Neville Alexander was a revolutionary scholar, educator and activist in the struggles against Apartheid and in post-Apartheid South Africa. He spent ten years (1964-74) as a political prisoner on Robben Island alongside Nelson Mandela and others before emerging as one of South Africa's foremost public intellectuals. His writings are a key reference point for understanding some of the most important debates in that country over the past half-century. Salim Vally is Professor and Director of the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation (CERT) at the University of Johannesburg and the National Research Foundation’s South African Research Initiative’s Chair in Community, Adult and Workers Education (CAWE). He is co-editor with Enver Motala of Education, Economy and Society, and with Aziz Choudry of Reflections on Knowledge, Learning and Social Movements: History's Schools.Enver Motala has worked in education for five decades. He has worked in the labour movement, an education NGO, in government and at various universities. He is currently an Associate of CERT and CAWE and of the Centre for Integrated Post-School Education and Training at the Nelson Mandela University.

'A treasure chest for all opponents of racism and capitalism, introducing key writings of the late South African revolutionary Neville Alexander on the workings of racial capitalism in his country. More than that, it shows us Alexander the grassroots organizer for liberation. Throughout these pages, we encounter a great radical thinker profoundly committed to changing the world. This is a vital resource in the struggle for global justice.'

• Preface by Karen PressTimeline: Key events in the life and times of Neville Alexander Introduction by Salim Vally and Enver MotalaPart I: Prison Writings: ‘The University of Robben Island’ 1964-1974Part II: Reaping the Whirlwind: the 1980s Part III: The Transition to Democracy: 1990 to 1994Part IV: Post-1994 essays, talks and articlesBibliography