Helen Suzman


Book Description

Helen Suzman was the voice of South Africa's conscience during the darkest days of apartheid. She stood alone in parliament, confronted by a legion of highly chauvinist male politicians. Armed with the relentless determination and biting wit for which she became renowned, Suzman battled the racist regime and earned her reputation as a legendary anti-apartheid campaigner. Despite constant antagonism and the threat of violence, she forced into the global spotlight the injustices of the country's minority rule. Access to Suzman's papers, including her unpublished correspondence with Nelson Mandela, was granted by her family to the author, former British ambassador to South Africa Robin Renwick, who has penned a book rich with examples of her humour and political brilliance. This first full biography goes beyond her famous struggle against apartheid into her criticisms of the post-apartheid government. It is a fascinating insight into the life of a truly great South African and her role in one of the most important struggles in modern history.




In No Uncertain Terms


Book Description







A Short History of South Africa


Book Description

South Africa is popularly perceived as the most influential nation in Africa – a gateway to an entire continent for finance, trade and politics, and a crucial mediator in its neighbours' affairs. On the other hand, post-Apartheid dreams of progress and reform have, in part, collapsed into a morass of corruption, unemployment and criminal violence. A Short History of South Africa is a brief, general account of the history of this most complicated and fascinating country – from the first evidence of hominid existence to the wars of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries that led to the establishment of modern South Africa, the horrors of Apartheid and the optimism following its collapse, as well as the prospects and challenges for the future. This readable and thorough account, illustrated with maps and photographs, is the culmination of a lifetime of researching and teaching the broad spectrum of South African history. Nattrass's passion for her subject shines through, whether she is elucidating the reader on early humans in the cradle of humankind, or describing the tumultuous twentieth-century processes that shaped the democracy that is South Africa today.




Life and Soul


Book Description

This exquisite book by award-winning photographer Karina Turok presents a series of portraits of inspirational and iconic South African women




People Who Said No


Book Description

Sometimes it’s okay to ignore the rules or break the law. In fact, it’s essential! This thought-provoking book features people who did just that: Sophie and Hans Scholl, siblings who distributed antigovernment pamphlets in Nazi Germany; and Andrei Sakharov, who helped develop the nuclear bomb in Cold War Russia, but then spoke out against its use. Some, like Rosa Parks, were not originally in positions of political power but came out of the ranks of regular citizens to stand up for human rights. Others, like Oscar Romero, archbishop of El Salvador, used their power to change the status quo. Also included are Helen Suzman, a South African member of parliament who fought apartheid; Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest for protesting the dictatorship in Burma; and the people of Egypt, who recently brought down the repressive government of Hosni Mubarak. These inspirational profiles of people who followed their moral compass make for riveting stories as well as excellent starting points for discussions about ethics and morality.




The End of Apartheid


Book Description

In 2 February 1990, FW de Klerk made a speech that changed the history of South Africa. Nine days later, the world watched as Nelson Mandela walked free from the Viktor Verster prison. In the midst of these events was Lord Renwick, Margaret Thatcher's envoy to South Africa, who became a personal friend of Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, acting as a trusted intermediary between them. He warned PW Botha against military attacks on neighbouring countries, in meetings he likens to 'calling on the führer in his bunker'. He invited Mandela to his first meal in a restaurant for twenty-seven years, rehearsing him for his meeting with Margaret Thatcher - and told Thatcher that she must not interrupt him. Their discussion went on so long that the British press in Downing Street started chanting 'Free Nelson Mandela'.In this extraordinary insider's account, Renwick draws on his diaries of the time, as well as previously unpublished material from the Foreign Office and Downing Street files. He paints a vivid, affectionate, real-life portrait of Mandela as a wily and resourceful political leader bent on out-manoeuvring both adversaries and some of his own colleagues in pursuit of a peaceful outcome.




Louis Botha


Book Description

In A Man Apart Richard Steyn once again brings to life a South African icon. Louis Botha was the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, a union he did much to create in the decade after the devastation of the Anglo-Boer War. During the war Botha was a brilliant young Boer general who through his battlefield strategy won significant victories over the British in the early stages of the war. When the weight of British arms overwhelmed the Boers, Botha along with Smuts did much to encourage peace between English and Afrikaner and led the country to Union in 1910 and dominion status. Botha was a big-hearted and generous man who showed magnanimity in his dealings with all, including former enemies. He led the South African troops to victory and the capture of German South West Africa – prior to this he had to put down a revolt of pro-German Afrikaners. At the Peace of Versailles, representing South Africa, he pleaded unsuccessfully for magnanimity towards the Germans. Botha was a globally respected figure – he and Smuts effectively operated as a double act in South Africa and on the international stage before Botha's untimely death in August 1919 at only 57. In A Man Apart this tragically short life is illuminated in full.




Speeches that Shaped South Africa


Book Description

Great speeches have the power to bring about political change, and South Africa lays claim to some of the world’s most skilled orators, from Nelson Mandela, whose courageous statement from the dock inspired the liberation struggle, to Desmond Tutu, whose ‘Rainbow People of God’ speech prepared the country for a new era. On the other side of the political spectrum, who can forget P.W. Botha’s infamous Rubicon speech, an oratorical flop which took the country backwards during the 1980s, or F.W. de Klerk’s unbanning of the ANC in 1990, which took it forwards again? Speeches that Shaped South Africa is the first collection of these historic utterances, featuring key speeches from the beginning of apartheid to the present. It includes Harold Macmillan’s ‘Wind of Change’, Thabo Mbeki’s ‘I am an African’ and Mmusi Maimane’s ‘Broken Man’ speech. Also featured are Bram Fischer, Helen Suzman, Steve Biko, Winnie Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Julius Malema and many others. The book covers past and present shenanigans in Parliament, clandestine broadcasts on Radio Freedom, moving funeral eulogies that celebrate our political giants, and the informal rhetoric of populist crowd-pleasers. Accompanying each speech is a commentary that places it in a historical context and explores its effects. Accessible and engaging, this analysis is based on original research and offers fresh insights into events. This is a fascinating journey through South African history over the past seventy years.




Profiles in Humanity


Book Description

This compelling book tells the inspirational stories of men and women who fought for peace, freedom, equality, and human rights throughout the twentieth century. These courageous individuals include leading figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Václav Havel, and Mikhail Gorbachev, as well as Nobel Prize winners Aung San Suu Kyi, Andrei Sakharov, and Muhammad Yunus. Readers will be reminded why Pope John XXIII, long overshadowed by the charismatic John Paul II, was the greatest pope of contemporary times. A new generation will learn that Margaret Sanger was responsible for the single most important advance toward the liberation of women worldwide. They will also come to know some of the valiant women who fought at great personal risk for equal rights in Muslim communities. Cohen highlights the vital roles of Bram Fischer, Helen Suzman, and Donald Woods in fighting apartheid in South Africa and of Jack Greenberg in the struggle against Jim Crow in America. He traces Liu Binyan's efforts to win freedom of the press and to end the abuse of power by the Chinese Communist Party. Finally, he recounts the remarkable stories of some of the thousands of men and women of many nationalities and walks of life who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. Together, these biographies paint an unforgettable portrait of the famous and unsung people who stepped forward with the moral vision to intervene, often at great personal cost, to alleviate human misery.