Jonathan Ball and The Book Lounge invite you to a conversation between poet, deputy transport minister and SACP official Jeremy Cronin and the authors of the biography of Chris Hani, Hani: A Life Too Short.
Chris Hani’s assassination in 1993 gave rise to one of South Africa’s great imponderables: if he had survived, what impact would he have had on politics and government in South Africa? More pointedly, could this charismatic leader have risen to become president of the country?
Come listen to what is bound to be a telling and invigorating talk.
Kudos to the intrepid Jo’burgers who ventured out in the freak winter weather for the launch of Allister Sparks’ new book, First Drafts: South African History in the Making last Thursday. But then, this was a special event, featuring Jeremy Gordin, author of last year’s Zuma biography, in a Q&A session with Sparks.
Held at the Boekehuis with proprietor Corina van der Spoel playing host, the author’s delay in one of those special rain traffic jams on the M1 was easily forgotten with superb wine and piping hot pizza slices served while everyone waited.
First Drafts is a collection of Sparks’ writing covering the past ten years. Gordin introduced Sparks as “an incredibly focused man” and said that First Drafts is “a remarkable collection of articles” and “the work of a serious journalist… and ‘serious’ not in a po-faced way!”
Gordin then got straight to the point and began by inviting Sparks to explain the format of this book. Sparks spoke about starting out as a journalist in 1951, at the age of 18, with an interview with one Hendrik Verwoerd. He spoke about covering South Africa for 58 years and how he feels “it has been a remarkable period both at home and abroad”.
Sparks told how the idea of First Drafts arose from the late Washington Post publisherm Philip Graham’s idea that a journalist’s role is to “write a first rough draft of history”. He is fascinated with the concept of writing “contemporaneous history” – history as you experience – it versus “retrospective history” – history as written by historians. He said contemporaneous history gives one a unique view of “how something is while it is happening”.
The new book works to link “interrelated snapshots of contemporary history together”. He described this “extraordinary decade” from 1999 to 2009 – how it began in high hope with Mbeki as President and ended with his collapse; started with George W. Bush and the delivered us Obama; saw the heights of neo-liberal economics and its crash. Sparks called it a “decade of drama”.
Guests were treated to a lively to and fro between Gordin and Sparks, augmented by challenging commentary and questions from amongst their own ranks. Pippa Green questioned Sparks’ analysis of Mbeki’s hesitancy over his successor and how that opened the way for Zuma. Tula Dlamini raised the question of whether the world is moving into a “smart community vs not-so-smart community model” as opposed to the age old black/white paradigm. There was also lively debate around the Israeli-Palestinian issue and Sparks highlighted the significance of the coming 2011 municipal elections.
This launch provoked deep thinking and consideration about our recent history and the writing of it. Sparks said choosing which articles would make it into this new book was the toughest part of the job: he wanted to capture the essence of the question, “How did it look at that moment?”. Gordin described First Drafts as a book “you can go to every night and read another piece”.
Jonathan Ball Publishers have the great pleasure in inviting you to the upcoming series of launches for The Last Resort: a memoir of Zimbabwe by Douglas Rogers, in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
The Last Resort is a remarkable true story about one family in a country under siege, and a testament to the love, perseverance, and resilience of the human spirit.
Rogers’ set of five launches begins with Exclusive Books Hyde Park, Johannesburg, on 23 November and culminates at Wordsworth Books, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, on the 27th.
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Jonathan Ball publishers and Boekehuis take pleasure in inviting you to the launch of Allister Spark’s Rough Drafts.
No journalist has covered South Africa with the same insight and depth as Sparks. For many years his reporting and opinion pieces have been eagerly sort out by decision makers, analysts and the public at large.
First Drafts – a scintillating collection of Sparks’ writing – takes the reader on a journey through the tumultuous years of the past decade. In his inimitable style, Sparks writes on subjects that cut across the landscape both local and international. He tackles the failed Mbeki presidency, tracking the never-ending Zimbabwe crisis and the HIV-Aids debacle.
Meet the author, who will be in conversation with fellow journalist Jeremy Gordin (Zuma: a Biography), at Boekehuis:
The Launch of Resident Alien, Rian Malan’s first book after My Traitor’s Heart was an extraordinary, even somewhat avant-garde event.
The Radium Beer Hall in Orange Grove – where Malan has often played music, being an “Afrikaaner Minstrel” in addition to a writer – set the scene for a laid-back yet edgy event. It was clear that Malan, true to form, was keener to express his oft-times controversial opinions, on a range of issues, than he was to hard-sell his book. His conviction and his wit gave the air a surfeit of charge, making the launch a spectacular event, despite its lack of pomp and ceremony. The guests were treated to intellectual stimulation and a turn of stand-up comedy by the speakers.
Steven (Boytjie) Sidley, a friend of Malan’s since they were nineteen, said, “On one of our many drink- and drug-filled evenings in a particular bar in LA, where we would debate great lofty ethical issues such as the meaning of life and the meaning of death, and which always ended with the conclusion that we were not having enough sex, Rian said, when the conversation turned literary, that he was ‘partial to a well turned phrase’. This book is, above all, a collection of opinions rendered with a startling, dangerous and utterly unique usage of the English language – and this alone, no matter what you think of Rian’s opinions, makes the book deeply effective.”
Up next, Dennis Beckett opened with a rhetorical question, “Why does Rian’s stuff work so well?” The answer? “He writes well and he sees well, he sees beyond horizons and it is quite a jolt to be let in on what he sees.” Beckett spoke about going to the recent Boek Bedonnerd Richmond Book Fair with Malan. “Rian mainly talked about all the things that he had failed at. The thing that he does best however, is that he writes the world as he sees it; he writes it not to impress, not even to make a point, but what he is looking for is the truth, at whatever cost. He even changes his views, which of course is very bad in the way of consistency – but if consistency is the last refuge of the stalled mind, I am happy to say that Rian’s mind is definitely not stalled.”
Finally, to the main act: Rian Malan said his title is “an oblique reference to white people in Africa”. His speech was centred on what he called his “journey of alienation”, a journey occasioned by his contrary opinions. “This alienation is useful in a way because it gives me a great deal of time to think about what the underlying issues are and get away from the drama – to think the thoughts forbidden by the thought police. A lot of people would disagree but I see myself as a regular, ordinary guy. I’m not a bad guy – I also like to have a dop, have a braaivleis, watch the rugby – and I’m certainly not an intellectual.”
Malan continued, “When my first book was published, I was like a prophet and people would come and asked me what would happen in South Africa and I would say it’s all just fucked. I later saw we were living in a pretty happy state and I was essentially just to drunk to register it. So I decided to turn liberal again but this just alienated me further. So I decided to take up boeremusiek and find a gang that would have me.
“Just when I thought my alienation was complete and I was never going to recover, something very unexpected happened: the lights went out. It was the Eskom crisis of 2008, and the collapse in confidence of most people in the future of South Africa. I had been out there in deepest darkest ideological hyperspace for so many years and suddenly found people were joining me.”
After Malan’s speech, the event, barely holding on to its pretense as a launch, succumbed to the pressure and became a fully-fledged party, spilling on to the street. The jol lasted, we’re told, until the wee hours of the night – and, it might be added, the electricity didn’t trip once.
What do you get when three South African friends – a chef, an artist and a stylish woman with boundless energy and vision – are intent on the adventure of a lifetime?
You get Festive France, a beautiful book filled with evocative photographs, amusing anecdotes and sumptuous recipes, celebrating the pleasures and pitfalls of rural life.
The authors set off on an energetic journey through their beloved Auvergne, providing a tantalising glimpse of a life that many can only dream of. Buying a château, tracking down the perfect croissant, battles with bricklayers and bureaucrats, the rituals of the morning market – all are described with affection and humour and weave a rich tapestry of life deep in the heart of the French countryside.
The flavour of France is brought to life by scores of mouth-watering recipes from the kitchen of their very own Château La Creuzette – recipes that are well within the capabilities of any enthusiastic home cook.
So share with them the seductive pleasures of the French table – icy champagne, memorable meals and the company of good friends – c’est la vie!
Festive France: Reflections and Recipes from the French Countryside by Louis Jansen van Vuuren, Anet Pienaar, Hardy Olivier Book Homepage EAN: 9781868423613 Find this book with BOOK Finder!
Feestelike Frankryk: Fabels en Geregte uit die Franse Platteland deur Louis Jansen van Vuuren, Hardy Olivier, Anet Pienaar Boektuisblad EAN: 9781868423606 Find this book with BOOK Finder!
Jonathan Ball Publishers and Xarra Books invite you to the second Johannesburg launch of Hani: A life too short by Janet Smith and Beauregard Tromp. Higher education minister Blade Nzimande will be the guest speaker at the event – don’t miss it!
Event Details
Date: Saturday, 07 November 2009
Time: 2:30 PM for 3:00 PM
Venue: Xarra Books 1 Central Place, Jeppe Street Newtown, Johannesburg | Map
Jonathan Ball publishers takes great pleasure in inviting you to the launch of Rian Malan’s new book, Resident Alien.
Resident Alien is a provocative and engaging collection of the best of his writings that have appeared in the likes of The New Yorker, Rolling Stone and Esquire, since his bestselling first book, My Traitor’s Heart.
Crisscrossing South Africa – and further afield – in a quest to understand the land and continent of his birth – Malan does time with an extraordinary cast of characters: from vigilantes and outlaws to beauty queens and truckers; from Sol Kerzner to Jackie Selebi; from JM Coetzee to the last Afrikaner in Tanzania.
We look forward to seeing you at the launch!
Event Details
Date: Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Time: 6:00 PM for 6:30 PM
Venue: Radium Beer Hall, 282 Louis Botha Ave, Orange Grove Johannesburg | Map
The launch of Hani: A life too short at Exclusive Books Hyde Park was packed full to the veritable rafters. The first comprehensive biography of the MK veteran and struggle hero is written by Beauregard Tromp and Janet Smith, both of whom are journalists working for the Independent Newspaper Group. As a result this launch crowd comprised an interesting mix of avid EB Fanatics fans, celebrities, media, political and SA history fans – plus Tromp’s twin babies!
Guests were welcomed by the inimitable Maryanne Hancock from Exclusive Books, who called Hani: A life too short, “definitely one of the more significant books of 2009”. Then Jonathan Ball’s Jeremy Boraine spoke, and seemingly touched a nerve with the crowd as he described the assassination of Chris Hani as South Africa’s “JFK moment”. Acknowledging those “of a certain age” who collectively took a deep breath around the country in 1993 when Hani’s death was announced – he told how he, and presumably many other South Africans, still remember exactly where they were when they heard the news.
Boraine spoke of the importance of the book, saying it begs the question, “What if?” What if Chris Hani was still alive today? Would South Africa be different? Boraine praised the “remarkable amount of research” which both authors conducted and the level of effort they put into crafting the narrative.
Upon taking the microphone, Janet Smith spoke of how she and Tromp had agreed on the principles for writing the book early on – which included that Tromp should always be the driver! They conducted more than 50 interviews and asked all interviewees about Hani’s great attributes and flaws alike – finding that many had only praise for the man. She recalled how exciting it was to discover Hani’s 1969 memorandum about the ANC – which detailed concerns about corruption in exile ANC structures – saying he was “a remarkably prescient man”. She felt “privileged and honoured” to have worked on the book with Tromp.
Tromp said he wasn’t “one for public speaking” but spoke of the process of making the book together with Smith. He recognised how much of South Africa’s history is couched in oral traditions and how we therefore need to go out and search for it, as many of the older generation who remember our recent history first-hand are now dying.
He said that he feels the question, “What would Chris have done?” will be asked again and again as South Africans move forward past 2010. Tromp said that, perhaps, Hani lived just long enough to give us an inkling about “how it should be”, and that he has left South Africans “a great legacy”.
The speeches over, these two dynamic authors sat down to sign and sign and sign copies of their book, for what seemed like a never-ending queue of interested readers. Easily one of the biggest launches of the year!
Jonathan Ball and Exclusive Books Hyde Park are delighted to invite you to the launch of Janet Smith and Beauregard Tromp’s biography of Chris Hani, Hani: A life too short.
The book tells the story of the great South African leader’s life, from his childhood in rural Transkei and education at Fort Hare University to the controversial Memorandum of 1969, the crisis in the ANC camps in Angola in the 1980s and the heady dawn of freedom. Drawing on interviews and the recollections of those who knew him, this vividly written book provides a detailed account of the life of a revolutionary South African.
We’ll see you there!
Event Details
Date: Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Time: 6:00 PM for 6:30 PM
Venue: Exclusive Books, Hyde Park, Shop U30, Hyde Park Corner Jan Smuts Avenue Craighall, Hyde Park Johannesburg | Map
Jonathan Ball and The Book Lounge invite you to a conversation between poet, deputy transport minister and SACP official Jeremy Cronin and the authors of the biography of Chris Hani, Hani: A Life Too Short.
Jonathan Ball Publishers have the great pleasure in inviting you to the upcoming series of launches for 
