#ZuptasMustFall, and other rants


Book Description

Who are these Guptas who are so powerful, they’re distributing cabinet posts like matrons handing out condoms at a brothel? Who do Americans think they are, accusing Trevor Noah of ‘stealing’ a joke from one of their comedians? Is Sizakele MaKhumalo Zuma’s spaza shop a National Key Point? In #ZuptasMustFall, and other rants, Fred Khumalo runs riot, contemplating the pressing issues that continue to confound, infuriate and exasperate the nation – or to sink it into further controversy. Covering a wide range of topics, including politics, history, current events and celebrity gossip, this compilation of recent and new writings contains Khumalo’s trademark blend of humour and shrewd analysis, as well as his treatment of everyday issues from a uniquely South African perspective. This is an entertaining collection of thoughts from one of the country’s most seasoned journalists, offering many questions, and tongue-in-cheek answers, on who we are as a nation, where we are going, and how we compare to the rest of the world.




Migrations: New Short Fiction from Africa


Book Description

Short Story Day Africa presents its annual anthology. The stories explore true and alternative African culture through a competition on the theme of Migrations. 'Wherever we go, so do our stories.' Shortlisted Authors: Sibongile Fisher (South Africa), Mirette Bhagat Eskaros (Egypt), Blaize Kaye (South Africa), Megan Ross (South Africa), Stacy Hardy (South Africa), TJ Benson (Nigeria).




Dancing the Death Drill


Book Description

‘Be quiet and be calm, my countrymen, for what is taking place is exactly what you came to do ... Brothers, we are drilling the death drill.’ – Reverend Isaac Wauchope Dyobha Paris, 1958. A skirmish in a world-famous restaurant leaves two men dead and the restaurant staff baffled. Why did the head waiter, a man who’s been living in France for many years, lunge at his patrons with a knife? As the man awaits trial, a journalist hounds his long-time friend, hoping to expose the true story behind this unprecedented act of violence. Gradually, the extraordinary story of Pitso Motaung, a young South African who volunteered to serve with the Allies in the First World War, emerges. Through a tragic twist of fate, Pitso found himself on board the ss Mendi, a ship that sank off the Isle of Wight in February 1917. More than six hundred of his countrymen, mostly black soldiers, lost their lives in a catastrophe that official history largely forgot. One particularly cruel moment from that day will remain etched in Pitso’s mind, resurfacing decades later to devastating effect. Dancing the Death Drill recounts the life of Pitso Motaung. It is a personal and political tale that spans continents and generations, moving from the battlefields of the Boer War to the front lines in France and beyond. With a captivating blend of pathos and humour, Fred Khumalo brings to life a historical event, honouring both those who perished in the disaster and those who survived.




Touch My Blood


Book Description




Bitches' Brew


Book Description

Focusing on the epic love affair between a former amateur musician--who happens to be a bootlegger, mercenary, and killer--and a shebeen queen, this South African love story traces the couple's lives and loves through the interweaving of history and memory in the tradition of village storytellers.




Seven Steps to Heaven


Book Description

Sis Lettie, the streetwise philosopher of the shebeens and entrepreneur par excellence, retires just a little in Fred Khumalo's new book seven steps to heaven. Her son Kokoroshe, street urchin turned lawyer, now takes centre stage. This is a family saga, a riveting tale of love, betrayal, and a search for identity - sexual and otherwise. Dark, yet with the boisterous and in -your-face humour that made bitches' brew a hit with readers and critics alike, seven steps to heaven is the work of a novelist of great talent.




Gardening in the Shade in South Africa


Book Description

Most gardens have shady spots, but some gardens have a real shade ‘problem’. Whether it is caused by large or overhanging trees, tall buildings, or just being on the ‘wrong side of the street’, finding the best plants for a shady area can be challenging, particularly if the rest of your garden basks in sunshine all year round. Shade plants are not necessarily tropical, although many tropical plants thrive in shade. Some delicate leafy plants will scorch and burn in hot sun, some plants like shady conditions but not damp soil, while others grow happily in damp, boggy ground that receives minimum sunlight. Gardening in the Shade examines the different types of shade and the effect it has on plant growth. It presents solutions to common problems such as feeding, watering and mulching shade plants, and how to deal with exacerbating factors such as wind, frost and soil type. Popular shade plants, like clivias, bromeliads, fuchsias and ferns are given special features, and a directory of species lists plants under headings like ground covers, tropical-looking perennials, and succulents.




Bank Robber


Book Description

Five bank robberies. Fifteen years in jail. That was the sentence handed down to Allan Heyl in 1977. He was 26 years old and couldn't face that many years behind bars. And then he got lucky. Into the prison walked André Stander, ex-cop and bank robber - an outlaw through and through. 'We're going to get out of here,' said Stander. 'We're going to rob banks.' And that is exactly what they did. In this fast-paced, no-holds-barred, no-punches-pulled memoir, Heyl exposes the hell of prison life, revels in the sheer gung-ho audacity of robbing banks, and reveals an inept and incompetent police force. As a member of the notorious 'Stander Gang', which both appalled and enthralled South Africans in the late '70s and early '80s, Allan became a career criminal. But this choice of lifestyle had its consequences ... With humour, insight and self-revelation, the last surviving member of the so-called Stander Gang turns a critical eye on himself and the times in which he operated. This book takes you into the heart of a bank robber.




Tales from Southern Africa


Book Description




The Lighter Side of Life on Robben Island


Book Description

"Twenty years since the closure of the Robben Island prison , former Islanders reminisce about their shared past. This book is a collection of anecdotal conversations that reveal the lighter side of life on the iconic struggle symbol, the Robben Island prison. The narratives offer a peak into a different side of prison life ; how political prisoners coped with the drill of a monotonous existence and how, with the march of time, their experiences have become a subject of comic relief among themselves. Their stories range from their sporting activities to music, fashion, politicking and inevitably, their love lives, both real and imagined, of men cooped up on one of the most notorious prison islands in the world."-- Publisher's note."