Michael Vlismas – författare

One of the greats of South African rugby shares the many layers of his colourful and eventful life. From rugby legend to businessman, wine farmer, cultural custodian, musician, father and grandfather, Schalk Burger’s memoir is an intensely personal and honest journey of the triumphs and hardships that have shaped the life of a much-loved South African. Burger is a storyteller extraordinaire and he’ll have you snorting into your beer as you read about run-ins with officialdom, fisticuffs on the field, how he became the first white Springbok selected from a Coloured team, and the day Cheeky Watson asked to wash his feet. This is a glimpse into the life and times of one of the country’s most recognised figures, and told in the stories of the many lives that intersected with his. “Who am I, and how do I live? That is something this story will bring out of me.”

From the day he joined a ramshackle Kenyan cycling club made up of orphans and street children, Chris Froome was destined for greatness. This biography chronicles Froomes journey from the dusty mountain tracks outside Nairobi to the historic roads of the worlds most famous bicycle race and his victory in the 2013 Tour de France. It is a journey that begins by learning to fix punctures in a Kenyan village under the mentorship of his long-time friend David Kinjah. It is the story of a boy who once sold avocados on the side of the road and lived with his mother in the servants' quarters at the back of a lavish homestead in Nairobi, but who had a free spirit and a drive to follow his dream. From his challenges and triumphs on the road to the tragedy of his mothers death, Froome emerges as a man apart but loyal and compassionate to those nearest to him as he sought to capture road cycling's ultimate prize -- the Tour de France. From Africa to the Alps, this is the story of Africa's greatest cycling moment. This is the ride of Chris Froomes life.

A NEW EDITION OF MICHAEL VLISMAS' EYE-OPENING BIOGRAPHY OF ELON MUSK, NOW WITH NEW MATERIAL COVERING THE LATEST IN MUSK'S FAMILY AND BUSINESS LIFEIn 2022 Elon Musk - one of the richest and best-known people on earth - made headlines worldwide with his bid to buy Twitter, and he is often in the news for his entrepreneurial exploits and his controversial tweets. Who is this boundary-pushing billionaire with grand plans of inhabiting Mars, and what lies at the heart of his vision? Why is he so utterly unafraid of risk?As an awkward Pretoria schoolboy who loved comics and science fiction, Musk's early years and singular family background were crucial in forming his stellar ambitions. Journalist and author Michael Vlismas, who attended the same high school as Musk, knows well the environment that shaped him and offers new insights into Musk's development, including his troubled relationship with his father.Tracing his remarkable life, from his South African childhood to his move to Canada at 17 and then to the US - where Musk made millions out of PayPal and built Tesla and SpaceX into two of the world's most famous companies - this is the revealing new story of a man driven to preserve the optimism he sees in humanity and find a future for humans 'out there among the stars'.