Max Du Preez

Thoroughly absorbing. I enjoy Max Du Preez, and I think he may be responsible for my first real understanding of what investigative journalism is. The necessity of it, the courage it requires, and the underlying respect/love for life that undeniably inspires it. It's a powerful thing. And Tuesday nights watching Special Assignment gave me my first taste of that. Thanks Max.

So it was was with all of that in mind that I picked up this book, and I've been truly blessed in doing so. It really is a lot of unusual stories of South Africa's past. It shows however divided and different we may have believed ourselves to be, we really aren't. It contains stories about Shaka, Jan van Riebieeck, the Khoikhoi, Apartheid and eventual Democracy, among others.
(Some time in the next few days I'll add an excerpt or two that really moved me.)

Reading this reminded me of why I am proud to be an African.… (more)

Democracy in South Africa turns twenty on 27 April 2014. In A Rumour of Spring, Max du Preez investigates and analyses the progress and lack of progress the country has made during these twenty years. A Rumour of Spring looks at the legacies of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki in an attempt to understand how we got here, and examines Jacob Zuma’s presidency to better understand where we are.
In the context of blatant corruption, populism and tragedies such as the Marikana massacre, the book considers the current state of the ruling party and the opposition, and dissects the big issues currently afflicting our society, including the state of education, land reform, crime and policing, the judiciary, nationality and race. And then, with images of the Arab Spring fresh in our collective memory, it dares to look to the future and what it may hold.
An honest and balanced account, A Rumour of Spring tackles the questions asked by ordinary South Africans every day: How are we really doing? What is really going on in our country? How should we understand what is happening here? And will it get any better?… (more)