Life is frequently about ‘turning up’ and Tony Leon was present at the making of history both big and small.

Being There is a frank and insightful collection of insider accounts from a life in politics. The centrepiece is Leon’s riveting diary of the GNU negotiations that went down to the wire following the 2024 elections. This is the first and only inside account of these talks.

He also casts his gimlet eye on the fault lines of the Middle East, shares ambassadorial adventures in Argentina, and outlines the perils of political party fundraising. Written in Leon’s vintage style – observant, witty, acerbic – he proves the maxim that much of success is simply about being there.

Whetsho-otsile Joseph (Joe) Seremane is the founding federal chair of the Democratic Alliance in South Africa. Joe’s story spans six decades and tells of a visionary who survived incarceration at Robben Island, exile to Bophuthatswana and further incarceration at Fort Glamorgan.

Joe starts out as a champion of the banned People’s Africanist Congress but gradually develops a more holistic viewpoint. He concludes that he can contribute to the new democracy by helping to swell the ranks of the opposition. Eventually, in 2002, Joe finds his way to the Democratic Alliance as their founding federal chair. Hurt and disappointment come his way as he is seen as a traitor and a coconut by erstwhile comrades and co-prisoners.

As democracy in his beloved homeland starts to shed its skin of idealism and hope, he has to grapple with grave personal loss and a compelling question: Who is the enemy really?

In his foreword Tony Leon, erstwhile leader of the DA, notes: "I commend Fly the Tattered Dream Coat, both for its deep dive into this country’s history-in-the-making and the human story it describes of one of the more significant but underappreciated fighters for South Africa’s freedom."

In this engaging and authentic record of Joe’s storied careers and background, Dr Maske recounts Joe’s presence in my life at both its happiest and saddest…

'Tony Leon is not only an experienced politician but also a talented writer, and this book is the highly readable result of that combination.' - Lord William Hague, former British Foreign Secretary and Conservative Party leader 'Anyone who wants to understand South Africa today - a country so beautiful, yet so broken - simply has to read this book.' - Niall Ferguson, author of The Ascent of Money In his riveting new book, Future Tense, Tony Leon captures and analyses recent South African history, with a focus on the squandered and corrupted years of the past decade. With unique access and penetrating insight, Leon presents a portrait of today's South Africa and prospects for its future, based on his political involvement over thirty years with the key power players: Cyril Ramaphosa, Jacob Zuma, Thabo Mbeki, Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk. His close-up and personal view of these presidents and their history-making, and many encounters in the wider world, adds vivid colour of a country and planet in upheaval. Written during the first coronavirus lockdown, Future Tense examines the surge of the disease and the response, both of which have crashed the economy and its future prospects. As the founding leader of the Democratic Alliance, Leon also provides an insider view for the first time of the power struggles within that party, which saw the exit of its first black leader in 2019. There is every reason to fear for the future of South Africa but, as Leon argues, 'the hope for a better country remains an improbable, but not an impossible, dream'.

Future Tense analyses the squandered and corrupted years since Leon’s first award-winning biography.

Leon, with unique access and penetrating insight, presents a portrait of today’s South Africa and prospective future, based on his vast political involvement with key power players. His intimate view of these presidents and their history-making, and his many worldly encounters, reflects on a country and planet in upheaval. Leon also provides an insider view for the first time of the power struggles within the official opposition party, which saw the exit of its first black leader in 2019.

Written during the coronavirus lockdown, Future Tense also examines the surge of both the disease and the response, which has crashed the economy and its future prospects, as well as the rise of a dangerous Julius Malema-led populism, and how this echoes global discontent elsewhere. There is every reason to fear for the future of South Africa, but Leon advocates hope.

"It's a book! It's a guide! It's a way of life!" The exciting new book in the acclaimed, bestselling, award-winning UNBORED series: Here comes UNBORED Adventure. UNBORED Adventure has all the smarts, innovation, and free-wheeling spirit of the original UNBORED and its 2014 spinoff, UNBORED Games, but with a fresh focus on encouraging kids to break out of their techno-passivity and explore the world around them--whether that's a backyard, a downtown, or a forest. Combining old-fashioned favorites with today's high-tech possibilities, the book offers a goldmine of creative, constructive activities that kids can do on their own or with their families. From camouflage techniques, survival skills, and cloudspotting advice to instructions on how to build an upcycled kite or raft, to using apps to navigate and explore, it's all here--along with comics that dive into the secret history of everything from bicycling to women explorers. A fun corrective to our over-anxious parenting culture, UNBORED Adventure encourages kids to become more independent and resilient, to solve problems and ask questions, and to engage with both their community and natural environment. The original UNBORED is already a much beloved, distinctly contemporary family brand. Along with UNBORED Games, UNBORED Adventure extends the franchise in a handy, flexibound format so that the whole family can enjoy themselves indoors, outdoors, online, and offline.

Tony Leon has written a book of unique insight into an unexplored aspect of the presidency and leadership of Nelson Mandela. Opposite Mandela relates the untold stories of how South Africa's first democratic president related to his political opponents.

Leon served as leader of the Democratic Party during Mandela's presidency. Although they clashed, sometimes fiercely, on great issues of the day, Leon enjoyed an unusually warm relationship with Mandela and had direct access to the president's office. In this first-hand account, he relates some of the more consequential moments of those momentous times in South Africa's history-in-the-making through the lens of the opposition. Although this is a personal account, it also explores some of the major themes, from reconciliation to corruption, which not only marked that period but also laid the basis for the current challenges which confront South Africa today, nearly two decades after Mandela assumed the country’s highest office, the very moment when Leon's political leadership began.

Insightful, and simultaneously serious and amusing, it lifts the veil on many unknown or unexplained benchmarks from that era: the personal animosity between Mandela and FW De Klerk, the decision of the Democratic Party to reject Mandela's offer of a seat in his cabinet and whether the extraordinary outreach of Mandela to the minorities was the shrewd calculation of a latter-day Machiavelli or the genuine impulses of a secular political saint. This highly readable and first-hand account considers in a balanced manner both the golden moments and the blind spots of one of the most consequential presidencies and leaders of the modern democratic age.

NORTH CAROLINA: RACE OF THE CENTURY examines the role of the media within the context of the North Carolina political campaigns, leading up to coverage of the contest involving the incumbent Senator Jesse Helms and Harvey Gantt, former mayor of Charlotte. Critical factors of race and credibility were examined along with Gantt's issues-oriented campaign strategies. The election results found that the matters of race and damaging race-baiting ads dominated the voters' agenda toward the final weeks of the 1990 Senatorial campaign. In a state dominated by the Democratic Party, the issues-oriented campaign of the Democratic nominee, Harvey Gantt, did not prevail. Specifically, the results indicated that Gantt narrowly won urban cities (i.e. Charlotte); however, Senator Jesse Helms prevailed and dominated small towns. Of equal importance, the preamble to the North Carolina Democratic Constitution aptly stated the importance of party unity, but "yellow dog" Democrats and "Jessecrats" crossed over to cast their ballots for Senator Helms. Unquestionably race played a role in the election; however, it was not the determining factor. The art of skillfully orchestrating a political campaign was evident in Senator Helm's success. Moreover, Gantt's campaign ads which targeted specific issues were important to some voters. The undecided voters and "Jessecrats" viewed loyalty, power, influence, religion, values and race as some of the key factors in the election. And yes, Senator Helms' ancestral roots from small-town, Monroe, North Carolina, added value and trust for constituencies, Republican, Democrat and Independent alike. Powell wrote this book to convey the interrelationship between politics andthe media, examining connections existing in the 1700s and still existing today. The case study specifically examines Southern politics, as they relate to some of North Carolina's powerful political figures. Powell's research covers historical documents in which political leaflets and campaign images were embedded in the culture that helped to shape the political reality of voters for centuries. Although the news media continue to exert strong influence on American culture, the political landscape has changed in the South and elsewhere. The art of developing a skillful campaign has become an important key for political success-nowhere has this been more evident than in North Carolina during the 1990 contest between Harvey Gantt and Senator Jesse Helms: the Race of the Century.