Corruption is commonplace in South Africa. The values that underpinned the ANC's liberation ideology appear to be collapsing and a new 'bling' culture, which has infected both politics and business, seems to be taking over in South Africa. William Gumede tackles these and other pressing issues head-on in his new book which brings together his best writing of the past three years. Included are opinion pieces written for overseas publications such as The Guardian, The Independent and The New Statesman, which have never been published in South Africa before. Gumede covers several hot topics, including black economic empowerment, the state of the ANC alliance, poor service delivery and the state of our democracy. His critique is most severe when he discusses the Zuma presidency and the scourge of corruption. According to Gumede there is a choking sense that the current generation in government do not have the ideas or political will to lead us out of this malaise. Only a spring-clean of leadership, ideas and institutions will lift the gloom. A powerful call to action.

Richly illustrated, this book tells the story of Andile and his father, who make a beautiful kite that they rush to send aloft. To Andile's horror, however, the string breaks--but father and son are magically lifted on an epic journey across Africa. From the thundering Victoria Falls and the snow tops of Kilimanjaro to the Sahara Desert and ancient Egyptian pyramids, the kite's trajectory takes the travelers over some of the great landmarks of Africa.

In a country where it has been suggested that the distinction requirements at schools be moved down from 80% to 70%, it is of grave importance that we evaluate the role of knowledge and what significance we attach to it. Do we respect and value the production of knowledge, or is contemporary South African society being 'dumbed down'? And if knowledge is no longer an essential commodity, do we have a need for a 'thinking class'; the intellectuals? Where are our great South African minds? Are they hiding in fear of our society's seeming intolerance of criticism and dissent? Eminent thinkers Leslie Dikeni and William Gumede examine how South African intellectuals have regressed from drivers of change in the Apartheid era to disenchanted ghosts that appear to fear critical engagement in The Poverty of Ideas. This title offers differing but critical evaluations of the responsibility of the progressive intellectual in a new democracy. During the struggle against apartheid intellectuals have spoken out and more often then not influenced the trajectory of events. But it appears that today's intellectuals are paralysed by fear of raising the ire of authority...