A gripping social history of South Africa's past and future and beautifully narrated by one of Africa's most esteemed journalists, From Struggle to Liberation sheds light on the future of the nation under a new regime. With unprecedented access to Thabo Mbeki and the top brass in the African National Congress, Mark Gevisser weaves a nuanced portrait of the black experience under apartheid. Revelations about the current president and the politics that continue to shape South Africa include:
- Thabo Mbeki's difficult relationship with his own political activist and largely absent father Govan Mbeki, who was imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela. - How the death of his son Kwanda in the diamond mines and the murder of his brother Jama directly affected his leadership and will continue to shape the governance of Africa for years to come. - The reasons behind Mbeki's puzzling refusal to admit that the HIV virus causes AIDS, which in South Africa claims 800 lives per day, and his support of corrupt governments such as Zimbabwe's. - Inside rivalry between Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, the populist leader destined to take over as president in 2009.
This accessible account of a monumental period in world history is the definitive look at contemporary South Africa.
"A Legacy of Liberation is memorable and definitive. Accompanying Mbeki on his life journey, Gevisser is both informative and moving, passionate and dispassionate... Obviously we cannot be brought to pardon or sympathise with Mbeki's estrangement from Mandela and his stance on Aids or on Zimbabwe, but Gevisser helps us to understand where they come from, and how - and why - he has developed such s
Andre Brink, Daily Telegraph
"The best [of four new books about South Africa], Mark Gevisser's A Legacy of Liberation: Thabo Mbeki and the Future of the South African Dream seeks to understand how a man who came to power with so much goodwill behind him is today regarded with hostility... Gevisser carefully listens to his subject and those around him before artfully dissecting his thinking."
Chris McGreal , The Observer
"Gevisser, calling on a vast amount of research, is able to assemble a compelling explanation of this most impenetrable persona."
