maar dan verdwyn hy ook uit die prentjie na ʼn raaiselagtige ongeluk in die Drakensberge.

Van Skoolbank Tot Bordeelbed is ʼn spanningsroman deur Jaco Hough-Coetzee, gebaseer op die aangrypende lewensverhaal van Elanie Kruger.

In die tweede gedeelte van die boek gesels Elanie self met die leser oor haar bittere ervarings. Sy vertel hoe sy haar gevoelens van verlorendheid, alleenheid, pyn en vernedering vanuit ʼn Christelike perspektief leer hanteer het. Sy reik uit na ander gewese seksslagoffers en moedig hulle aan om hul harte uit te stort om emosionele genesing mee te bring. Sy praat oor die krag van vergifnis en aanvaarding, en gee ook lewensbelangrike praktiese wenke aan ouers en kinders.

It is the world's oldest and most famous ultramarathon. South Africa's Comrades Marathon has teased, tormented and tortured runners from all over the world since 1921. Those who have endured it say it changes lives, speaks to the soul and turns the ordinary into extraordinary. According to many, it is liberating.

Bob de la Motte should know. Winner of five Comrades medals, including three golds, his grit and determination during several epic duels with nine-time winner Bruce Fordyce enthralled the world throughout what was arguably the marathon's defining passage in the politically charged 1980s.

In this extraordinary, compassionate, candid, humorous and captivating personal memoir, Bob explains his fascination and passion for the most famous ultramarathon in the world and recounts the truth behind the hyped-up rivalry. He explores allegations of cheating and blood doping, highlights the hypocrisy in South African and international sport and elaborates on his decision to join the Chicken Run to Australia. He also provides fascinating perspectives on international politics and business on four continents and gives a crystal ball insight into the future of the Comrades Marathon.

For runners, sportspeople, sports lovers and those who simply enjoy a damned good read, Runaway Comrade will inevitably be your best buy of the year!

Oscar: An Accident Waiting To Happen is the all-exclusive inside story of a teenage daughter’s romance turned into every mother’s nightmare.

In September 2011, 24-year-old Oscar Pistorius was introduced to Samantha Taylor's family. The next 2.5 years would become a series of rollercoaster rides of emotional highs as young love blossomed, contrasted with dangerous lows, as Pistorius’s international celebrity, emotional fragility, broken promises and acts of recklessness consumed the family.

The London Olympic Games in 2012 was the lowest point. While the world watched Pistorius making history as the first disabled athlete to compete against the likes of Usain Bolt, behind the scenes the weeping Paralympian was on the phone to the Taylor family 24/7.

Promises by Pistorius to get psychological help never materialised. After one too many signs that his dangerous behaviour was endangering her daughter’s life, by late October 2012, mother Patricia Taylor laid down the law, telling Pistorius to stay away from her family forever. In her last conversation she warned: “Oscar, you have got to step out of your life... Something is going to go wrong. And it’s going to happen soon... Your life is like this terrible accident waiting to happen.”

Less than a year later Pistorius would shoot his new girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times with his 9mm Parabellum pistol.

Brilliantly researched with never before published behind-the-scenes detail, set against the killing that shocked the world, if you only read one book this year, read this one.

Dit het die land geruk, die wêreld geboei en sal in die geskiedenis bekendstaan as die opspraakwekkendste hofsaak tot nog toe in Suid-Afrika. Oscar Pistorius se moordverhoor is die storie van die dekade. Dis ’n liefdesverhaal wat ’n misdaadriller geword het, ’n sprokie wat in bloed geëindig het.

En dís hoe Marida Fitzpatrick die verhaal vertel. Sy weef die skrikwekkende gebeure van daardie noodlottige nag en die mees dramatiese hoofstukke van die verhoor op só ’n manier ineen dat dit soos ’n spanningsverhaal lees. Tussendeur dié boeiende vertelling is uittreksels uit onderhoude wat Fitzpatrick met van die betrokkenes se naastes gevoer het.

Saam met al die menslike vertellings verskyn daar ook ’n interessante ontrafeling van die tegniese aspekte van die verhoor: Wat het die ballistiek, die getuienis oor die gille en Oscar se twee verwere uiteindelik vir hom beteken?

Dit word alles geïllustreer met treffende foto’s wat op die toneel geneem is en grafiese voorstellings.

Die Staat vs. Oscar is ’n fassinerende storie wat nie net al die legkaartstukke van die Oscar-raaisel in plek laat val nie, maar deurentyd aangryp en meesleur.

This book of interviews with inspiring South Africans from a variety of walks of life (from the arts to sport, politics and business).

The interviewees share their motivations, leadership styles and influences, personal inspirations, defining moments and other aspects of their lives.

Participants include:

• Carrol Boyes
• Robbie Brozin
• Edwin Cameron
• Bobby Godsell
• Ferial Haffajee
• Michael Jordaan
• Gary Kirsten
• Wendy Luhabe
• Kabelo Mabalane
• Thuli Madonsela
• Herman Mashaba
• Brian Molefe
• Yogavelli Nambiar
• Nkhensani Nkosi
• Terence Nombembe
• Sizwe Nxasana
• Francois Pienaar
• Maria Ramos

More than just a story about the personal journey of one of South Africa's most beloved music icons, this extraordinary memoir of PJ Powers - or Thandeka, as she was affectionately renamed by Soweto crowds - is set against the turbulent backdrop of South Africa's recent political history. It features a gallery of political leaders and international celebrities, including the likes of Nelson Mandela, Graga Machel, Chris Hani, Joaquim Chissano, Queen Elizabeth II, Brenda Fassie, Sharon Stone and Robert De Niro.

On Republic Day 1982, a white rock and roll band called Hotline, wearing stonewashed jeans and sporting big hair, took an accidental sho't left into Soweto - a detour that forever changed the life of their lead singer, PJ Powers. Hotline was the first all-white rock and roll band to "cross over" into highly segregated apartheid South Africa, making international headlines in the process. The prolific Powers went on to accomplish extraordinary heights as a solo artist with countless gold and platinum discs.

Here I Am, written with Marianne Thamm, is an intimate and hilarious account of the life and times of one of this country's most recognisable and enduring performers. From the dizzying heights of international stardom to the dark depths of her struggle with alcohol, this is a must-read to explore the heady mix of politics and music of the time.

The sangomas say that when it is time to connect with your true calling, your true self, you must “dance to the beat of the drum”.

Returning to the land of her parents’ birth in 1994 – after making a name for herself as an actress on the British stage – Pamela Nomvete became a household name as Ntsiki Lukhele, “the bitch”, on Generations. But the mirage of luxury and success in which she lived was just that, a mirage. Behind closed doors she battled her husband’s infidelities, addiction and spiritual confusion.

Dancing To The Beat Of The Drum details the traumatic personal crisis Pamela went through as her success grew – a crisis which took everything she had worked for from her – and how she came to re-evaluate her priorities and reconnect with the spiritual side of her life – something she had long neglected.

Al is die Nobelpryswenner J.M. Coetzee wereldwyd as romanskrywer en letterkundige bekend, was daar nog geen omvattende biografie oor hom nie. Vir J.M. Coetzee: 'n Geskryfde Lewe het J.C. Kannemeyer, wat veral vir sy Afrikaanse literatuurgeskiedenis in twee dele asook verskeie biografiee van Afrikaanse skrywers bekend is, die samewerking van Coetzee self gehad.

Coetzee het onderhoude aan hom toegestaan, en Kannemeyer met familielede, vriende en kollegas in aanraking gebring. Coetzee het hom ook toegang tot 'n aansienlike aantal dokumente in sy private besit gegee. Voorts het Kannemeyer die geweldig omvattende literatuur oor Coetzee bestudeer en op inligting afgekom wat nie tevore ontgin is nie. Kannemeyer het hierdie biografie voor sy skielike heengaan op 25 Desember 2011 voltooi, en Michiel Heyns het dit uit Afrikaans in Engels vertaal. Die boek is 'n reis deur Coetzee se lewe, en begin met 'n ondersoek na sy geslagsregister. Daarna kom sy kinderjare in Kaapstad en Worcester onder die loep. Na 'n beskrywing van sy skooljare word sy loopbaan, van sy studentejare aan die Universiteit van Kaapstad en sy tyd as rekenaarprogrammeerder in Brittanje, uitgele. Hierna het hy sy doktorsgraad aan die Universiteit van Texas in Austin verwerf, en daarna was hy drie jaar lank 'n lektor aan die New Yorkse Staatsuniversiteit in Buffalo.

Sy deelname aan vreedsame versetoptrede teen die teenwoordigheid van die polisie op die Buffalo-kampus het daarop uitgeloop dat sy aansoek om 'n visum vir verdere verblyf in daardie land geweier is, en hy moes na sy geboorteland terugkeer. Met sy terugkeer in 1971 is Coetzee as lektor in Engels aan die Universiteit van Kaapstad aangestel, en vir die volgende dertig jaar het hy 'n vermaarde akademiese loopbaan geniet. Onder meer was hy besoekende hoogleraar aan universiteite in die Verenigde State, en het hy ook talle lesings en voorlesings by 'n groot verskeidenheid konferensies en instellings gelewer.

Sy eerste roman, Dusklands, het in 1974 verskyn, en is gevolg deur etlike romans wat hom as 'n vooraanstaande romanskrywer in Engels gevestig het. Vir die eerste keer openbaar hierdie biografie inligting oor 'n outeur wat nie net by uitsondering onderhoude aan joernaliste toestaan nie, maar ook baie swygsaam oor sy private lewe is. Die biograaf het 'n geleentheid gekry om talle wanopvattings wat steeds bestaan, reg te stel, en inligting te voorsien wat lig op die ontstaan en implikasies van die romans werp. Die biografie is in wese 'n onontbeerlike bron vir almal wat hulle met die werk van J.M. Coetzee bemoei.

Ben Trovato has fooled us all for years. The man behind the dark glasses, under the black fedora and inside the trench coat isn't who we thought he was. Or is he? One thing we do know - his name isn't really Ben Trovato.

For well over a decade, Mark Verbaan has been writing as Trovato. The curious story of why he chose to use a "nom de guerre" is told for the first time inside this book. That alone makes it worth buying.

While Mark Verbaan might not be a familiar name, Ben Trovato certainly is. Regarded as one of South Africa's foremost satirists, he is the author of ten books, including one on golf, a sport he has never played. His trilogy of audacious letters to the rich and powerful remains unique in the annals of South African literature. And as a columnist, he has disgraced the pages of several major newspapers and magazines. Incognito lays bare the meat, bones and gristle of Ben Trovato's life. Which is also Mark Verbaan's life. Try to keep up.

It is a bittersweet memoir - sweet when the beer is free and the surf is up; bitter when the women in his life turn on him and he has to get a job. He fights for his country from an office in Pretoria... He drags journalism even further into the gutter... He drums poorly for Durban's punk bands... He lives among the squatters of London's East End... He appears in a Kajagoogoo music video... He gets arrested on drugs charges... He is almost assassinated in Namibia... He is nearly killed by e.tv... And much more!

'The heavy smell of blood filled the air, and every moment you had this intense fear that the next bullet was meant for you.' So remembered William Thorne, a South African volunteer soldier who fought in the muddy trenches along the River Somme in France on Europe’s Western Front. A boy of nineteen at the time, he was one of thousands of South Africans who took part in the 1916 Somme Offensive between the Allied forces and the Germans. It was one of the bloodiest and costliest conflicts of the First World War, resulting in over a million deaths.

The men of the 1st South African Infantry Brigade were involved on a large scale and distinguished themselves in all major engagements during the campaign. But their bravery came at a price. In the first month alone, after six days of fighting to recapture the village of Longueval and clear Delville Wood of enemy soldiers, of the brigade’s 3 433 soldiers, only 750 were left standing. The rest were dead or wounded. By the armistice, the South Africans had suffered some 15 000 casualties in France, of which one third had died.

On the 100th anniversary of the start of the Great War, The Somme Chronicles tells the gripping stories of the men of the 1st South African Infantry Brigade via their letters and diaries, providing an invaluable, human account of one of history’s most devastating conflicts.

Popular columnist Helen Walne tells of her tortuous relationship with her brother, Richard, who couldn't resist the lure of death. Beautifully told, it is an achingly personal account of the inner turmoil of those who are left behind after a loved one's suicide, and of dealing with grief, fear, isolation and depression. But it also tells of hope, recovery and learning to live without the person who has left them. The Diving demystifies the taboos surrounding a topic that little is spoken, let alone written, about. This moving, sometimes amusing book is the story of letting go of the hand wilfully sliding beneath the surface.

Larry Joe's upbringing reads like that of many others in South Africa, having been born into a poor family in the Northern Cape and growing up with an alcoholic father and an abused mother. He stole his first loaf of bread at age five, to feed his hungry sister, and his descent into a life of crime, drugs and gangsterism was all but guaranteed. The only light in an otherwise pitch-black world was music: when Larry was four years old, his father showed him a few chords on the guitar. He learnt the rest himself and loved to play for other people. But the grip of crime was iron-clad, and Larry eventually pushed the boundary too far.

Having pulled off a major heist in the town of Douglas, Larry fled to Cape Town, changed his name, and took to the streets. Here he lived for seven years, busking outside shops to earn honest money, and battling his addiction to drugs. Seven years on, still with a price on his head, Larry made a decision and returned to Douglas to face the music.

Enter Aron Turest-Swartz, founding member of South African music sensation 'Freshlyground'. On this fateful World Aids Day in 2008, he watched, intrigued, as Larry Joe wowed the crowds at a concert in Douglas while prison wardens waited in the wings. The two struck up a friendship, and eventually a collaboration, which saw them producing a music album in the grounds of the Douglas Correctional Facility. When Larry was released three years early, he walked out of jail and onto stage.

The Crazy Life of Larry Joe tells the moving story of one man's journey away from certain self-destruction in a world characterised by crime and drugs towards personal freedom and a very real chance of stardom as he realises his musical talents and potential through his own extraordinary efforts and the mentorship of others.

At 34, Heyneke Meyer was fired as head coach of a Super Rugby team for the second time. But when on 19 May 2007 his Bulls side became the first South African team to capture the Super title, the dark years at Loftus Versfeld were suddenly forgotten. And Meyer was regarded as the coach among coaches.

Because it is there – on the playing field – that coaches and players are judged. And yet the scoreboard never tells the full story of how people achieved success ‘overnight’. In Meyer’s case it was an arduous journey of more than seven years during which he defined and changed professional rugby. This is leadership. And leadership is what Coach is about – people who have fundamentally changed a sport, an industry, a way of thinking, and, ultimately, lives.

Marco Botha sat in conversation with some of South Africa’s foremost sports leaders and interprets their diverse success stories in his narrative writing style:

• From Meyer to Brendan Venter, who helped turn Saracens into a super club and the Sharks into the 2013 Currie Cup champions.
• As an international hockey player, Sherylle Calder noticed something ‘special’ about her own visual abilities and researched this together with Professor Tim Noakes. ‘The Eye Lady’ was instrumental in England (2003) and South Africa (2007) winning the Rugby World Cup and Ernie Els bagging his second British Open golf title in 2012.
• Former Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu advanced rugby sevens as a world sport by regularly getting his team to tower above seemingly superior sides. One innovation at a time.
• Gary Kirsten and Paddy Upton guided the Indian national cricket team to glory with a leadership style that empowered players and developed them as human beings – the ‘new school’ of coaching. With the same approach they helped the Proteas become the number one team in the world in all three formats of the game.

These remarkable leaders have made champions out of ordinary people. And the reasons for this will certainly surprise you . . .

Tony Leon has written a book of unique insight into an unexplored aspect of the presidency and leadership of Nelson Mandela. Opposite Mandela relates the untold stories of how South Africa's first democratic president related to his political opponents.

Leon served as leader of the Democratic Party during Mandela's presidency. Although they clashed, sometimes fiercely, on great issues of the day, Leon enjoyed an unusually warm relationship with Mandela and had direct access to the president's office. In this first-hand account, he relates some of the more consequential moments of those momentous times in South Africa's history-in-the-making through the lens of the opposition. Although this is a personal account, it also explores some of the major themes, from reconciliation to corruption, which not only marked that period but also laid the basis for the current challenges which confront South Africa today, nearly two decades after Mandela assumed the country’s highest office, the very moment when Leon's political leadership began.

Insightful, and simultaneously serious and amusing, it lifts the veil on many unknown or unexplained benchmarks from that era: the personal animosity between Mandela and FW De Klerk, the decision of the Democratic Party to reject Mandela's offer of a seat in his cabinet and whether the extraordinary outreach of Mandela to the minorities was the shrewd calculation of a latter-day Machiavelli or the genuine impulses of a secular political saint. This highly readable and first-hand account considers in a balanced manner both the golden moments and the blind spots of one of the most consequential presidencies and leaders of the modern democratic age.

With the passing of this extraordinary man the only joy can be to celebrate what he has left behind, his extraordinary patience and compassion, his passion for justice and reconciliation. This book explores the story he shared with all his fellow South Africans.

It looks at themes which have dominated Nelson Mandela's life - his leadership, his attitude to the law and justice; democracy and human rights, and the value he placed on education. With extraordinary insight, author Mike Nicol, makes us acutely aware of Mandela the man - his courage, principles and generosity of spirit.

There are many books written about Mandela but his story is too great to be told by one voice or from one viewpoint. The sensitive and accessible text is accompanied by over 80 photographs and regalia and contains a timeline of South African events mapped against key world events.

A unique feature of the book is the 40 minute CD, of this icon's most famous speeches - Nelson Mandela in his own words.

After serving twenty-seven years of a lifetime sentence for conspiring to overthrow South Africa's apartheid government, Nelson Mandela emerged to become both the catalyst and the symbol of post-apartheid South Africa. He served as the country's first black president and has since been internationally acclaimed as a powerful and vigilant humanitarian.

John Carlin began covering South African politics while serving as the London Independent's Bureau Chief in South Africa in 1989, and formed a relationship with Nelson Mandela in the decades since. Mandela has called Carlin's journalism 'courageous' and 'absolutely inspiring'. Now, Carlin reflects back on the man he has studied and admired for much of his career. The book will begin with Mandela's release from prison in 1990, and will end with the last time Carlin saw Mandela face-to-face in the early 2000s.

Spanning decades, and chronicling both personal and national memories, Carlin's tribute to Mandela is a fitting retrospective on a life well lived and its enduring legacy.

The richly anecdotal story of an extraordinary life – when baby Mamphela was born to teacher parents in the rural village of Kranspoort, few would have predicted that she would become not only a medical doctor, but an international leader and the founder of not one but two new political movements. As a young woman, Mamphela was instrumental in creating the ideology of Black Consciousness with her partner, Steve Biko. As an accomplished and well-off businesswoman who had reached the pinnacle of success, this year she felt compelled to start Agang SA , to provide South African voters with an alternative to the inept and increasingly corrupt ANC.

In this very readable autobiography, Mamphela Ramphele vividly describes her rural childhood, her extended family, her first loves and losses – after the death of her firstborn, she nearly lost her and Steve’s baby after his death by torture – and her subsequent successes in both politics and business.

She exposes what went on behind the scenes in the run-up to the launch of Agang SA, discusses her relationship with a number of prominent South Africans, including Helen Zille, and she shares her vision for a future South Africa of which we can all be proud.

An unauthorised biography of Lindiwe Mazibuko, the first black person to lead the parliamentary opposition in South Africa.

Owning The Future is a crucial overview of the Democratic Alliance ahead of the 2014 general elections and a tale of the remarkable campaign led by a young team of MPs to replace a member of the old guard.

Chapters include:

• Who is Lindiwe Mazibuko?
• “Cheeky Blacks”. What does the profile of Mazibuko – and how Julius Malema denigrated her - say about being young, black and powerful in South Africa today?
• “Dirty Laundry” For the first time in Opposition history, the intrigues surrounding an internal party election spilled over into local media.
• “Let’s talk money” Unpacking the DA's economic policies and how Mazibuko supports these.

Die gevierde Springbok-rugbyheld Joost van der Westhuizen en sy vrou, die sangeres Amor Vittone, was ’n glansryke paartjie wat die verbeelding van menige Suid-Afrikaner aangegryp het. Hulle het as hul land se eie “Posh en Becks” bekend gestaan en was geseënd met sukses, roem, ophemeling deur die publiek, en ’n oënskynlik gelukkige huwelik. Totdat ’n skokberig oor ’n seksvideo op die voorblad van ’n plaaslike Sondagkoerant verskyn het …

In hierdie boek vertel Gavin Prins, die welbekende joernalis en ’n persoonlike vriend en vertroueling van die Van der Westhuizens, nou die storie agter die storie – die een wat nog nooit tevore gepubliseer is nie. Prins, wat die seksvideo-skandaal op die voorblad van Rapport bekend gemaak het, beskryf hoe ’n eenvoudige plaasseun wat ’n nasionale rugbyheld geword het, sy droomvrou ontmoet en met haar getrou het – en toe op die mees openbare en vernederende manier in ongenade geval het. Sy bekentenis het ’n sekere mate van bevryding meegebring – totdat ’n lewensgevaarlike siekte hom op sy knieë gedwing het …

Hierdie kragtige vertelling, wat dikwels skokkend maar uiteindelik opheffend is, is die ware verhaal agter die opspraakwekkende opskrifte wat Suid-Afrika se bekendste paartjie geteister het.

World icon, anti-apartheid activist, leader. Nelson Mandela’s life has been like no other and his own epic journey was recorded in the autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. That story has taken on another life in the movie of the same name.

This film and historical companion takes readers through many key points in Mandela’s life, from his upbringing in the Eastern Cape to his arrival in Johannesburg to the many and varied journeys that he undertook while he and his fellow activists fought against the apartheid regime.

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom captures the story of this extraordinary man who, throughout everything that has happened in his life, has remained constant and focused with an undying need to see a better life for all the citizens of his country. The book features images from the movie as well as original photographs of Nelson Mandela and the many characters who have played significant roles in his life. There are also quotes from the autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, snippets of his story and quotes from the central characters in his life’s journey.

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom also contains a Prologue by Anant Singh, who produced the movie, an insightful Foreword by Ahmed Kathrada and an interesting Introduction by British screenwriter, William Nicholson.

When Mark Boucher played his first game of cricket for South Africa, a senior player took him aside and bluntly told him he was the worst wicketkeeper ever to play in the national side. Over a decade later, when Bouch finally retired with a plethora of records under his belt and to huge acclaim from the public, he took grim satisfaction in relating this piece of history.

Through My Eyes is the story of a man with remarkable sporting prowess. Born into a sports-mad family in East London, he excelled in squash, tennis and rugby before choosing cricket as his preferred sport. His extraordinary achievements on the field are well known - he was voted SA player of the year in 1998, 2000 and 2006. What is not so well known, and makes up much of this book, are the behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes. Stories of staring down the barrel of defeat and of celebrating victory; of developing strong bonds with teammates Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and others that go way beyond mere friendship. What emerges is the image of a man who always fought for the underdog, whose never-say-die attitude inspires those around him.

Bouch's career was brought to a dramatic end on a cricket pitch in England when the bail of a stump punctured his left eye. But, in his own words, "I lost sight but gained vision".

True to his character of gritty determination, Bouch has rededicated his life to a new cause, that of the environment and particularly the critically endangered rhino.

The celebrated Springbok rugby hero Joost van der Westhuizen and his wife, the singer Amor Vittone, were a glamorous couple who captured the imagination of many South Africans. Known as their country’s own ‘Posh and Becks’, they were blessed with success, fame, public adulation and an apparently happy marriage. Until a shock report appeared on the front page of a local Sunday newspaper about a sex video …

In this book, the well-known journalist, and a personal friend and confidante of the Van der Westhuizens, Gavin Prins, now recounts the story behind the story – one that has never been published before. Prins, who broke the sex-video scandal on the front page of Rapport, chronicles how a simple farm boy who had become a national rugby hero met the woman of his dreams and married her, only to fall from grace in the most publicly humiliating way possible. With his confession came a measure of redemption – until he was brought to his knees by a lifethreatening illness …

Hard-hitting, often shocking but ultimately uplifting, this is the true story behind the sensational headlines that have dogged South Africa’s most high profile couple.

South African Battles describes 36 battles spread over five centuries. These are not the well-trodden battlefields of standard histories, but generally lesser-known ones. Some were of critical importance, while some were infinitely curious.

Who, for instance, has heard of the battles of Nakob, Middelpos, Mome Gorge or Mushroom Valley? Who knows about the four black women that Bartolomeu Dias brought with him on his pioneering voyage of exploration? Who knows that there was a significant battle in what is now the Kruger National Park in 1725? Who knows about the military episode where not a shot was fired but which brought South Africa into the Great War? Who knows that Germany once invaded South Africa?

Written in a light, humorous and personal style, each chapter is self-contained, like a short story. They can be read one a night, and mulled over next day with the promise of further enjoyment to come. South African Battles is an ideal bedside book, as well as an engaging travel companion.

But there is also a twist in the tale at the end. Caveat lector, or lectrix!

Making Champions by Michael Jenkins is a journey into the histories, hearts and homes of some of South Africa’s greatest sporting heroes.

Featuring 14 icons of our time, including AB de Villiers, Ryan Sandes, ‘Beast’ Mtawarira, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Francois Hougaard, Bridgitte Hartley and Siyabonga Nomvethe, Making Champions explores the vastly varied journeys that have taken each of these stars to the very top of their game.

The real story of sporting success is often far more ordinary than we imagine. Every athlete featured in Making Champions was born with natural talent, but each individual has had to work and hone that talent in order to be the best. Making Champions is about getting to know our national heroes better, and sharing the moments that have moved them, shaped them and defined them.

It’s also about equipping and inspiring all South Africans to be champions in their own right, by shining a spotlight on the big difference-making factors that shaped these stories and can guide our own.

It's a scene most South Africans are familiar with; something that adds that oomph to your social status as a South African woman. This is a laugh-out-loud take on a woman's home, but is as serious as the security guards in gated communities. It is a quirky look at the women in our lives; our mothers, our sisters, our cousins, our friends, us. It's the relationship between maids and their madams.

Maid In South Africa takes a lighter look at one of South Africa's most important yet most often overlooked relationships of all: that between a domestic worker and her madam. Seen from both perspectives, the book takes on real conversations with both helpers and employers. This delightful book offers a never-before-seen description of types of madams and their families on one hand, and types of helpers on the other. Through these introductions and distinctions, you will not only learn the differences between the city or town helper, but also about the quirks of the Malawian or Zimbabwean helper.

In addition, you discover invaluable truths about maid-madam relationships, including why helpers leave; how to tell the difference between old money and the nouveau riche; and that there is only one type of black madam - the middle-class African madam, because the rich African madam, as well as her Indian and white counterparts, have transcended race.