Hugo ka Canham presents an understanding of life and death based on indigenous and black ways of knowing that he terms Mpondo theory.

In Riotous Deathscapes, Hugo ka Canham presents an understanding of life and death based on indigenous and black ways of knowing that he terms Mpondo theory. Focusing on amaMpondo people from rural Mpondoland, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, Canham outlines the methodologies that have enabled the community’s resilience and survival.

He assembles historical events and a cast of ancestral and living characters, following the tenor of village life, to offer a portrait of how Mpondo people live and die in the face of centuries of abandonment, trauma, antiblackness, and death. Canham shows that Mpondo theory is grounded in and develops in relation to the natural world, where the river and hill are key sites of being and resistance. Central too, is the interface between ancestors and the living, in which life and death become a continuity and a boundlessness that white supremacy and neoliberalism cannot interdict.

By charting a course of black life in Mpondoland, Canham tells a story of blackness on the African continent and beyond.

In this riveting new book, John Laband, pre-eminent historian of the Zulu Kingdom, tackles some of the questions that swirl around the assassination in 1828 of King Shaka, the celebrated founder of the Zulu Kingdom and war leader of legendary brilliance: Why did prominent members of the royal house conspire to kill him? Just how significant a part did the white hunter-traders settled at Port Natal play in their royal patron's downfall? Why were Shaka's relations with the British Cape Colony key to his survival? And why did the powerful army he had created acquiesce so tamely in the usurpation of the throne by Dingane, his half-brother and assassin?

In his search for answers Laband turns to the Zulu voice heard through recorded oral testimony and praise-poems, and to the written accounts and reminiscences of the Port Natal trader-hunters and the despatches of Cape officials. In the course of probing and assessing this evidence the author vividly brings the early Zulu kingdom and its inhabitants to life. He throws light on this elusive character of and his own unpredictable intentions, while illuminating the fears and ambitions of those attempting to prosper and survive in his hazardous kingdom: a kingdom that nevertheless endured in all its essential characteristics, particularly militarily, until its destruction fifty one years later in 1879 by the British; and whose fate, legend has it, Shaka predicted with his dying breath.

From a small town in Mpumalanga to dodging bullets in war-torn hellholes: Al J. Venter, the oldest war correspondent still active, bore witness to some of humanity’s biggest atrocities – and has lived to tell the tale.

In the 1960s, with little money, a sense of adventure and a healthy dollop of chutzpah, Venter set out overland from Cape Town to London. Since then, Venter has reported from 25 conflict zones.

In his memoir, Venter masterfully recounts his experiences.

Daar is al soveel oor Jan Smuts geskryf. Smuts is in baie opsigte steeds ’n raaisel, veral wat sy komplekse persoonlikheid betref.

Hierdie chronologiese rangskikking van foto’s uit sy lewe bied ‘n beeld van hom as mens, staatsman, bevelvoerder en politikus.

Dis ’n visuele reis deur die lewe van een van ons grootste staatsmanne.

The third cookbook from Zanele van Zyl. Based on the isiZulu phrase, which means ‘have you eaten yet?’, a question asked by every mother, aunty or grandmother when you enter their home, Senidlile Kodwa? is an expression of Zanele’s identity, her love language, and the joy she finds in preparing food for other people.

Filled with 100 simple yet tasty recipes, the book is a celebration of food, whether you’re cooking for yourself or the people you love. Expect everything from bright and cheery breakfasts; wholesome veggies; meaty mains with heart; a signature Sunday spread; traditional village favourites; simply delicious sides; and, of course, something sweet to round it all off.

And, in true Zanele fashion, these recipes all show that cooking beautiful food can be fun and unintimidating!

Tillie het ’n heel goeie lewe, dankie. Ja, sy werk haar oor ’n mik as kelnerin in Mellville, en ja daar’s nie iemand spesiaals in haar lewe nie, en ja, haar beste vriendin Milanka ís high­maintenance, maar so ken Tillie haar, en Milanks het al vir haar báie beteken. Haar eksieperfeksie, #blessed vriendin Milanka.

Maar uhm… Sy’t nou nie verwag Milanka sal aandring sy wat Tillie is, moet sorg dat Milanka en Jacques se troue gereël kom nie!

Eensklaps is Tillie in ’n warrelwind van warmlugballonne, dringende missed calls en uitheemse Milanka­bestellings: reënbooghoringperde, en ’n Alice in Wonderland­tema, en en en… En dít terwyl Jacques eintlik aanvanklik Tillie se date was!

Soos Milanka ál meer op Bruidzilla begin trek, begin Tillie bemerk iets is nie pluis nie. Wat skuil agter Milanka se monster­mondering? Sal sy en Jacques ooit gekerk kom – en sal haar vriendskap met Tillie dit oorleef?

In a future dominated by technology, John grapples with the oppressive regime of The Federation, which promotes emotion suppression and AI control. Assigned to infiltrate a colony of Feelers — humans resistant to AI influence — John encounters Joshua, sparking forbidden feelings. Meanwhile, approached by time travelers, John faces a choice: go back in time to prevent technological tyranny or continue serving The Federation in ignorance.

Throughout the past 50 years, the courts have been a battleground for contesting political forces as more and more conflicts that were once fought in Parliament or in streets, or through strikes and media campaigns, find their way to the judiciary.

Certainly, the legal system was used by both the apartheid state and its opponents. But it is in the post-apartheid era, and in particular under the rule of President Jacob Zuma, that we have witnessed a dramatic increase in ‘lawfare’: the migration of politics to the courts.

The authors show through a series of case studies how just about every aspect of political life ends up in court: the arms deal, the demise of the Scorpions, the Cabinet reshuffle, the expulsion of the EFF from Parliament, the nuclear procurement process, the Cape Town mayor…

Die tienjarige Elsie, oftewel Gogga, is 'n regte rabedoe wat eerder saam met die seuns op die plaas rondhardloop as om pop te speel soos haar perfekte sussie, Riette.

Dit is die veertigerjare en daar is 'n Wereldoorlog wat woed, maar Elsie se grootste bekommernis is die droogte wat die gebied teister. Saam met haar gesin moet sy veg om hulle geliefde plaas, Stofvlei, te red.

’n Innemende, universele verhaal oor familie, kontrei en die natuur.

Buckle up for a tour of South Africa – your guide the inimitable Sihle Khumalo.

Born in South Africa, and having lived here for almost fifty years, Khumalo reflects on the past and ponders the future of this captivating yet complex country. He delves into the history of the names given to our towns and cities (from Graaff-Reinet to Schweizer-Reneke to Zastron) and in the process raises issues we might not have interrogated fully.

This is a thought-provoking account by a South African who asks uncomfortable questions and forces his compatriots to contemplate what the future of this country (or cowntry) might hold. Why ‘cowntry’, Sihle? Consider the shady characters who’ve been milking this piece of land for centuries. And the fact that some politicians mispronounce the word ‘country’. But who knows? Maybe it is not mispronunciation – perhaps they’re giving us a message: the people in power are milking this country and it’s all just a game…

What was supposed to be a short business trip to Equatorial Guinea turned into a journey to the depths of hell.

Black Beach, located on Bioko island off the mainland of Equatorial Guinea, is one of the world’s most feared prisons, notorious for its brutality and inhumane conditions.

In 2013, South African businessman Daniel Janse van Rensburg set off to the West African country to finalise a legitimate airline contract with a local politician. Within days, Daniel was arrested by the local Rapid Intervention Force and detained without trial in the island’s infamous ‘Guantanamo’ cells, and was later taken to Black Beach. This is his remarkable story of survival over nearly two years, made possible by his unwavering faith and the humanity of a few fellow inmates.

In this thrilling first-person narrative, Daniel relives his ordeal, describing the harrowing conditions in the prison, his extraordinary experiences there, and his ceaseless hope to return to South Africa and be reunited with his family. A story of courage in the face of overwhelming adversity, Black Beach demonstrates the strength of the human spirit and the toll injustice takes on ordinary people who fall foul of the powerful and corrupt.

Fatima Sydow is the Cape Malay cooking queen. Fatima Sydow Cooks is an ode to her authentic self and the delicious, flavoursome family food she loves to cook.

Think mussel curry, home-baked bread to mop up the creamy sauce, slow-braised, soft-as-butter short ribs, a real-deal masala steak sandwich and a hearty, wholesome oxtail stew.

A book for everyone, with a bit of Fatima magic – and a few novel twists to some of the classics.

After an exceptionally wild Mother’s Day where she danced like there was no tomorrow, picked a fight with a stranger and collided with the floor, Johannesburg scriptwriter and author Pamela Power is forced to take a hard look at her drinking habits. She realises that although she does not need to find an AA group immediately, she might be a serial binge drinker and needs to take back control.

In this honest yet humorous account of her year of not getting sh*tfaced, Pamela examines her long, complicated relationship with alcohol. She is shocked to realise just how much of a crutch alcohol has been for her. There is always a bottle of wine or Prosecco around to her to help her manage the many demands of life as a freelancer and as a parent.

Pamela starts her journey to sobriety at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic as her family faces financial troubles, and life in the suburban Parks of Johannesburg isn’t so blissful anymore. Through her, we experience all the frustration, irritation and surprising benefits of going dry. In dealing with her dependence on alcohol, Pamela also confronts her troubled relationship with her parents.

While many other sober curious books portray sobriety as the only answer, Pamela has found a sweet spot between total sobriety and binge drinking: moderation.

Botho Pere finds work as a miner in South Africa and he has to leave his wife, Nthatisi, and their two children in Lesotho.

There are secrets threatening to unravel the delicate thread that has been holding their family together. And though some of Botho’s troubles are of his own making, others are rumoured to be caused by witchcraft.

I Did Not Die is a story about the realities of a mineworker and his family.

An essay collection searching through history, memory and literature to find glimmers of utopia. The collection is a book of elsewheres; in it, the author charts a journey to find other liveable places and spaces in a troubled world.

Whether embarking on a bizarre quest to find Cecil Rhodes’s missing nose (sliced off the bust of the Rhodes Memorial) or bike-packing the Scottish islands with a couple of squabbling anarchists; whether learning to surf (much too late) in the wild, freezing waters off the Cape Peninsula or navigating the fraught politics of a Buddhist retreat centre – the author explores forgotten utopias, intentional communities and islands of imagination with curiosity, hope and humour.

Threaded through the pieces in this collection are questions of friendship and human community, of environmental destruction and repair, of landscape and memory. Show Me the Place investigates the deep human desire to imagine social and environmental alternatives to what we take as normal or inevitable.

It's Not How It Looks is the 27th annual collection from South Africa’s legendary cartoonist Zapiro. And it’s set to be yet another best seller as his cartoons brilliantly capture the craziness of yet another wild year in South Africa … and the world.

It's Not How It Looks covers the sweep of twelve months of momentous events through Zapiro’s piercing eye and his sharp pen. His award-winning cartoons make you laugh out loud while often wincing at the same time. Now more than ever, his work is important, relevant and hugely entertaining.

Zapiro says his main challenge is keeping pace with the constant chaos of life in SA: "Every time I think things cannot get any weirder they go and get twice as weird. Not even my crazy mind could invent a country where, at the same time, we have the devastating final Zondo report delivered (late), two Gupta brothers finally arrested and a brazenly crooked ex spy chief revealing that millions of dollars in cash has been stolen from Cyril’s game farm. And that’s just one week of our lives! While overseas Putin’s making a mad war, Boris is being completely Boris and the US Supreme Court goes back fifty years on women’s rights."

Zapiro’s annual collections always make for excellent gifts as they provide both an historical and hysterical record of our turbulent times.

This classic South African picture book is a universal story about the caring relationship between a child and grandparent.

Celebrated South African author Niki Daly’s books continue to entertain parents and children around the world.

Not So Fast Songololo received a Parents’ Choice Award in the United States and the Katrine Harries Award for Illustration in South Africa.

A first-ever collection of contemporary Muslim women’s khutbahs (sermons) drawing on their social, religious, and spiritual experiences and framed by original reflections on an emerging Muslim feminist ethics

Within the Muslim world, there is a dynamic and exciting social change afoot: a number of communities across the globe have embraced more gender-inclusive and representative ideas of religious authority. Within some spaces, women have taken on the role of preacher at the Jumu’ah (Friday) communal prayers. In other communities, women have been leading the prayers, officiating at marriage and funeral ceremonies, or participating on mosque boards or executive committees. These new developments signify a transformation in contemporary positions on gender and religious authority.

This pioneering book makes an innovative contribution to Muslim feminist ethics. It is grounded in a collection of religious sermons (khutbahs) by contemporary Muslim women in a variety of new and emerging contexts, in South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Canada, Mexico, the United States, Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.

Mathews Phosa has been an eyewitness to the changing strands of political power in South Africa.

He was involved in the Black Consciousness Movement, the UDF and the ANC, before fleeing into exile in 1985 and becoming an Umkhonto we Sizwe commander in Mozambique. A lawyer by training, he was one of the first ANC members to return to South Africa to prepare the way for negotiations.

He was premier of Mpumalanga during the presidency of Nelson Mandela, with whom he had a strong relationship. Under Thabo Mbeki, whom he had known in exile, Phosa was pushed to the sidelines, with false accusations that he was involved in a ‘plot’ to overthrow Mbeki. Phosa had served under Jacob Zuma as an MK field commander in Mozambique, and he became treasurer general of the ANC when Zuma became its president at Polokwane. But Phosa later became a vocal critic of Zuma, and they didn’t speak for years, until the night before Zuma’s resignation. Phosa and Cyril Ramaphosa studied law together at the University of the North in the 1970s, and Phosa played a key role in advising him over the Phala Phala report that threatened to end his presidency.

Frank and honest, Witness to Power is a gripping story of a courageous life, and an insider’s account of South Africa’s ruling party and its leaders.

Dana Snyman is volksbesit. Met Die binneland in verken dié geliefde skrywer ons land en sy mense vandag.

Dana reis landin, op soek na sekerheid en lig. Hy rou oor dié wat weggeval het, soos die ikoniese Fred Mouton. Hy gesels met Pipo die clown, die karwag wat Adriaan Vlok onthou en oom Bok Horn wat 'n leeu uitoorlê het.

In die nadraai van die pandemie, met beurtkrag, oorlog in Oekraïne en die politiek, begin mense moed opgee, ook oor hulself. Maar Dana vind hoop, liefde - en geloof.

The battle of Blood River, or Ncome, on 16 December 1838 has long been regarded as a critical moment in the history of South Africa. It is the culminating victory by the land-hungry Boers who had migrated out of the British-ruled Cape and invaded the Zulu kingdom in 1837.

Many Afrikaners long acclaimed their triumph as the God-given justification for their subsequent dominion over Africans. By contrast, Africans celebrate the war with pride for its significance in their valiant struggle against colonial aggression.

In this telling of the Boer invasion, John Laband deals even-handedly with the warring sides in the conflict, explaining both victory and defeat in the many battles that marked the war. Crucially, he takes the Zulu evidence into full account to present the less familiar Zulu perspective and to explain the decisions taken by the Zulu leaders, as they grappled with the existential threat of the Boer invasion.

The protagonists are placed in the context of a subcontinent experiencing a time of turmoil in the early nineteenth century. A time that saw the displacement of populations and migrations, the emergence of new, warlike African kingdoms such as that of the amaZulu, and the inexorable and violent advance of colonial settlement and rule.

This comprehensive guide contains everything you ever wanted to know about meat: the cuts, nutritional value, ageing, factors that determine tenderness, cooking methods, freezing, terminology – to name just a few aspects.

Most people enjoy a bit of meat, so the lip-smacking, finger-licking deliciousness of Meat: The Ultimate Guide is sure to whet the appetite. Annelien Pienaar, the bestselling author, builds on her winning concept of combining a recipe with a lesson, but this time her focus is on meat.

With recipes for beef, lamb and mutton, pork, poultry, offal and game to marinades, flavoured salts and oils to complement the cuts, this book will more than hold its own on your kitchen bookshelf.

Reynardt Hugo speel Dr Tertius Jonker in Binnelanders en was van 2011 tot 2019 lid van die Afrikaanse popgroep ADAM. Tog, agter al sy sukses, sangtoere, toekennings en die vele lofbetuigings is daar ’n diep gewonde en verlore siel. Nes duisende ander mans, het Reynardt jare lank gestoei om sy verwondheid met drank, dagga, vroue en pornografie te verdoesel. Sy oorlog was ’n soeke na betekenis en aanvaarding.

Soldaat vertel van ’n klein seuntjie en die verwarrende wêreld waarin hy grootgeword het. Hy praat eerlik en opreg oor die impak wat sy ouers se egskeiding op hom gehad het, en die invloed van drankmisbruik in hulle huis, en hoe hy dit alles as jong seun ervaar het en daarvan moes sin maak. Hy praat openlik oor sy swakheid vir vroue en die gevolge van sy dade.

Vandag is Reynardt Hugo ’n suksesvolle jong man wat ’n groot impak maak. Die pad was lank en rof en hy moes vele uitdagings oorkom, maar vandag is sy lewe ’n ware getuienis van wat God kan doen met iemand wat op moedverloor se vlakte sit, en hoe God ’n storie van verwoesting in ’n storie van hoop kan verander.

Reynardt se verhaal is boeiend. Dit bevat al die elemente van tragedie, intrige, neerlaag en oorwinning, maar ook die heel belangrikste bestanddeel: die krag van die evangelie van Jesus Christus.

’n Ongekende opkoms van Afrikaner-magnate het die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie die afgelope drie dekades gekenmerk. Dit is veral merkwaardig in die lig van die regering se omvattende program van swart ekonomiese bemagtiging.

Vandag ding talle van hulle internasionaal mee. Onder leiding van Koos Bekker het Naspers die Johannesburgse aandelebeurs begin domineer en is die mediagroep omvorm tot ’n internasionale beleggingshouergroep wat op e-handel en die internet fokus. Johann Rupert het Richemont in die naasgrootste groep in die mark vir luukse goedere gevestig, terwyl Christo Wiese en Whitey Basson onderskeidelik Pepkor en Shoprite tot Afrika se grootste kleinhandelgroepe in klerasie en voedsel uitgebou het.

Fortuine verduidelik hoe hierdie en ander sakeleiers, waaronder Jannie Mouton, Michiel le Roux, GT Ferreira, Laurie Dippenaar, Roelof Botha, Hendrik du Toit en ’n aantal megaboere, hul sakeryke tot stand gebring het. Dit beskryf hul lewens- en sakefilosofieë en wat van hulle sulke suksesvolle entrepreneurs maak.

In onlangse tye het die ineenstorting van Steinhoff Internasionaal, die meubelhandelaar met Markus Jooste aan die stuur, ’n groot hap uit sommige van hierdie fortuine geneem. Jooste is die fokus van een van die hoofstukke, terwyl dit in ’n ander op die filantropiese projekte van hierdie superrykes val.

Developing an impactful corporate social investment (CSI) strategy and approach with real potential to positively change people’s lives can be a tricky exercise. Those grappling with how best to approach CSI will find thought-provoking insights in this book that will contribute positively to how they view, shape and execute their CSI strategy. In a most accessible way, this guidebook on CSI presents an instructive and constructive way of building a CSI strategy.

Setlogane Manchidi, Head of CSI at Investec, is known in the CSI space for his passion and strong desire to see meaningful change in people’s lives. In this book, informed by his experiences as a CSI practitioner over the years, he unpacks what he considers to be essential aspects of CSI practice. Manchidi adopts and articulates a question-based approach to creating an effective CSI strategy.

Recognising that business is not separate from society, Manchidi suggests that companies need to ask themselves some serious questions, amongst them: Why should they be doing CSI and, importantly, why are they doing it? The questions, which are reflected on the cover of the book, are difficult ones which require complete honesty, deep consideration and the necessity of placing ‘impact’ at the centre of the formulation of CSI strategy.

Through this book, Setlogane Manchidi reminds us of the significance of a carefully considered CSI strategy and approach, especially in a country such as South Africa with many socio-economic challenges that continue to impact negatively on ordinary people’s day-to-day lives.