Christina Landman was nog altyd ’n voorloper. Sy is ook as onstuitbaar beskryf, iemand wat selfs ’n klip kan kwaadmaak.

Maar agter die oënskynlike harde dop skuil daar ’n vrou met ’n gul hart vir ander vroue en gemarginaliseerdes, ’n vrou wat dankbaar is vir die kanse wat sy in die akademie en kerk gekry het.

Hierdie is die verhaal van ’n moeder en ’n voorloper wat die weg gebaan het vir alle vroue, maar soveel meer, ’n verhaal van ’n vrou wat bly staan het – ’n seder.

Van die oomblik wat ons gebore word, begin ons ook te sterf. Maar al is die dood een van die algemeenste menslike gebeurtenisse, vermy die meeste mense om daaroor te dink of te praat. Wreed En Mooi Is Die Dood – met bydraes deur gewilde Afrikaanse skrywers – probeer hierdie stilte te verbreek.

Deur hul diep persoonlike verhale oor verlies en heling te deel, bied die bydraers onbewustelik ook raad vir hoe om die hartseer van ’n geliefde se dood te verwerk en hoe om jou eie sterflikheid te konfronteer. So vertel Marita van der Vyver van haar babaseun se dood, terwyl Valda Jansen beskryf hoe sy lamgelê is deur die nuus dat sy kanker het en Kerneels Breytenbach deel sy ervaring van eensaamheid na sy vrou se dood. ’n Paramedikus beskryf sy daaglikse ontmoetings met die dood, daar is ’n lys van dinge wat ’n mens vir ’n sterwende moet sê en nie moet sê nie en ook ’n bespreking van die rituele om die dood. Daar is soms selfs ’n bietjie humor . . . soos die storie oor die jong dominee wat in ’n leë graf geval het en Annelie Botes se voorbereidings vir haar begrafnis.

Dit is ’n aangrypende boek wat beloof om lesers te roer en weer te laat dink oor hulle prioriteite in die lewe.

For the first time, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson opens up about his amazing comeback—from tragic personal loss to thriving businessman and cable’s highest-paid executive—in this unique self-help guide, his first since his blockbuster New York Times bestseller The 50th Law.

In his early twenties Curtis Jackson, known as 50 Cent rose to the heights of fame and power in the cutthroat music business. A decade ago the multi-platinum selling rap artist decided to pivot. His ability to adapt to change was demonstrated when he became the executive producer and star of Power, a high-octane, gripping crime drama centered around a drug kingpin’s family. The series quickly became “appointment” television, leading to Jackson inking a four-year, $150 million contract with the Starz network—the most lucrative deal in premium cable history.

Now, in his most personal book, Jackson shakes up the self-help category with his unique, cutting-edge lessons and hard-earned advice on embracing change. Where The 50th Law tells readers “fear nothing and you shall succeed,” Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter builds on this message, combining it with Jackson’s street smarts and hard-learned corporate savvy to help readers successfully achieve their own comeback—and to learn to flow with the changes that disrupt their own lives.

In his New York Times bestselling memoir, A Work in Progress, Connor Franta shared his journey from small-town Midwestern boy to full-fledged Internet sensation. Exploring his past with humor and astounding insight, Connor reminded his fans of why they first fell in love with him on YouTube-and revealed to newcomers how he relates to his millions of dedicated followers. Now, two years later, Connor is ready to bring to light a side of himself he's rarely shown on or off camera. In this diary-like look at his life since A Work In Progress, Connor talks about his battles with clinical depression, social anxiety, self-love, and acceptance; his desire to maintain an authentic self in a world that values shares and likes over true connections; his struggles with love and loss; and his renewed efforts to be in the moment-with others and himself. Told through short essays, letters to his past and future selves, poetry, and original photography, Note to Self is a raw, in-the-moment look at the fascinating interior life of a young creator turning inward in order to move forward.

James Ngculu was one of the mass of young people inspired by the 1976 Soweto Uprising to join Umkhonto we Sizwe in exile to fight against South Africa’s apartheid regime. They were not in search of a comfortable life, and they did not find one. But like many of his comrades, the young Ngculu found inspiration and education in more than equal measure with frustration and hardship.

The Honour To Serve is both his personal story and a fascinating, painstaking history of those aspects of the ANC’s struggle that formed its context. It is a memoir of his life in exile, accounts of his involvement in ANC's military wing, Umkhonto Wesizwe, recollections of various MK operations in Southern Africa, and military training in Europe and other parts of the world.

Above all else, it is a gift of gratitude to his comrades and those organisations to which he gave his fealty: the ANC, the Communist Party, and Umkhonto we Sizwe itself.

Could drugs, jealousy and money have driven a normal 20-year-old to wipe out nearly his whole family with an axe?

The Van Bredas from Stellenbosch were seemingly the perfect family. Wealthy, successful and popular. They led a dream life at the luxury De Zalze golf estate.

And then, in a flash, everything changed. The country was stunned by the news of the gruesome killings of Martin, his wife Teresa, and their 22-year-old son Rudi. The blonde teenage daughter Marli miraculously survived, but was unable to remember the events of that fatal night due to a brain injury.

Eventually the other son, Henri, who escaped the bloodbath unscathed and knew what had really happened, was charged with the three murders.

One by one, relatives and friends started talking. They painted a picture of parents who had been at their wits' end with their difficult ‘loner’ child. Henri's drug addiction had reportedly caused ‘great discord’ in the household, and he was said to have been ‘pissed off’ with his parents for supposedly favouring his brother Rudi.

Could it be that the Van Bredas' own child had been the one who wielded the axe?

Powerfully moving, Elephant Dawn is the complete, unforgettable story of one woman’s remarkable and life-changing association with the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe, a celebrated clan of wild, free-roaming giants. It comes at a time when elephants all around Africa face the very real threat of being poached to extinction for their ivory, and Zimbabwe continues to face tumultuous times. In 2001, Sharon Pincott traded her privileged life as a high-flying corporate executive to start a new one with the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe. She was unpaid, untrained, self-funded and arrived with the starry-eyed idealism of most foreigners during early encounters with Africa. For thirteen years – the worst in Zimbabwe’s volatile history – this intrepid Australian woman lived in the Hwange bush, fighting for the lives of these elephants, forming an extraordinary and life-changing bond with them. Now remote from Robert Mugabe’s rule, Sharon writes without restraint sequentially through the years, taking us on a truly unforgettable ride of hope and heartbreak, profound love and loss, adversity and new beginnings. This is the haunting, all-encompassing story we’ve been waiting for.

This comprehensive overview traces the evolution of modern Mozambique, from its early modern origins in the Indian Ocean trading system and the Portuguese maritime empire to the fifteen-year civil war that followed independence and its continued after-effects.

Though peace was achieved in 1992 through international mediation, Mozambique's remarkable recovery has shown signs of stalling. Malyn Newitt explores the historical roots of Mozambican disunity and hampered development, beginning with the divisive effects of the slave trade, the drawing of colonial frontiers in the 1890s and the lasting particularities of the north, centre and south, inherited from the compartmentalised approach of concession companies. Following the nationalist guerrillas' victory against the Portuguese in 1975, these regional divisions resurfaced in a civil war pitting the south against the north and centre, over attempts at far-reaching socioeconomic change. The settlement of the early 1990s is now under threat from a revived insurgency, and the ghosts of the past remain.

This book seeks to distill this complex history, and to understand why, twenty-five years after the Peace Accord, Mozambicans still remain among the poorest people in the world.

"A wonderful picture of how God can use any person regardless of their past." -Roma Downey, Emmy (R)-nominated actress and producer Pastor Benny Tate never faced a time that wasn't filled with obstacles. Each season of life came with setbacks that often seemed insurmountable: the abusive father figure who tormented Benny and his mother, the lack of guidance in his early adulthood, and the illness and infertility he and his wife battled in their marriage. Yet in every crisis, God was there to redeem pain for glory, transforming Benny's life into a moving testament to His power. Through his struggles, Benny's faith grew as he saw how God provided him with the strength, wisdom, and resources he needed to overcome each staggering challenge placed before him. In parts a memoir that will tug on your heartstrings, a guide to get you through tough times, and a reminder to never see yourself as the victim of your own life, Defy the Odds will inspire your soul as it proves that you follow a God who can-and will-see you through the impossible.

'A refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like ... It's an amazing tale' Bill Gates

'The best book I read last year was Shoe Dog, by Nike's Phil Knight. Phil is a very wise, intelligent and competitive fellow who is also a gifted storyteller' Warren Buffett

In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the boot of his Plymouth, Knight grossed $8000 in his first year. Today, Nike's annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of start-ups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all start-ups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognisable symbols in the world today.

But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, he tells his story. Candid, humble, wry and gutsy, he begins with his crossroads moment when at 24 he decided to start his own business. He details the many risks and daunting setbacks that stood between him and his dream - along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls how his first band of partners and employees soon became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything.

A memoir rich with insight, humour and hard-won wisdom, this book is also studded with lessons - about building something from scratch, overcoming adversity, and ultimately leaving your mark on the world.

'n Pragboek oor die skrywer se lewe as beeldende kunstenaar en vrou van die akteur Marius Weyers - is 'n ryklik geillustreerde rondleiding in die werkswinkel van 'n beeldhouer en liefhebber van woorde.

Squarely challenging a culture obsessed with success, an acclaimed philosopher argues that failure is vital to a life well lived, curing us of arrogance and self-deception and engendering humility instead. Our obsession with success is hard to overlook. Everywhere we compete, rank, and measure. Yet this relentless drive to be the best blinds us to something vitally important: the need to be humble in the face of life's challenges. Costica Bradatan mounts his case for failure through the stories of four historical figures who led lives of impact and meaning-and assiduously courted failure. Their struggles show that engaging with our limitations can be not just therapeutic but transformative. In Praise of Failure explores several arenas of failure, from the social and political to the spiritual and biological. It begins by examining the defiant choices of the French mystic Simone Weil, who, in sympathy with exploited workers, took up factory jobs that her frail body could not sustain. From there we turn to Mahatma Gandhi, whose punishing quest for purity drove him to ever more extreme acts of self-abnegation. Next we meet the self-styled loser E. M. Cioran, who deliberately turned his back on social acceptability, and Yukio Mishima, who reveled in a distinctly Japanese preoccupation with the noble failure, before looking to Seneca to tease out the ingredients of a good life. Gleefully breaching the boundaries between argument and storytelling, scholarship and spiritual quest, Bradatan concludes that while success can make us shallow, our failures can lead us to humbler, more attentive, and better lived lives. We can do without success, but we are much poorer without the gifts of failure.