This book brings to life the untold story behind the release of Nelson Mandela, as revealed in previously top-secret records.

Kobie Coetsee, Minister of Justice at the time, kept an archive on ‘Prisoner 913’, on which the authors – a historian and a journalist – draw to retell the story. This is history as it actually happened, as opposed to how it has been portrayed up to now, even in writings by Mandela himself. 

Prisoner 913 sets right the historical record.

Die motiewe agter gesinsmoorde is dikwels vreemder as fiksie. Tergende vrae kan deur psigiaters beantwoord word ... of dalk nie. Deur na verskeie gevalle van gesinsmoord te kyk gooi hierdie boek ’n bietjie lig in 'n baie donker plek. Met onder meer die stories van die Lotters wat gebreinspoel was tot moord op hul ouers en die Van Breda bylmoorde.

Actor and musician Ian Roberts is something of a South African icon, renowned for his roles as the rugged Boer fighter Sloet Steenkamp in the TV series Arende and as Boet in the immortal and immensely popular Castrol advertisements. In Free Spirit he looks back on his long and illustrious career in which he became known for having a flair for languages and acting from the gut.

As a boy, young Ian ran wild on his family’s citrus farm in the Eastern Cape, preferring the company of the local farm boys (and Kees the baboon). It was here that he first learnt the art of communicating with an audience through song and story.

A master storyteller with a wicked sense of humour, Ian offers a highly entertaining glimpse of how actors make the magic happen, whether on a theatre stage or before the TV cameras. Drawing on a career that runs from Long Street to Los Angeles, and from Shakespeare to Tsotsi, Ian provides a masterclass on the art of acting, making his life story a vital guide to aspiring actors.

His no-nonsense and fearless approach to life means he has never hesitated to tackle challenging roles and to do things in his own, unconventional way. Today, as frontman for Die Radio Kalahari Orkes, he continues to follow his heart.

This extensive history of South Africa was written by some of the country’s most prominent historians such as Hermann Giliomee, Jan Visagie, David Scher and Fransjohan Pretorius.

Its broad scope includes South Africa's pre-colonial history, slavery, Afrikaner nationalism, an environmental history and an analysis of a post-apartheid South Africa.

In this updated edition, a new chapter by Jan-Jan Joubert has been added – From state capture to Covid: the decline of the ANC.

Zola Mahobe came from Soweto and turned himself into a jet-setting multimillionaire. He was a habitual bank robber. The founding father of present-day Mamelodi Sundowns transformed the soccer club to the elite of the first division.

He meets Snowy Moshoeshoe who becomes his lover and partner in crime. After convincing Moshoeshoe to leave her nursing job to take up a job at Standard Bank Mahobe’s businesses start to grow.

Dikgang Moseneke shares the story of how Mahobe often invited him and Willie Seriti to games. He often told them: ‘I am a man with many challenges. I like to travel with my lawyers and my gunman next to me.’

Mahobe and Moshoeshoe continue pilfering millions from Standard Bank for five years. The bank discovers their scheme and Mahobe is arrested in Botswana.

The untold story of Mahobe is one of the biggest stories to come out of apartheid South Africa and compares with that of the notorious bank-robbing Stander Gang. This book is impossible to put down.

Welcome to the SuzelleDIY Recipe Book! These pages are full of my favourite recipes that I have gathered and created over the years, from my Ouma’s old classics to my own creative recipes that will get everyone talking at your next dinner party! You will find scrumptious desserts, easy dinners, fun and delicious twists on South African favourites (bobotie balls anyone?) as well as a few wonderful recipes from special guests who also wanted their recipes in the book, shame.

This cookbook is for everybody! If you are a master chef or a mini chef, if you only know how to use the microwave or even if your meals always come out looking a little bit rustic, there’s something in this book for you.

So pop on your aprons people! It’s time to use your own creativity and make some delicious kitchen magic happen. DIY? Because anybody can!

Bart, die aantreklikste ou in haar matriekklas, soen Esli uit haar vel. Vir meer as veertig jaar deel hulle hul lewens, maak saam kinders groot en sien om na vriende en familie. Jaarliks vier hulle Kersfees in Kleinmond met geskenke en trifle en stappies langs die see met hul worshond.

Maar hoekom val Bart se broer uit ’n boom voor Esli se ouerhuis? En watter donker geheim is onderliggend aan Bart se ma se vreemde gedrag en onfatsoenlike grappe? Wat dink kollegas van Esli se haarstyleksperimente en panda-oë? Verdien sy om in die spaarkamer te skuil omdat sy, volgens Bart, aand na aand die kos brand en die hond se pote laat nat word as dit reën?

In So Lyk ’n Vrou vertel Ilse Verster van Esli se heelwording en hoe sy, ná ’n leeftyd van mishandeling, in ’n rooi rok op die strand kon staan met een vuis in die lug en vry kon voel. Sy gee stem aan ’n stukkende vrou wat net wil hê die pyn moet stop. Sy deel wat dit verg om jou teen die muur op te trek, jou teen die samelewing te handhaaf en jouself te red.

The healing power of life writing, one shared story at a time

This Is How It Is a “refreshing, poignant and wide-ranging” (Helen Moffett) collection of real life experiences: 52 stories, prose and poetry, that tell of a man who is anxious about an HIV test; a child with an alarming nose for gossip and a girl who is saved by the enemy in a war zone. Some of the writers are grieving the loss of a child or struggling with addiction, abuse, bullying or betrayal. Most of these writers have never been published before. They wrote these stories primarily to bear witness to their lives and the troubled times in which we live. Putting traumatic experiences down on paper can help people work through shame, guilt and fear, releasing them from the traps they lay. Writing is sometimes able to turn a painful incident into something more manageable, even beautiful.

Sharing stories can also heal both the writer and the reader. When we first meet a stranger, we make assumptions about them. When we hear of their life in their own words, we find that many of our negative assumptions are wrong. Often we discover that we are more alike than we are different. Our magnificent world is in trouble, much of it because we are not paying attention to what is right in front of us. When the facts don’t stir us to reconsider, story can. This anthology invites us to become curious and reflective rather than fearful and defensive. It encourages us to climb down from the ladder of hierarchy and competition and to join the circle of relationship and humanity by becoming vulnerable enough to share and listen to our own and each other’s half-hidden stories.

But equally importantly, Bongani Kona, 2016 Caine Prize finalist, reminds us: “We forget that the most daring thing we can do is to allow ourselves to be seen. To stand before the world and to say this is who I am. This is how it is.”

About THE LIFE RIGHTING COLLECTIVE: The Life Righting Collective (LRC) runs courses for anyone who wants to learn to write about their experiences. The approach promotes self-discovery, self-recovery and more effective communication. It raises funds to make courses available to those in need of sponsorship and to provide platforms for these life stories to be published. Sharing experiences with a wide readership can help reduce discrimination and promote mutual understanding. Visit the website: www.liferighting.com

Lenerd Louw shares his journey of learning and awakening.

Jump is a book about Lenerd Louw's experiences including his playboy lifestyle in Cape Town, the difficulty and confusion when a massive internal shift occurred in him, the decision to walk away from it all, starting the outer journey all around the world whilst doing the tough deep inner journey at the same time. It includes his two-year period of celibacy at the start of his travels, his travels to fascinating places and his learnings at each place. It’s a story of personal expansion and awakening, of surrender, of trust and of transformation.

He sees the same shift now happening to many people around him, be it ex colleagues, friends or new people he has met. He feels a calling to share his journey. The book is one way of doing that!

"Former Miss Universe and Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Tebow confesses the danger of tying our identities to our accomplishments. Discover the truth of who you were created to be and how to use your platform, no matter how big or small, for eternal impact.

The purpose of our lives is to love and serve God and others. Demi shows how you can be encouraged to focus not just on your aspirations, but on your greater purpose and leave behind a footprint of significance, not just success."

“Dis politici wat oorlog verklaar, nie ons nie. Ons het gedoen wat ons geglo het ons moes doen en hulle [die vyand] ook . . .” – Marco Caforio, ouddienspligtige

Op 10 Junie 1980 gedurende ’n eindelose dag van bloedige gevegte onder die Angolese son is 13 lede van die Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag dood en etlike beseer toe 61 Gemeganiseerde Bataljon Groep ’n kompleks van Swapo-basisse in die suide van Angola aangeval het.

Gedurende Operasie Sceptic het tweede luitenant Paul Louw sy peleton in vier Ratels na die slagveld by die doelwit Smokeshell gelei.

In die chaos wat daardie dag gevolg het, is 12 dienspligtiges in sy peleton van 44 noodlottig gewond en hy is self ook beseer. Een van sy troepe, die 18-jarige HP Ferreira, is met ’n 14,5 mmmasjiengeweer deur sy pelvis geskiet en hy is ook deur etlike AK-47 koeëls getref. Hy het wonderbaarlik oorleef. Louw, nog met die bloed van sy manne aan sy klere, en ’n handjievol ander soldate het die aand deurgebring in ’n Ratel wat deur ’n RPG-vuurpyl getref is. Hulle was heeltemal afgesny van die res van die aanvalsgroep en het nie geweet of hulle die son sou sien opkom nie.

In Bloedbroers vertel van die oorlewendes van hul ervarings tydens die geveg. Dit werp ook lig op wat met soldate gebeur nadat die laaste skote afgevuur is en volg die veterane toe hulle vier dekades ná die operasie vir die eerste keer na die slagveld teruggekeer het.

How did a teenage refugee from communist Poland become one of the richest women in South Africa? In what ways did she disrupt the financial services industry? What drove her to become an activist exposing corporate and government corruption? What are her secrets for succeeding in business and life?

The founder of multibillion-rand financial services empire Sygnia Limited, Magda Wierzycka is South Africa’s most successful businesswoman. In this engaging and insightful book, she tells the story of her life, from her childhood in communist Poland, her family’s escape and relocation to South Africa, her early struggles in the male-dominated financial services industry, and the formation and growth of her own company, Sygnia.

With a business model built on transparency and low fees, it was a natural step for Magda to become an outspoken critic of corporate and government corruption, exposing wrongdoing and making her many powerful enemies in the process.

In this book, Magda shares the life lessons and business principles that have driven her and brought her success. This is a fascinating story that will inspire you to speak out, lean in, break out, and ultimately empower yourself not only to survive in life and business, but to thrive.

Falling Monuments, Reluctant Ruins: The Persistence of the Past in the Architecture of Apartheid interrogates how, in the era of decolonisation, post-apartheid South Africa reckons with its past in order to shape its future. Architects, historians, artists, social anthropologists and urban planners seek answers in this book to complex and unsettling questions around heritage, ruins and remembrance.

What do we do with hollow memorials and political architectural remnants? Which should remain, which forgotten, and which dismantled? Are these vacant buildings, cemeteries, statues, and derelict grounds able to serve as inspiration in the fight against enduring racism and social neglect? Should they become exemplary as spaces for restitution and justice? The contributors examine the influence of public memory, planning and activism on such anguished places of oppression, resistance and defiance. Their focus on visible markers in the landscape to interrogate our past will make readers reconsider these spaces, looking at their landscape and history anew.

Through a series of 14 empirically grounded chapters and 48 images, the contributors seek to understand how architecture contests or subverts these persistent conditions in order to promote social justice, land reclamation and urban rehabilitation. The decades following the dismantling of apartheid are surveyed in light of contemporary heritage projects, where building ruins and abandoned spaces are challenged and renegotiated across the country to become sites of protest, inspiration and anger.

This ground-breaking collection is an important resource for professionals, academics and activists working in South Africa today.

South Africa achieved notoriety for its apartheid policies and practices both in the country and in Namibia. Today Israel stands accused of applying apartheid in the Palestinian territories it has occupied since 1967. Confronting Apartheid examines the regimes of these three societies from the perspective of the author’s experiences as a human rights lawyer in South Africa and Namibia and as a UN human rights envoy in occupied Palestine.

Most personal histories of apartheid in Southern Africa tell the story of the armed struggle. This book is about opposition to apartheid within the law and through the law. The successes and failures of civil society and lawyers in this endeavour are described in the context of the discriminatory and oppressive regime of apartheid. The author’s own experiences in Namibia and South Africa serve to illustrate the injustices of the regime and the avenues left to lawyers to advance human rights within the law. The end of apartheid and the transition to democracy are also described through the experiences of the author.

The book concludes with an account of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank and the author’s work as human rights investigator and reporter for the United Nations. This involves the examination of issues such as the construction of Jewish settlements, the demolition of Palestinian homes, the restrictions on freedom of movement and the attacks on the life and liberty of Palestinians which the author argues constitute an oppressive regime falling within the definition of apartheid under international law. A separate chapter is devoted to the situation in Gaza which was closely monitored by the author for nearly a decade. Namibia, South Africa and Palestine are dealt with separately with introductions designed to ensure that the reader is provided with the necessary historical, political and legal background material.

After many years of serving the country and doing his part to help rebuild South Africa, Dr Peter Friedland was given an opportunity to serve as a member of Nelson Mandela’s medical team and helped to monitor his hearing.

Over the years they built a rapport and their conversations regularly veered towards politics. Mandela often gave Peter perspective and would push him to examine his reasons for supporting specific causes and holding particular views.

As an ENT specialist, Peter regularly treated victims of violent crime.

He also lost colleagues and friends to hijackings and other crimes. But when his daughters were exposed to a robbery, he had to make a lifechanging decision.

This book examines the powerful forces that push people away from South Africa and those that pull them back in. It is never as simple as merely staying or going – it is an emotional tug of war that continues until something snaps.

Through many conversations had with Mandela and lessons he learnt from his life, Peter worked through some of his PTSD, his fears and the deep sense of hopelessness he felt as he came to terms with his decision to emigrate to Australia.

His story beautifully captures the tension between an uncertain future that is out of your control and the fear that you might not survive.

This is a unique, first-of-its-kind tree book with beautiful illustrations of the fruiting twigs of 381 South African trees.

The reason behind illustrating tree fruits is that, like so many tree-lovers, Trevor found it difficult to identify many tree species from their leaves as they are the most variable of all the plant parts. Fruits, like flowers, have much more stable shapes and sizes and, unlike flowers, are easier to identify macroscopically. Scratch around the under-canopy of trees and you may find the remains of fruit that can be useful for identification. Thus, this book was born, and it represents the culmination of some 40 years’ work by the author.

This book includes:

• Specially coded keys showing colour and size for easyidentification.
• The current botanical binomial, recent old names (due totaxonomic changes) and the “best” common name are given.
• Notes on distribution, fruiting time and habitats are also provided.
• 381 Beautiful illustrations of the fruiting twigs of South African trees

Breaking a Rainbow, Building a Nation covers the university protests that took place in 2015–2016, better known as the #FeesMustFall protests. Rekgotsofetse (Kgotsi) gives us his first-hand account of what happened prior to the protests and what led to the events of October 2015 at the various university campuses and nationally.

This is a four-part retelling of what happened on the ground amongst the students, first at #RhodesMustFall, then moving to the university responses and management and what ultimately led to #FeesMustFall nationwide. Chikane then looks at student politics now and how they are different from 1976, specifically the fact that the protests were being led by so-called coconuts, who are part of the black elite.

The book poses the provocative question, can coconuts be trusted with the revolution?

Following on the success of Veld to Fork, Gordon Wright’s first book, Karoo Food is bigger, better and tastier than ever, with more recipes, stories and anecdotes about life and food in the Karoo.

Once again, Gordon takes you on a Slow Food journey, via your taste buds, to foodie-nirvana. Tracing the origins of ingredients and the stories behind the dishes, this is a selection of recipes and inspirations from the important people in his life. It’s a mix of the old and the new and a tribute to all those lovely people and their marvellous food over the generations that have helped foster his love of cooking.

This book is a must-have for cooks, foodies and aspiring home chefs.

Cook, Eat, Repeat is a delicious and delightful combination of recipes intertwined with narrative essays about food, all written in Nigella’s engaging and insightful prose. Whether asking ‘What is a Recipe?’ or declaring ‘Death to the Guilty Pleasure’, Nigella’s wisdom about food and life comes to the fore, with tasty new recipes that readers will want to return to again and again.

‘The recipes I write come from my life, my home’, says Nigella, and in this book she shares the rhythms and rituals of her kitchen through over fifty new recipes that make the most of her favourite ingredients. Dedicated chapters include ‘A is for Anchovy’ (a celebration of the bacon of the sea), ‘Beetroot and Me’, ‘A Vegan Feast’, a shout out for ‘Brown Food’, a very relatable ‘How To Invite People for Dinner Without Hating Them (or Yourself)’, plus new ideas for Christmas.

Within these chapters are recipes for all seasons and tastes: Burnt Onion and Aubergine Dip; Butternut with Chilli, Ginger and Beetroot Yoghurt Sauce; Brown Butter Colcannon; Spaghetti with Chard and Anchovies; Beef Cheeks with Port and Chestnuts; Oxtail Bourguignon; and Wide Noodles with Lamb in Aromatic Broth, to name a few. Those with a sweet tooth will delight in Rhubarb and Custard Trifle; Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake; Rice Pudding Cake; and Cherry and Almond Crumble.

Albertina Sisulu is revered by South Africans as the true mother of the nation. A survivor of the golden age of the African National Congress, whose life with the second most important figure in the ANC exemplified the underpinning role of women in the struggle against apartheid.

In 1944 she was the sole woman at the inaugural meeting of the radical offshoot of the ANC, the Youth League, with Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Anton Lembede in the vanguard. Her final years were spent in an unpretentious house in the former white Johannesburg suburb of Linden. A friend said of her, "she treated everybody alike. But her main concern was the welfare of our women and children." This abridged account of Sisulu’s overflowing life provides a fresh understanding of an iconic figure of South African history.

This new abridged memoir is written by Sindiwe Magona, one of South Africa’s most prolific authors, and Elinor Sisulu, writer, activist and daughter-in-law of Albertina.

Die Slag van Cuito Cuanavale is al dekades lank 'n bron van hewige konflik en emosie, maar tot nou toe was min bekend oor die Recces se teenwoordigheid en impak tydens dié omstrede gevegte.

In hierdie laaste boek van die spanningsvolle trilogie oor 1 Recce onthul Alexander Strachan, bekroonde skrywer en self 'n oud-Recce, meer oor die Recces se betrokkenheid daar.

Propvol spanning, adrenalien, hoogdrama en onvergeetlike vertellings deur oud-Recces wat dié ervarings eerstehands beleef het.

This South African story is an invitation to enrich conversations that could lead to social transformation and social cohesion in racially polarized world.

The book implicitly acknowledges that many white people have sought to be part of the journey towards racial harmony, but in most cases, it has been done without a paradigm shift on the part of white compatriots. It has been done with very limited understanding of the black world and with many assumptions.

The author is honest and raw, without placing judgements on his childhood experiences, simply telling it like it was. There are moments of brilliant humor, one can be laughing aloud, and minutes later, are hit like a punch in the gut by something unjust that happened or was observed. The art and power of effective and excellent storytelling is on display in this book. The storytelling is masterful.

The book leaves one with a feeling of challenge, a dose of hope-filled reality -- not just reality, and not false 'peace' talk -- but a discussion of hope-filled reality.

Most of the time, the road to riches is a closely guarded secret, until now. Jacana Media presents Mpho Dagada, one such young, self-made millionaire who in his memoir, Mr Bitcoin, shares his story of triumph and failure. He tells his story from the beginning: being brought up by business-minded and accomplished grandparents who planted in him the seeds of what it means to be successful in business.

Mpho Dagada’s interest in Bitcoin was ignited when he was in his first year at the University of Johannesburg in 2013 after opening his own laundry and cleaning service company. He invested his profits from this company in Bitcoin. He currently owns a logistics company, a chain of fast food restaurants and is in the process of developing the first black-owned cryptocurrency exchange platform.

This book is both motivational and practical, examining the errors and pitfalls that Dagada had to go through in his business pursuits. These included falling for Ponzi schemes like Kipi and losing his money on more than one occasion. Through these many lows were lessons of great value which ultimately led to the endless possibilities that Bitcoin presents for those interested in creating wealth through trading cryptocurrencies and running a successful business.

Dagada is confident in the viability of Bitcoin and ascertains that "we will never understand the money of the future without learning how money came about in the first place. Blockchain and Bitcoin are now pioneering a new online financial world. Cryptocurrencies will replace fiat money in the end, as they are faster, better and more convenient than all the earlier forms of currency."

In September 2007, Ellen Pakkies, a working mother from Lavender Hill on the Cape Flats, strangled her son to death. The judge in the subsequent trial sentenced her to community service for her crime. What drove Ellen to commit this horrific deed, and why the ostensibly light sentence for such a heinous crime?

The story of what happened over ten years ago has continued to grip public interest, putting a spotlight on the dire and desperate situation faced by many parents of addicted children. A highly successful play was produced in theatres around South Africa in 2011/12, and a full-length movie has recently been made of this story, which will reach the big screen in September 2018.

When Dealing in Death was first published in 2009, the scourge of drug addiction was sweeping across South Africa, affecting every level of society. Little, if anything, has changed since then, as this new edition reveals. The use of tik, particularly in the Western Cape, has skyrocketed, and it was Abie Pakkies’s addiction to this drug, and the horrendous impact it had on his and his family’s lives, that drove Ellen to murder. Her trial exposed the dark underbelly of a community crippled by drug and alcohol abuse, and focused attention on the plight of those who live in poverty and do not have recourse to drug-rehabilitation centres and other measures effective in the treatment of addicts.

Dealing in Death looks at the global and local drugs culture, the predicament of Ellen Pakkies and other mothers like her, and an impoverished community and the apartheid laws that gave birth to it.

The Great Marula Menu  is a delicious collaboration between Amarula and passionate home cooks from across South Africa. A curation of the best Amarula-inspired recipes shared by devoted Amarula fans, the book is a true reflection of community and a shared love of great flavours. With contributions from renowned culinary figures The Lazy Makoti and J’Something, who bring their unique talents to the table, The Great Marula Menu promises a cultural journey through diverse South African home cooking.
 
From tasty lunches to moreish mains, scrumptious desserts and inspired cocktails, each recipe contains either a splash or a generous pour of this world-famous liqueur. But more than this, the book is a tribute to the land where the marula trees grow. Gathered within these pages, you’ll find a representation of this nation’s vibrant imagination – all brought together in the spirit of generosity. It’s a delightful blend of Amarula’s spirit, culinary expertise and the warmth of home cooking, inviting everyone to savour the rich tapestry of South Africa’s food culture.