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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes

Under Devil's Peak - The Life And Times Of Wilfrid Cooper, An Advocate In The Age Of Apartheid (Paperback): Gavin Cooper Under Devil's Peak - The Life And Times Of Wilfrid Cooper, An Advocate In The Age Of Apartheid (Paperback)
Gavin Cooper 2
R260 R203 Discovery Miles 2 030 Save R57 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Wilfrid Cooper was a rare man during the dark days of apartheid: an advocate whose career coincided almost perfectly with the rise and fall of the Nationalist government, intersecting eerily with that of its “architect” HF Verwoerd, and yet a man whose enlightened principles and liberal thinking saw him regularly defending those less fortunate.

His storied legal career saw him embroiled in numerous political affairs throughout the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. He represented, among others, Verwoerd’s assassin Dimitri Tsafendas; the SWAPO Six in Swakopmund; the families of Imam Abdullah Haron, Mapetla Mohapi and Hoossen Haffajee and others who died “jumping down stairwells while in detention” or hanged by their own jeans in their cells; and Steven Biko and other activists who were arrested by the security police in the dead of night. There were also the highprofile criminal cases, including the original Kebble-style “assisted suicide” of Baron Dieter van Schauroth and the scandalous case of the Scissors Murderess Marlene Lehnberg.

Wilfrid Cooper reached the peak of his considerable legal prowess in a time when South Africans led a parallel existence, the majority downtrodden while white privilege reigned serenely in the suburbs – a time that could have easily provided him a less controversial career had he desired. And yet even as he and his gregarious wife Gertrude enjoyed wonderful and very sociable years in their Newlands home in Cape Town – an area that was itself remodelled under the Group Areas Act – he chose to walk the path less taken in the shadow of Devil’s Peak. This is his story.

African Accountability - What Works And What Doesn't (Paperback): Steven Gruzd, Yarik Turianskyi African Accountability - What Works And What Doesn't (Paperback)
Steven Gruzd, Yarik Turianskyi; Foreword by Thuli Madonsela 1
R398 R356 Discovery Miles 3 560 Save R42 (11%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

African Accountability: What Works And What Doesn't focuses on political and social aspects to assess the current state of governance and accountability in Africa. Rather than choosing an Afro-optimistic or Afro-pessimistic approach, both of which have been prominent since the start of the 21st century, this book tries to adopt a balanced, Afro-realistic view, giving credit where it is due, while also pointing out deficient areas that need improvement.

This edited volume brings to the fore cutting edge analysis on the contemporary African governance and accountability landscape by focusing on both continental institutions (including the African Peer Review Mechanism, African Charter on Democracy Elections and Governance, and the African Union) well as domestic ones (parliaments, ombudsmen and electoral commissions).

No Longer Whispering To Power - The Story Of Thuli Madonsela (Paperback): Thandeka Gqubule No Longer Whispering To Power - The Story Of Thuli Madonsela (Paperback)
Thandeka Gqubule 8
R514 Discovery Miles 5 140 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Advocate Thuli Madonsela has achieved in her seven years as Public Protector what few accomplish in a lifetime; her legacy and contribution cannot be over-stated. In her final days in office she compiled the explosive State Capture report and, before that, the report on President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla residence. Praised and vilified in equal measures, Madonsela has frequently found herself at centre stage in the increasingly fractious South African political scene.

No Longer Whispering To Power is about Thuli Madonsela’s tenure as Public Protector, during which the whisper grew into a cry. It is the story of the South African people’s attempt to hold power to account through the Office of the Public Protector. More significantly, this important book stands as a record of the crucial work Madonsela has done, always acting without fear or favour.

Governing Complex City-Regions In The Twenty-First Century - Brazil, Russia, India, China And South Africa (Paperback): Philip... Governing Complex City-Regions In The Twenty-First Century - Brazil, Russia, India, China And South Africa (Paperback)
Philip Harrison
R370 R265 Discovery Miles 2 650 Save R105 (28%) In Stock

Provides a comparative study of the complex governance challenges confronting city-regions in each of the BRICS countries. It traces how governance approaches emerge from the disparate intentions, actions and practices of multiple collaborating and competing actors, working in diverse contexts of political settlement and culture.

The scale and pace of urban change in the recent past has been disorienting. As individual cities evolve into complex urban agglomerations, scholars battle to find adequate vocabularies for contemporary urban processes while practitioners search for meaningful governance responses. Governing Complex City-Regions in the Twenty-first Century explores the ongoing evolution of metropolitan governance as diverse urban agents grapple with the dilemmas of collective action across multi-layered and fragmented institutions, in contexts where there are also manifold centres of influence and decision-making.

Whereas much of the existing literature is founded on the settled urban contexts of Western Europe and North America this book draws on the experiences of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The author shows that governance approaches are rarely designed but emerge, rather, from the disparate intentions, actions and practices of multiple collaborating and competing actors working within diverse contexts of political settlement and political culture. Intended for students, academics and professionals, the book does not offer packaged solutions or easy answers to the challenges of urban governance, but it does show the value of comparative study in inspiring new thought and perspectives, which could lead to improved governance practice within South African contexts.

Saving South Africa - Lessons From The uMngeni Municipality Success Story (Paperback): Chris Pappas, Sandile Mnikathi Saving South Africa - Lessons From The uMngeni Municipality Success Story (Paperback)
Chris Pappas, Sandile Mnikathi
R340 R240 Discovery Miles 2 400 Save R100 (29%) Pre-order

The Democratic Alliance won control of the uMngeni Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands after the local government elections in 2021. As the only DA-run municipality in KZN, uMngeni provides a template for how local government could work in a post-ANC South Africa.

Written by two leaders at the very heart of the project, Saving South Africa reveals the challenges, the triumphs and disasters the new administration has encountered along the way. It is an eye-opening exposé of how cadre deployment has helped to bring the country to its knees. It is a story of incompetent officials, political spies, gunwielding tenderpreneurs, petty theft and grand larceny.

And yet, as we follow the authors on their journey, there is always hope for a better future as the corrupt layers of local governance are gradually stripped away, revealing the responsive and caring civil service envisioned by the South African Constitution.

Our Poisoned Land - Living In The Shadows Of Zuma's Keepers (Paperback): Jacques Pauw Our Poisoned Land - Living In The Shadows Of Zuma's Keepers (Paperback)
Jacques Pauw 1
R365 R314 Discovery Miles 3 140 Save R51 (14%) In Stock

Our Poisoned Land is Jacques Pauwʼs sequel to the bestselling The Presidentʼs Keepers. A publishing phenomenon and South Africaʼs fastest-selling book ever, The Presidentʼs Keepers fearlessly exposed former president Jacob Zumaʼs darkest secrets. Our Poisoned Land is as riveting and explosive as its predecessor.

When he took office in 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed new heads for law-enforcement agencies and formed the Investigating Directorate within the National Prosecuting Authority to bring fraudsters and looters to book. Yet, five years on, crime has spiked, most of the looters still walk free and the law-enforcement agencies are in shambles. What went wrong?

Once again, Jacques Pauw delves deep to find answers. Among his shocking findings are top police officers that had a hand in state capture still ensconced in the Hawks and police Crime Intelligence; a cabal of state-capture prosecutors within the NPA; a police minister cavorting with a convicted drug smuggler; and South Africa’s “own Guptas” living in the lap of luxury after the case against them “disappeared”.

In his compelling narrative style, Pauw picks up where he left off in The Presidentʼs Keepers to expose the shadows, deceit and debauchery of Zumaʼs cronies.

Fordsburg Fighter - The Journey Of An MK Volunteer (Paperback): Amin Cajee Fordsburg Fighter - The Journey Of An MK Volunteer (Paperback)
Amin Cajee; As told to Terry Bell 2
R130 R102 Discovery Miles 1 020 Save R28 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

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

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

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

Maverick Insider - A Struggle For Union Independence In A Time Of National Liberation (Paperback): Johnny Copelyn Maverick Insider - A Struggle For Union Independence In A Time Of National Liberation (Paperback)
Johnny Copelyn 1
R280 R219 Discovery Miles 2 190 Save R61 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

In 1973 the trade union movement was both racially and regionally divided. It virtually excluded African workers, and in many cases unions were led by cautious and paternalistic leaders, long schooled in avoiding confrontation with either the state or employers. Then widespread strikes erupted in Durban where hundreds of thousands of workers downed tools in support of wage demands. It was a militant explosion unprecedented since the apartheid government had crushed and outlawed mass demonstrations against segregation and 'whites-only' rule. And it provided the impetus for the next decade and a half of trade union organisation, which succeeded in uniting workers on a largely non-racial basis, dominated by the slogan 'one industry one union'.

Maverick Insider is an anecdotal, insider's account of the transformation during this period in the textile, clothing and leather worker sectors. It focuses on the outlooks of leadership groups in different parts of that industry and their efforts to influence the nature of the amalgamation of six unions to form the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU), one of the three largest unions of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). It traces the interaction between union leadership and both political parties and community organisations dedicated to making the country ungovernable, as well as those who were determined to stamp out such calls. It details struggles to unite workers across political divides in the same union organisation and to assert an independent working-class point of view in a period of growing African nationalism. It details the traumatic events on the road to the so-called peaceful miracle that created a rainbow nation but left 22 000 South Africans dead in the process.

And it is the story of a team of people who set out to change the world and formed an unshakeable bond in the process.

Recovering Democracy In South Africa (Paperback): Raymond Suttner Recovering Democracy In South Africa (Paperback)
Raymond Suttner
R280 R219 Discovery Miles 2 190 Save R61 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

South Africa’s hard-won democracy, symbolised by the late liberation hero Nelson Mandela, was the main victim of the chaos in parliament during President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address.

In Recovering Democracy in South Africa, Raymond Suttner brings together the best of his recent writings and essays; he offers a fresh look at the wide range of contentious issues that currently preoccupy South Africans, from the threat to constitutionalism to problems with leadership and questions of ethics.

The book is as much an in-depth engagement with our difficult present as it is a damning account of the politics of the Zuma era.

This book comes out at a time when South Africa faces its own challenges. What the future holds for South Africa depends on what each of us puts into reclaiming our democracy and the values that underpin our country.

The Fall Of The ANC Continues - What Next? (Paperback): Prince Mashele, Mzukisi Qobo The Fall Of The ANC Continues - What Next? (Paperback)
Prince Mashele, Mzukisi Qobo
R240 R188 Discovery Miles 1 880 Save R52 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

''When we said [in 2014] the ANC was falling, many people in the ANC thought we were suffering from the worst form of madness. But today those who said so then secretly approach us to ask: “How did you foresee all this?” By “this” they mean all the internal political mess the ANC has brought to itself since we wrote the first edition of this book. Indeed, a lot of “this” has taken place over the past three years. That is why the title of this second edition is The Fall of the ANC Continues." Political governance in South Africa continues to collapse. Scandals of corruption, evidence of nepotism, rampant maladministration in provinces, incompetence in public offices and a general decline in the quality of leadership are there for all to see. In the view of Prince Mashele and Mzukisi Qobo, this state of affairs has its origins in the messiness and collapse of the African National Congress. As helplessness deepens in our society, concerned citizens ask: "What will happen to South Africa?" The Fall of the ANC Continues seeks to answer this question of the fate that awaits the country.

Renegades - Born In The USA (Hardcover): Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen Renegades - Born In The USA (Hardcover)
Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen 1
R835 R666 Discovery Miles 6 660 Save R169 (20%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Two long-time friends share an intimate and urgent conversation about life, music and their enduring love of America, with all its challenges and contradictions, in this stunningly-produced expansion of their ground-breaking Higher Ground podcast, featuring more than 350 photographs, exclusive bonus content, and never-before-seen archival material.

Renegades: Born in the USA is a candid, revealing, and entertaining dialogue between President Barack Obama and legendary musician Bruce Springsteen that explores everything from their origin stories and career-defining moments to their country's polarized politics and the growing distance between the American Dream and the American reality. Filled with full-colour photographs and rare archival material, it is a compelling and beautifully illustrated portrait of two outsiders - one Black and one white - looking for a way to connect their unconventional searches for meaning, identity, and community with the American story itself.

It includes:

  • Original introductions by President Obama and Bruce Springsteen
  • Exclusive new material from the Renegades podcast recording sessions
  • Obama's never-before-seen annotated speeches, including his "Remarks at the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Marches
  • Springsteen's handwritten lyrics for songs spanning his 50-year-long career
  • Rare and exclusive photographs from the authors' personal archives
  • Historical photographs and documents that provide rich visual context for their conversation.

Obama and Springsteen discuss marriage and fatherhood, race and masculinity, the lure of the open road and the call back to home. They also compare notes on their favourite protest songs, the most inspiring American heroes of all time, and more. Along the way, they reveal their passion for - and the occasional toll of - telling a bigger, truer story about America throughout their careers, and explore how their fractured country might begin to find its way back toward unity.

The President's Keepers - Those Keeping Zuma In Power And Out Of Prison (Paperback): Jacques Pauw The President's Keepers - Those Keeping Zuma In Power And Out Of Prison (Paperback)
Jacques Pauw 74
R365 R314 Discovery Miles 3 140 Save R51 (14%) Ships in 4 - 8 working days

Investigative journalist Jacques Pauw exposes the darkest secret at the heart of Jacob Zuma’s compromised government: a cancerous cabal that eliminates the president’s enemies and purges the law-enforcement agencies of good men and women.

As Zuma fights for his political life following the 2017 Gupta emails leak, this cabal – the president’s keepers – ensures that after years of ruinous rule, he remains in power and out of prison. But is Zuma the puppet master, or their puppet? Journey with Pauw as he explores the shadow mafia state. From KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape to the corridors of power in Pretoria and Johannesburg – and even to clandestine meetings in Russia. It’s a trail of lies and spies, cronies, cash and kingmakers as Pauw prises open the web of deceit that surrounds the fourth president of the democratic era.

An amazing piece of work, stuffed with anecdote and evidence. It will light fires all through the state and the ANC.’ - Peter Bruce

This is dynamite. Dynamite that will shake the foundations of the halls of power.’ - Max du Preez

What If There Were No Whites In South Africa? (Paperback): Ferial Haffajee What If There Were No Whites In South Africa? (Paperback)
Ferial Haffajee 11
R310 R242 Discovery Miles 2 420 Save R68 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Ferial Haffajee is highly respected as one of South Africa's thought leaders and commentators. She effectively uses her media platform to raise and discuss issues pertinent to the state of the nation. In What If There Were No Whites In South Africa?, Haffajee examines our history and our present in the light of a provocative question that yields some thought-provoking analysis for the country.

From roundtable discussions with influential as well as ordinary South Africans, to research, personal thoughts and powerful anecdotes, Haffajee takes the reader through the rocky terrain of race relations in our country and grapples towards a possible way forward in terms of what it means to be South African in 2015.

Nelson Mandela - Portrait Of An Extraordinary Man (Paperback): Richard Stengel Nelson Mandela - Portrait Of An Extraordinary Man (Paperback)
Richard Stengel 1
R388 R314 Discovery Miles 3 140 Save R74 (19%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Previously published as Mandela's Way Written by the co-author of international bestseller Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela: Portrait of an Extraordinary Man presents fifteen powerful lessons on life and leadership based on the life and work of Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013), whose fight against apartheid in South Africa has become an enduring example of resistance against injustice and oppression. A recipient of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, Mandela is a man who truly changed the course of world history and is arguably the most inspirational figure of the past century. Stengel spent almost three years with Mandela working on his bestselling autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, and through that process became a close friend. Written with the blessing of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, to which the author will donate a percentage of his royalties, Nelson Mandela: Portrait of an Extraordinary Man is an inspirational book of wisdom that will encourage people of all ages to look within themselves to improve their lives, to reconsider the things they take for granted, and to think about the legacy they leave behind.

Writing The Decline - On The Struggle For South Africa's Democracy (Paperback): Richard Pithouse Writing The Decline - On The Struggle For South Africa's Democracy (Paperback)
Richard Pithouse
R280 R219 Discovery Miles 2 190 Save R61 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Richard Pithouse, an activist intellectual who has been an important contributor to the South African public sphere for twenty years, offers a penetrating and beautifully written exploration of the escalating crisis in South Africa in the Zuma era.

Writing The Decline, often written with a view from the underside of society but also always acutely aware of global developments, brings activist and academic knowledge together to provide a searing account of our condition. It takes on xenophobia, racism, homophobia, inequality and political repression.

In a moment when old certainties are breaking down, and new ideas and social forces are taking the stage, this book offers a compelling invitation to take democracy seriously.

Revolution - the bestselling memoir by France's recently elected president (Hardcover): Emmanuel Macron Revolution - the bestselling memoir by France's recently elected president (Hardcover)
Emmanuel Macron; Translated by Jonathan Goldberg, Juliette Scott 1
R462 R377 Discovery Miles 3 770 Save R85 (18%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

The bestselling memoir by France's president, Emmanuel Macron. Some believe that our country is in decline, that the worst is yet to come, that our civilisation is withering away. That only isolation or civil strife are on our horizon. That to protect ourselves from the great transformations taking place around the globe, we should go back in time and apply the recipes of the last century. Others imagine that France can continue on a slow downward slide. That the game of political juggling - first the Left, then the Right - will allow us breathing space. The same faces and the same people who have been around for so long. I am convinced that they are all wrong. It is their models, their recipes, that have simply failed. France as a whole has not failed. In Revolution, Emmanuel Macron, the youngest president in the history of France, reveals his personal history and his inspirations, and discusses his vision of France and its future in a new world that is undergoing a 'great transformation' that has not been experienced since the invention of the printing press and the Renaissance. This is a remarkable book that seeks to lay the foundations for a new society - a compelling testimony and statement of values by an important political leader who has become the flag-bearer for a new kind of politics.

Time Is Not The Measure - A Memoir (Paperback): Vusi Mavimbela Time Is Not The Measure - A Memoir (Paperback)
Vusi Mavimbela; Foreword by Albie Sachs
R275 R215 Discovery Miles 2 150 Save R60 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Vusi Mavimbela is one of South Africa’s foremost political adventurers and wanderers. His memoir Time is Not the Measure provides penetrating pen portraits of many South African and African political actors and a galaxy of senior ANC exiles. He illuminates the personalities of many influential people in South Africa’s early democratic governments.

But the heart of Mavimbela’s narrative lies in his unique experience of working as a top administrator and counsellor in the offices of both Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. He describes the conflict between those two flawed principals and captures the drama of their struggle and its destructive fallout for the new South African state.

Mavimbela offers a potent warning: loyalty and long service to a political party is no guarantee of wise and effective leadership.

Landslide - The Final Days Of The Trump Presidency (Paperback): Michael Wolff Landslide - The Final Days Of The Trump Presidency (Paperback)
Michael Wolff
R470 R387 Discovery Miles 3 870 Save R83 (18%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

New York Times bestselling author of Fire And Fury and Siege completes the trilogy on the presidency of Donald J. Trump.

We all witnessed some of the most shocking and confounding political events of our lifetime: the careening last stage of Donald J. Trump’s reelection campaign, the president’s audacious election challenge, the harrowing mayhem of January 6, the buffoonery of the second impeachment trial. But what was really going on in the inner sanctum of the White House during these calamitous events? What did the president and his dwindling cadre of loyalists actually believe? And what were they planning?

Michael Wolff pulled back the curtain on the Trump presidency with his 2 previous bestsellers and now he closes the door on the presidency with a final, astonishingly candid account.

Wolff embedded himself in the White House in 2017 and gave us a vivid picture of the chaos that had descended on Washington. Almost four years later, Wolff finds the Oval Office even more chaotic and bizarre, a kind of Star Wars bar scene. At all times of the day, Trump, behind the Resolute desk, is surrounded by schemers and unqualified sycophants who spoon-feed him the “alternative facts” he hungers to hear―about COVID-19, Black Lives Matter protests, and, most of all, his chance of winning reelection. Once again, Wolff has gotten top-level access and takes us front row as Trump’s circle of plotters whittles down to the most enabling and the president reaches beyond the bounds of democracy as he entertains the idea of martial law and balks at calling off the insurrectionist mob that threatens the institution of democracy itself.

As the Trump presidency’s hold over the country spiraled out of control, an untold and human account of desperation, duplicity, and delusion was unfolding within the West Wing. Landslide is that story as only Michael Wolff can tell it.

Capitalist Crusader - Fighting Poverty Through Economic growth (Paperback): Herman Mashaba Capitalist Crusader - Fighting Poverty Through Economic growth (Paperback)
Herman Mashaba
R290 R227 Discovery Miles 2 270 Save R63 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Herman Mashaba is a self-made entrepreneur who started his business Black Like Me in the dark days of apartheid in South Africa. He has told the story of his journey from the poverty of Hammanskraal to the comfort of a successful business in his book Black Like You.

When Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s president in 1994, Mashaba thought his struggle for personal and economic freedom was over, the battle was won. Twenty-one years later, he has had to question that assumption as his hard won freedoms are eroded and economic controls tighten. Mashaba is committed to freeing South Africans from poverty.

In this book Mashaba outlines his crusade for economic freedom for all South Africans – through a firm commitment to capitalist principles. He describes the changes in his political affiliations and maps out the route South Africa needs to follow to escape entrenched unemployment and poverty.

South Africa, Settler Colonialism And The Failures Of Liberal Democracy (Paperback): Thiven Reddy South Africa, Settler Colonialism And The Failures Of Liberal Democracy (Paperback)
Thiven Reddy
R385 R301 Discovery Miles 3 010 Save R84 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

In South Africa, two unmistakable features describe post-Apartheid politics. The first is the formal framework of liberal democracy, including regular elections, multiple political parties and a range of progressive social rights. The second is the politics of the ‘extraordinary’, which includes a political discourse that relies on threats and the use of violence, the crude re-racialization of numerous conflicts, and protests over various popular grievances. In this highly original work, Thiven Reddy shows how conventional approaches to understanding democratization have failed to capture the complexities of South Africa’s post-Apartheid transition. Rather, as a product of imperial expansion, the South African state, capitalism and citizen identities have been uniquely shaped by a particular mode of domination, namely settler colonialism. South Africa, Settler Colonialism and the Failures of Liberal Democracy is an important work that sheds light on the nature of modernity, democracy and the complex politics of contemporary South Africa.

Bram Fischer - Afrikaner Revolutionary (Paperback, Second Edition): Stephen Clingman Bram Fischer - Afrikaner Revolutionary (Paperback, Second Edition)
Stephen Clingman
R330 R258 Discovery Miles 2 580 Save R72 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

In 1964 Bram Fischer led the defence of Nelson Mandela in the Rivonia Trial. In 1966 Fischer was himself sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa for his political activities against the policies of apartheid. Before his sentencing he had spent nine months underground, in disguise, evading a nationwide manhunt. He was South Africa's most wanted man, his cause recognised and celebrated around the world. What had brought him to these circumstances? And what led to his untimely death after nine years in prison?

This meticulous and finely crafted biography follows a fascinating journey of conscience and personal transformation. Fischer was born into one of the most prominent Afrikaner nationalist families, yet came to understand that to be a South African in the fullest sense he had to identify with all of South Africa's people. A Rhodes Scholar and distinguished lawyer, endowed with gifts of intelligence, charisma and integrity, he abandoned the temptations of power and prestige to ensure human rights and justice for all. Drawn to communism in order to solve problems of race, he offered revised versions and visions of both.

Covering more than one hundred years of South African history, this book ranges from the stories of Fischer and his wife, Molly, to the courtroom drama of South Africa's great political trials, to the political intrigue of the 1960s and beyond. It is a remarkable story, remarkably told.

Weaving the personal and public, Stephen Clingman's biography is an account of tragedy and transcendence, showing how the miracle of South Africa's transition to democracy was deeply connected to the legacy of Bram Fischer.

The Resurrection Of Winnie Mandela (Paperback): Sisonke Msimang The Resurrection Of Winnie Mandela (Paperback)
Sisonke Msimang
R200 R160 Discovery Miles 1 600 Save R40 (20%) In Stock

The death of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on 2 April this year unleashed a hailstorm of opinion. On one side, Winnie's legacy was under construction by the media and public in the shadow of her sanctified ex-husband, casting Winnie as history's loser.

Msimang - who in the last few years has reflected extensively on Winnie Madikizela-Mandela - stood on the side of a younger generation, particularly of black women, who sought to reclaim Ma Winnie's identity as an extraordinary woman and fierce political activist. Examining that early impulse, Msimang has written a succinct, razor-sharp book. It is a primer for young feminists, popular culture enthusiasts and those interested in the politics of memory, reconciliation and justice, and a book that is as much about a woman as it is about the country she left behind.

The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela is an astute examination of one of South Africa's most controversial political figures. It charts the rise and fall - and rise, again - of a woman who not only battled the apartheid regime, but the patriarchal character of the society that moulded her. In telling Ma Winnie's story, Sisonke Msimang demonstrates the vital link between reclaiming the lives of one complex woman, and activism aimed at restoring the dignity of all women.

Jan Smuts - Unafraid of Greatness (Paperback): Richard Steyn Jan Smuts - Unafraid of Greatness (Paperback)
Richard Steyn 1
R504 Discovery Miles 5 040 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Jan Christian Smuts was soldier, statesman and intellectual, one of South Africa’s greatest leaders. Yet little is said about him today, even as we appear to live in a leadership vacuum.

Unafraid of Greatness is a re-examination of the life and thoughts of Jan Smuts. It is intended to remind a contemporary readership of the remarkable achievements of this impressive soldier-statesman. The author argues that there is a need to bring Smuts back into the present, that Smuts’ legacy still has much to instruct. He draws several parallels between Smuts and President Thabo Mbeki, both intellectuals much lionised abroad and yet often distrusted at home. This book is a highly readable account of Smuts’ life. It also examines a number of overarching themes: his relationships with women, spiritual life, intellectual life and his role as advisor to world leaders. Politics and international affairs receive the lion’s share, but Smuts’ unique contributions to other fields – for example, botany – are not neglected.

Unafraid of Greatness does not shy away from the contradictions of its subject. Smuts was one of the architects of the United Nations, and a great champion of human rights, yet he could not see the need to reform the condition of the African majority in his own country.

The Politics Of Custom - Chiefship, Capital, And The State In Contemporary Africa (Paperback): John L. Comaroff, Jean Comaroff The Politics Of Custom - Chiefship, Capital, And The State In Contemporary Africa (Paperback)
John L. Comaroff, Jean Comaroff
R380 R297 Discovery Miles 2 970 Save R83 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

How are we to explain the resurgence of customary chiefs in contemporary Africa? Rather than disappearing with the tide of modernity, as many expected, indigenous sovereigns are instead a rising force, often wielding substantial power and legitimacy despite major changes in the workings of the global political economy in the post–Cold War era—changes in which they are themselves deeply implicated.

This pathbreaking volume, edited by anthropologists John L. Comaroff and Jean Comaroff, explores the reasons behind the increasingly assertive politics of custom in many corners of Africa. Chiefs come in countless guises—from university professors through cosmopolitan businessmen to subsistence farmers–but, whatever else they do, they are a critical key to understanding the tenacious hold that “traditional” authority enjoys in the late modern world.

Together the contributors explore this counterintuitive chapter in Africa’s history and, in so doing, place it within the broader world-making processes of the twenty-first century.

Triumphs & Heartaches - A Courageous Journey By South African Patriots (Paperback): Mosibudi Mangena Triumphs & Heartaches - A Courageous Journey By South African Patriots (Paperback)
Mosibudi Mangena
R280 R219 Discovery Miles 2 190 Save R61 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Mosibudi Mangena has been a life-long member of the Black Consciousness Movement, which led to his incarceration on Robben Island from 1973–8. After his release, he went into exile in 1981, spending time in Botswana and Zimbabwe, before returning to South Africa in 1994.

Triumphs & Heartaches provides fascinating insight into Mangena’s varied life, including his time as the leader of AZAPO and his service in government as the deputy minister of Education and then the minister of Science and Technology.

Mangena provides an insider’s view of life in exile as a political refugee, followed by the hardships of repatriation and the hard-won successes of democracy. He reflects eloquently on the role of Black Consciousness and its potential place in the future of South Africa, and does not flinch from exploring the disappointments of the liberation struggle and the challenges that lie ahead for the country.

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