Thabo Mbeki: A dream deferred by Mark Gevisser

Thabo Mbeki: A dream deferred
Author: Mark Gevisser
Format: Softcover




Description:
This title is a story about home and exile. It is a story, too, of political intrigue; of a revolutionary movement struggling first to defeat and then to seduce a powerful and callous enemy, of the battle between unity and discord, and the dogged rise to power of a quiet, clever, diligent but unpopular man who seemed to take little joy in power but have much need for it.

By the time he retires in 2009, Thabo Mbeki will have ruled South Africa, in effect, for the full fifteen years of its post-apartheid democracy: the first five as Nelson Mandela's 'prime minister' and the next ten as Mandela's successor.

No African leader since the uhuru generation of Nkrumah and Nyerere has been as influential.

The author's long-awaited biography is a profound psycho-political examination of this brilliant but deeply-flawed leader, who has attempted to forge an identity for himself as the symbol of modern Africa in the long shadow of Mandela. It is also a gripping journey into the turbulent history and troubled contemporary soul of the country; one that tries to make sense of the violence of the past and confusion of the present.

As Mbeki battles, in the current day, with demons ranging from AIDS to Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and finds his legacy challenged by the ever-growing candidacy of his would-be successor Jacob Zuma, The Dream Deferred tracks us back along the path that brought him here, and helps us understand the meaning of South Africa, post-apartheid and post-Mandela.


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Total Onslaught by De Wet Potgieter

Total onslaught: Apartheid's Dirty Tricks Exposed
Author: De Wet Potgieter
Format: Softcover



Description:
For much of its time in power, the National Party government was bolstered by the direct involvement of its security forces. Ordinary citizens had no idea that their taxes were being used to fund unorthodox and even illegal operations, ranging from international propaganda campaigns to local death squads.

It was the government's total strategy against the enemy's total onslaught. Despite the efforts of a handful of intrepid journalists who began the process of uncovering the truth about apartheid, South Africa's recent history remains fraught with secrets.

Now, for the first time, investigative reporter De Wet Potgieter can reveal the truth behind some of the most enigmatic events in South Africa's past, from what happened during PW Botha's final cabinet meeting to the assassination of Olaf Palme.

These, and many other news stories of the time, are brought to light in this read.

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Ja, No, man! by Richard Poplak

Ja, No, man!
Author: Richard Poplak
Format: Softcover




Description:
Ja, No, Man! is an eerily familiar portrayal of the life of an ordinary white South African growing up during Apartheid-era South Africa. Told with extraordinary humour and self-awareness, the author's story brings his gradual understanding of the difference between his country and the rest of the world vividly to life.

A startlingly original memoir that veers sharply from the quotidian to the bizarre and back again, Ja, No, Man! is an enlightening, darkly hilarious, and, at times, disturbing read.

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