Allister Sparks (1933–2016)
Author of The Mind of South Africa
About the Author
Allister Haddon Sparks was born in Cathcart, South Africa on March 10, 1933. After graduating from Queen's College in Queenstown, he was hired by the newspaper The Queenstown Daily Representative. He eventually joined The Rand Daily Mail as a political correspondent and columnist. He became an show more assistant editor there in 1967, an editor of The Sunday Express in 1974, and then editor of The Rand Daily Mail in 1977. While there, he challenged apartheid and exposed a covert propaganda campaign by the government, which led to the resignation of President John Vorster in 1979. Sparks was fired in 1981. He became a foreign correspondent in South Africa for The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and The Observer in Britain. He wrote six books during his lifetime including The Mind of South Africa, Tomorrow Is Another Country, and The Sword and the Pen. He died from heart failure after an infection on September 19, 2016 at the age of 83. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Allister Sparks
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Sparks, Allister Haddon
- Birthdate
- 1933-03-10
- Date of death
- 2016-09-19
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- South Africa
- Birthplace
- Cathcart, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Place of death
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Occupations
- journalist
- Awards and honors
- Nieman Fellow
Thomas Pringle Award (1965)
Members
Reviews
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 7
- Members
- 366
- Popularity
- #65,730
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 3
- ISBNs
- 30
- Languages
- 2
Perhaps I may tell a personal story, a private glimpse to corroborate in some tiny way Sparks' and Mpho Tutu's narrative? Nearly thirty years ago now I was privileged to be Tutu's driver for three or four days, delighting as innumerable people have in his integrity, his warmth, his chatter (and his love of cricket!). I chuckled privately as Leah massaged his feet in the back of the car, and as he squealed with laughter at her ministrations (on this occasion it seems he did not entirely use up the car journey as a prayer time, as is his wont: 234 and elsewhere). But above all I watched in awe his ability to make others grow: as we arrived at our destination we were ushered into the kitchen of the host clergyperson. A somewhat burnt out and embittered man, for whom church and world were changing too fast, too uncomfortably, the host had clearly quaffed a drink or two to steady his nerves for the day or the encounter (it was still morning). The host began to pontificate theatrically, flamboyantly, somehow even patronisingly. Somehow, as Tutu engaged the other man in conversation the host's theatrical artifice decreased, the vacuous flamboyance dissipated, and slowly this host appeared to grow in stature, in confidence, and in integrity. It would be embellishment to say the stench of second-hand alcohol was replaced by the scent of incense, yet it almost seemed that way. It was a powerful lesson, a powerful demonstration of the way a great human can spark the life force in others, watering withered statures, nurturing and healing the burned cells of tired being.
Mpho Tutu and Allister Sparks tell the life story of their respective father and friend seamlessly. They collect together (or maybe the unseen editor Doug Adams does) an encyclopaedic collection of impressions of Tutu from giants of public life (Bono, Geldof, Mary Robinson, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Barrack Obama, Nelson Mandela ... to name just few), and weave them around their text. The photos are exquisite (this is effectively a coffee table book, but so very much more), even the cover is inspirational. Ultimately I cannot find praise sufficient for this magnificent telling of the story of surely one of our lifetime's finest human beings.… (more)