Pan Macmillan South Africa – förlag

Agnes, the Van Wyks’ Zulu housekeeper, had a special friendship with young Chris in the late sixties to early seventies. He would defend her whenever she came to work with a hangover on a Monday morning and made a mess of the cleaning. In turn, Agnes never told on Chris when he played truant from school.

As the years passed, the two grew closer, swopping stories about coloureds and Zulus, life in Riverlea and Soweto, pass laws, politics and falling in love. She taught him to count in Zulu and he promised to teach her to read in English.

Whenever the clock ran against her, Agnes would stop almost in mid-sentence, grab a broom or cloth, and declare: ‘I have to rush. I have eggs to lay, chickens to hatch.’

What an odd, ungrammatical thing to say, Chris often mused. But many years later, he played a CD by Louis Jordan, a 1940s American jazz singer, and it all became clear.

Eggs to lay, chickens to hatch (forthcoming end April 2010) is Chris van Wyk’s second childhood memoir about growing up in Riverlea and his colourful interactions with the men and women who lived the African proverb that ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. But mostly it is the story of a wonderful friendship between a young coloured boy and a Zulu woman.

Illuminating Africa''s Path to Development: Experts Unite to Offer Solutions

In his insightful bestseller, Architects of Poverty, Moeletsi Mbeki examined why Africans comprise the majority of the world''s bottom billion, illustrating how Africa''s political elite are to blame. Not content with merely articulating the problems, in Advocates for Change Mbeki brings together experts from across the continent who believe there are solutions to the challenges that Africa faces.

In these thought-provoking chapters, you will hear from a diverse array of experts: L. Amédée Darga on Mauritius; David Everatt on class formation and inequality; Mike Herrington on entrepreneurship; Jonathan D. Jansen on education; Paul Jourdan on mineral resources; Gilbert M. Khadiagala on elections; Thandika Mkandawire on re-industrialisation; Seeraj Mohamed on the economy; Sindiso Ndema Ngwenya on regional integration; Mandivamba Rukuni on traditional agriculture; and Francois Venter and Helen Rees on health.

This accessible, highly informative collection spans various fields to reveal how Africa can once more be set on the road to development. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the politics and future of this vibrant continent.

Explore the enduring legacy of Stephen Bantu Biko through the insightful Steve Biko Memorial Lectures, delivered by Africa''s foremost scholars, artists, and leaders.

The Steve Biko Memorial Lectures: 2000–2008 is a compelling compilation of the annual lectures held by the Steve Biko Foundation since 2000. These lectures delve into the inextricable link between the individual and society, the challenges and opportunities faced by developing nations, and attempt to define a mandate for the current generation of leadership.

Described as a resuscitative moment, this thought-provoking series probes the enduring legacy and leadership of Stephen Bantu Biko in a contemporary context. Published in commemoration of Biko''s life and legacy, this book aims to contribute to realizing the purpose for which he lived and died: restoring people to their true humanity.

Explore crucial themes of democracy, human rights, and post-colonialism in this essential collection of lectures, shedding light on the ongoing struggle for equality and justice in Africa and beyond.

The Mistress’s Dog is an engaging collection of twelve short stories by David Medalie, including two award winners – ‘Recognition’ and ‘The Mistress’s Dog’ – and a Foreword and afterword by Michael Titlestad.

Deft, subtle and nuanced, Medalie’s stories show an accomplished and mature writer at his best. Their focus is the lived experience of people: ostensibly uneventful lives into which the unexpected erupts. These stories find significance in the reversals, ironies and coincidences of existence. They bring the characters – and the reader – to the brink of recognition.

The Mistress''s Dog was short-listed in 2011 for the University of Johannesburg Literary Award and was awarded the Thomas Pringle Award by the English Academy of Southern Africa in 2008. It was also short-listed in 2011 for the Caine Prize for African Writing and was selected as one of the best twenty short stories of the post-apartheid period and was published in 2014, along with the other nineteen stories, in a collection entitled Twenty in 20.

Eight Days in September is a riveting, behind-the-scenes account of the turbulent eight-day period in September 2008 that led to the removal of Thabo Mbeki as president of South Africa.

As secretary of the cabinet and head (director-general) of the presidency at the time, Frank Chikane was directly responsible for managing the transition from Mbeki to Kgalema Motlanthe, and then on to Jacob Zuma, and was one of only a few who had a front-row seat to the unfolding drama.

Eight Days in September builds substantially on the so-called Chikane Files, a series of controversial articles Chikane published with Independent Newspapers in July 2010, to provide an insider’s perspective on this key period in South Africa’s recent history, and to explore Thabo Mbeki’s legacy.

In September 2005 one of South Africa’s most eminent mining magnates and businessmen Brett Kebble was killed on a quiet suburban street in Johannesburg. The investigation into the case was a tipping point for democratic South Africa. The top-level investigation that followed exposed the corrupt relationship between the country’s Chief of Police and Interpol President Jackie Selebi and suave Mafioso Glenn Agliotti. A lawless Johannesburg underbelly was exposed – dominated by drug lords, steroid-reliant bouncers, an international smuggling syndicate, a shady security unit moonlighting for the police and sinister self-serving sleuths abusing state agencies.

The new paperback edition of the bestselling non-fiction title, Killing Kebble includes:

From the award-winning pen of Achmat Dangor comes a subtle and multi-layered collection of short stories that showcases an unusual and illuminating take on ‘the struggle years’, and how the past impacts on us in a variety of ways.

The journeys, which are the subject matter of the stories, operate on both a literal and metaphorical level. The reader is introduced to various characters in a variety of situations; the link between them is that each undertakes a ‘pilgrimage’ into the past and shows the impact this has on their lives.

Central to much of this are ‘the struggle years’. This has seen some sent into exile, but few ever forget their ‘South Africanness’, for the pull of ‘nostalgia’ is an ever-present force. Some question the value of what they did during those years, others see it in a rather ambivalent light, while others want to forget, want to move on, want to be relieved of the ‘baggage’ of their past. For many of them, sex becomes the means of escape from the shackles of memory.

This is not just another encomium to the ‘struggle’ years; instead, what makes this book stand out is the author’s unusual and illuminating take on that period of our history. It is not viewed, then, in a way we’ve become accustomed to, but from a different perspective. Additionally, each story is decidedly ‘relevant’ and, most importantly, all make for easy and engrossing reading.

The Thabo Mbeki I Know is a collection that celebrates one of South Africa’s most exceptional thought leaders. The contributors include those who first got to know Thabo Mbeki as a young man, in South Africa and in exile, and those who encountered him as a statesman and worked alongside him as an African leader. In The Thabo Mbeki I Know, these friends, comrades, statesmen, politicians and business associates provide insights that challenge the prevailing academic narrative and present fresh perspectives on the former president’s time in office and on his legacy – a vital undertaking as we approach a decade since an embattled Thabo Mbeki left office. Edited by Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu and Miranda Strydom, The Thabo Mbeki I Know provides readers with an opportunity to reassess Thabo Mbeki’s contribution to post-apartheid South Africa, as both deputy president and president; to the African continent and diaspora, as a highly respected state leader; and to the international community as a whole.

Walter Hambile Kondile is the typical ‘good native’ of his generation, poorly educated and subservient, brought up to know his place and believe that ‘it was God’s design for the white man to rule over me’.Then Kondile’s beloved daughter, Sindiswa, a young struggle activist, goes missing in exile. Kondile’s search leads him to Lesotho and grim discoveries of betrayal that shatter forever his own ‘complicity of silence’, committing him to an irrevocable path of no return.This is a compelling and beautifully written novel by Mtutuzeli Nyoka, a powerful storyteller who tells his history as he sees it.

A provocative look at Julius Malema, South Africa''s most controversial politician, as he continues to shake up the political landscape.

Julius Malema, South Africa''s eminent new socialist, was sworn in as a member of parliament on 21 May 2014, days after his political party – the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – secured more than one million votes in its first elections and 25 seats in the national assembly. It marked a new chapter in Malema''s political career, but it was also a crude awakening for the Cape Town parliament: the portly rebel and his EFF colleagues marched into the chamber wearing bright red workers'' overalls and their signature red berets as they promised to take the interests of the poor to the floor of parliament.

Love him or loathe him, Malema is undeniably one of the most controversial politicians of modern-day South Africa, if not a radical product of more than 100 years of struggle politics.

Following on from the success of the bestselling* An Inconvenient Youth,* this revised edition of Still an Inconvenient Youth: Julius Malema carries on traces Malema''s life, from his early, poverty-stricken years in Limpopo to his political awakenings in the ANC, the party he called home until he was ousted in 2012. It charts the early days of the EFF and looks at the young men and women leaders who helped secure the party its first votes in 2014.

What does it all mean for South Africa? Does the EFF have the staying power that is needed? Or is it simply a front for the dubious Malema ''brand''? Still an Inconvenient Youth unpacks the rabble-rouser''s new socialist revolution.

A Daughter’s Legacy is the story of Kedibone’s journey from childhood to parenthood, from the dusty streets of her home village to the modern worlds of university and working life.

Determination and resilience battle with fear and insecurity in Kedibone’s searing engagement with relationships and personal growth. This novel is a bold and necessary statement that exposes the taboos and abuse that a male-dominated culture allows, if not engenders. It breaks the silence and connivance in a way that is seldom done.

Fanie Fourie is a true blue boere seun with an unrepentantly macho approach to love and life in general. But his world view undergoes an abrupt reinvention when he is ''bitten by the louse and bedbug of love'' and falls head-over-heels for Dimakatjo Machabaphala, a beautiful black nurse. In pursuit of true love, these lovers must steer a path through the challenging intricacies of inter-cultural negotiation and leap the hurdles of racial bigotry, tenacious former lovers, and the like, finally to emerge triumphant as traditionally united man and wife. This delightful novel is filled with naughty humor and ironic reversals of stereotype.

With a deft and humorous pen, the author evokes the colliding worlds of traditional and contemporary culture in a South Africa still struggling to renegotiate roles and relationships and shake off the complexes and prejudices of the past.

Our Story Magic is a collection of enchanting and compelling tales written by Gcina Mhlophe, South Africa’s most popular performance storyteller. The illustrations are by artists from Mhlophe’s home province of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Read and share these eleven stories with the love that went into creating them.

In this haunting tale of love and learning, the existential chaos of a life ravaged by circumstance takes on a rhythm of its own, one bound by loss and loneliness, but also an intelligent awareness of self. Sometimes melancholy, sometimes brutal, occasionally funny and infuriating, a journalist-comrade-lover caught up in the shade and shadow of politics and social injustice faces treachery and betrayal on every level.

Set against the backdrop of a cityscape that taunts and tantalises, this is where love fails and passion wanes, “where suffering has no meaning”, where an individual escapes death only to find himself confronted with choices wrought by remorse and retribution, by conscience and character. And yet, with all trauma, there is a distinct musicality to the lyrical unpacking that follows a string of small things …

A courageous and compelling journey through the chaotic and hyper-real world of Hillbrow, South Africa.

Welcome To Our Hillbrow is an exhilarating and disturbing ride through the contradictory, alluring and painful realities of post-apartheid South Africa. Set in the vibrant and chaotic microcosm of Hillbrow, this novel fearlessly confronts the shattered dreams of youth, the unpredictable costs of sexuality, the specter of AIDS, rampant xenophobia, and the omnipresent violence that too often cuts short the promise of young lives.

Infused with the rhythms of the inner city pulsebeat, Phaswane Mpe''s honest and expansive vision links Hillbrow, rural Tiragalong and Oxford, spilling out the guts of Hillbrow-living with the same intimate knowledge and energy with which the Drum writers immortalized Sophiatown. Transcending death itself, the novel flows into an ancestral realm, reflecting an Africanist understanding of the life continuum.

A poignant prequel to the acclaimed bestseller Welcome to Our Hillbrow, showcasing Mpe''s immense talent and heart.

Brooding Clouds is a posthumous collection of short stories and poems that serve as a prequel to Phaswane Mpe''s acclaimed bestseller, Welcome to Our Hillbrow. In these thematically linked stories, readers meet the organic roots of the emblematic characters and concerns of the later novel.

With an expressive simplicity that evokes the rural soul of tiny Tiragalong and its neighboring village of Nobody, Mpe''s stories speak out strongly on issues close to his heart. The accompanying poems form a tandem narrative that is gritty, topical, and observant, articulating the dilemmas of inner city living and the broader conundrums of Tiragalong, Hillbrow, and South Africa.

A gem of creative achievement, Brooding Clouds stands as a poignant tribute to the tremendous talent of a writer cut down much too soon. Immerse yourself in Mpe''s insightful exploration of rural life, human connections, and the complexities of modern South Africa through this moving collection of short stories and poetry.

The overwhelming challenge that South Africa faces, and has to date failed to address, is unemployment, which falls especially on African youths who were promised a better future after 1994. If the current unemployment challenge is not addressed, it will be impossible to sustainably lift many millions of people out of poverty. How South Africa Works reviews the country’s major economic achievements over the past two decades. Through numerous interviews with politicians, business leaders and analysts, it examines the challenges and opportunities across key productive sectors – including agriculture, manufacturing, services, and mining – illustrative of the policy challenges that leaders face. It scrutinises the social grant and education systems to understand if South Africa has established mechanisms for people not only to escape destitution but be ready to be employed, and identifies steps that some of South Africa’s most notable entrepreneurs have taken to build world-class enterprises. Recognising the essential challenge to cultivate more employers to employ people, How South Africa Works concludes by offering an agenda and active steps for greater competitiveness for government, business and labour.

A seminal work that brings to life the brutality and awakening of 1970s apartheid South Africa.

To Every Birth Its Blood is a lyrical, empathetic and hauntingly powerful debut novel by Mongane Wally Serote. Through a range of vivid characters, Serote explores the subjective experiences of those who lived, loved and struggled in 1970s apartheid South Africa. With piercing insight, he depicts the brutality of state violence, from beatings and arrests to solitary confinement and exile. Against this backdrop, the novel traces a shift from black apathy to political awakening and the rise of violent dissent.

Originally published in 1981, To Every Birth Its Blood remains a seminal work that captures the birth of a revolutionary society. Serote''s vivid detail and unflinching portrayal make this a must-read for anyone seeking to understand one of the darkest chapters in South Africa''s history.

Fools and Other Stories is an intricate and subtle collection that deals with the formative experiences of growing up in a Johannesburg township during the apartheid years.

‘These five stories are part of a long project in which I am attempting to explore imaginatively various aspects of life in the community I grew up in in South Africa. The first part, which these five stories cover, deals with the themes of early childhood and adolescence. In the second part I hope to explore adult life up to old age; lastly, I want to imaginatively study the movement of social change.’ – Njabulo S. Ndebele

Shirley, Goodness & Mercy is a heart-warming, yet compellingly honest story about a young boy growing up in Newclare, Coronationville and Riverlea during the apartheid era.

Despite Van Wyk’s later becoming involved in the ‘struggle’, this is not a book about racial politics. Instead, it is a delightful account of one boy’s special relationship with the relatives, friends and neighbours who made up his community, and of the important coping role laughter and humour played during the years he spent in bleak and dusty townships.

In Shirley, Goodness & Mercy Chris van Wyk – poet, novelist and short story writer – had created a truly remarkable work, at once both thought-provoking and vastly entertaining.

In What if there were no whites in South Africa? Ferial Haffajee examines South Africa’s history and present in the light of a provocative question that yields some thought-provoking discussion and analysis. From round-table discussions with influential South Africans, to research, personal thoughts and powerful anecdotes, Ferial takes the reader through the rocky terrain of race rage in our country and grapples with what it means to be South African in 2015.

From rural roots to social media sensation: Khaya Dlanga''s inspiring journey

In To Quote Myself, Khaya Dlanga, one of South Africa''s most influential social media personalities, shares entertaining and moving stories from his remarkable life. From his humble beginnings in rural Transkei to his rise as a prominent figure in advertising and comedy, Dlanga''s journey is one of perseverance and wit.

With candor and humor, he recounts his experiences at school, his time studying advertising, and his stint as a stand-up comedian. Dlanga also fearlessly delves into his political views and the challenges he faced, including a period of homelessness, on his path to becoming one of South Africa''s most influential marketers.

Throughout To Quote Myself, readers are treated to a dose of the truly weird and wonderful that is routinely a part of Dlanga''s life, making for a memoir that is as insightful as it is entertaining.

Bantu Holomisa is one of South Africa’s most respected and popular political figures. Born in the Transkei in 1955, he attended an elite school for the sons of chiefs and headmen. While other men his age were joining Umkhonto weSizwe, Holomisa enrolled in the Transkeian Defence Force and rose rapidly through the ranks. As head of the Transkeian Defence Force, Holomisa led successive coups against the homeland regimes and then became the head of its military government. He turned the Transkei into a ‘liberated space’, giving shelter to ANC and PAC activists, and declared his intention of holding a referendum on the reincorporation of the Transkei into South Africa. These actions brought him immense popularity and the military dictator became a liberation hero for many South Africans. When the unbanned ANC held its first election for its national executive in 1994, Holomisa, who had by now joined the party, received the most votes, beating long-time veterans and party stalwarts. He and Mandela developed a close relationship, and Holomisa served in Mandela’s cabinet as deputy minister for environmental affairs and tourism. As this biography reveals, the relationship with both Mandela and the ANC broke down after Holomisa testified before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, among other issues, that Stella Sigcau and her cabinet colleagues had accepted a bribe from Sol Kerzner. After being expelled from the ANC, Holomisa formed his own party, the United Democratic Movement, with Roelf Meyer. As leader of the UDM, Holomisa has played a prominent role in building coalitions among opposition parties and in leading important challenges to the dominant party. This biography, written in collaboration with Holomisa, presents an engaging and revealing account of a man who has made his mark as a game changer in South African politics.