Forty great South Africans celebrate their mothers and grandmothers. Leaders from the worlds of politics, business, music, sport, education and literature pay homage to the women who have influenced and inspired them to lead exceptional lives. Mac Maharaj remembers how his mother served everyone with unfailing courtesy and recognition of their dignity. Desmond Tutu hopes he can resemble his mother spiritually and emulate her generosity and kindness, while Pam Golding shares her mom’s good advice: ‘Keep dancing and you’ll stay out of trouble!’ Who was it that raised the likes of Sibongile Khumalo or Antjie Krog to extraordinary achievement? Or Nelson Mandela, Lukas Radebe, JM Coetzee, Helen Suzman, Pieter-Dirk Uys, Miriam Makeba, Elana Meyer, Ahmed Kathrada and many more? Much of the answer lies in these heart-warming tributes.

The hand that rocks the cradle … as this title amply demonstrates, there is almost always a nurturing mother figure behind the people who become giants in their field. Thus witnesses 50 men and women, well-known in the public life of South Africa, with touching short essays about their mothers or grandmothers. There are writers, musicians and stars of the stage, educationist and legal dignitaries, businesspeople and sports personalities, artists, filmmakers and media leaders.