A Legacy of Liberation
Thabo Mbeki and the Future of the South African Dream
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Scion of a once prosperous family impoverished by apartheid, former South African president Thabo Mbeki's ambition as a revolutionary leader was tightly tangled with his family's history and (often painful) influence, contends South African journalist Gevisser. Mbeki's "dislocated, in effect parentless childhood" and early exposure to Christian, Communist and nationalist ideals laid the ground for his first student actions against systemic injustice; exile in 1960s England, Moscow and sub-Saharan Africa; his absorption of Black Power and Black Consciousness ideas; and his tumultuous return through the top ranks of the African National Congress (ending in 2008's ignominious loss to rival Jacob Zuma). The author argues that the controversial leadership of the constitutionally reserved and secretive Mbeki reveals a deep "disconnect" born out of his "traumatic past" that fed his service to the ANC: a "movement that was his family... that ultimately rejected him" and prevented him from putting his "breathtaking vision of the future" into practice. While Gevisser's speculations on Mbeki's psychological makeup might put off some readers, the painstakingly researched narrative remains a judicious and an eye-opening account of a life intersecting history at the most profound level.
