Memoirs & Bios

Memoirs are stories told by one of the characters involved. They are meant to be ‘true’ in that they relate to an actual person’s experience. Biographies are similar, except that they are written by a third party, the biographer. South Africa is big on memoirs at the moment, perhaps largely because for so long people have felt ‘bottled up’ but are now much more able to see value in their experiences and to express them. This is an exciting time in local literature.

Memoirs & Bios

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When Christmas Trees were...
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When Christmas Trees were...

Growing up in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa in the 1950’s and 1960’s the emphasis on the way of life was completely different to the present day some nearly 70 years later.

He writes of his reminiscences of his school days and especially his involvement in sport which was compulsory. Many of life’s lessons were learnt young on the rugby or cricket fields.

Price R250.00
What I Wore Being Black and...
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What I Wore Being Black and...

BEING BLACK AND BI-POLAR IN SOUTH AFRICA

‘My struggles with mental illness were in some ways like a child crying out for attention; more than that they were a cry for help from the mind I felt trapped in. There was a darkness in me that many times swallowed me whole.’

This is how Keamogetswe Bopalamo introduces her account of her troubled early life. It is an intensely personal account, and yet it speaks to a reality much broader than itself. In the exciting whirl of South Africa’s post-apartheid society, there is this darker side: the confusions, the fears, the rebellions, the degradations and emotional pain.

Price R185.00
What Genius Wrote This?...
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What Genius Wrote This?...

A brisk and highly readable account of the author's adventures in journalism, spanning more than half a century. Richard McNeill grew up in South Africa but his career took him from Johannesburg to New York and London, where he spent 20 years on the Daily Express. “As it turned out, becoming an Editor with a capital E was the best thing that never happened to me,” he writes. Instead he enjoyed a life of “enormous satisfaction” as a reporter, foreign correspondent, sub-editor, feature writer, magazine publisher, editorial consultant and celebrity profiler, while also pursuing his passion for typographical design.

Price R199.00
Through My Eyes
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Through My Eyes

 A autobiography of a veteran politician and a girl, who takes you on a journey from small town life in a southern African colonial city to serving as a Member of the South African Parliament for 20 years, reinventing herself along the way to be fit for purpose.

This is a conversation about how life and politics relate to ones beliefs and vice-versa but it is also a call to people everywhere to choose hope and reject fear. 

Price R300.00
The Yogi Who Sold His...
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The Yogi Who Sold His...

Greg Margolis (founder of NYPD Security) was for decades intimately involved in dealing with ‘random victims’ of crime or conflict, whether the victim was an individual, a family or even someone close to the victim(s), in many instances if they  could, they often chose to leave the country ‒ this included the vast majority of Greg's extended family. 

But Greg embodied the antithesis of a victim mentality – and chose to stay in SA, founding a non-profit security company in the late 90's, which then later expanded and evolved into a commercial security service provider in Johannesburg.

Price R220.00
THE WAUCHOPES -...
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THE WAUCHOPES -...

This book tells the story of the Wauchopes, a Xhosa family who rose to prominence in  the late 18th and early 19th centuries through the exploits of their patriarch, the Reverend Isaac Williams Dyobha Wauchope. Although this talented and restless man died heroically when serving as chaplain the troopship SS Mendi sank in 1917 after a collision off the Isle of Wight, taking more than 600 black South African troops to their deaths, it Is his life and work prior to his military service with which this book is concerned. 

Price R350.00
The Race That Measures It...
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The Race That Measures It...

This book is a poignantly personal tale of two brothers’ journeys to becoming some of the youngest participants to race and finish the ABSA Cape Epic, after suffering life threatening accidents. It is an inspiring story, written in a casual and easy-to-read style that gives the reader a behind the scenes view of what goes on in the hardest bicycle race on earth.

The book illustrates Neil Fourie’s personal story of dealing with, and overcoming adversity after breaking his back at a South African National Mountain biking event.

Price R165.00
The Gods Who Fell From the...
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The Gods Who Fell From the...

A soul that is afraid of dying has never learned to live … This is the precept by which Dick Mawson has lived his adventurous life. He was born in England during the Second World War. With his parents he crash landed into southern Africa where he grew up.

Price R195.00
The Dusty Road to Success
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The Dusty Road to Success

The desire to succeed and live an impactful life is embedded in every human being. Many if us seek, daily, to find the secret to success and satisfaction in this life.  As much as we have  heard teachings, sermons and even read books that try to tackle this issues, there is still a gap in many people that calls for a simple and easy-to-follow procession as to how one can live a satisfying, purpose-driven, unique and impactful life.  This book expounds on this process with simple principles that bring a new, integrated and practical approach in answering how one CAN live an extraordinary life of fullfillment  with a lasting legacy.

Price R220.00
The Accidental Frontline...
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The Accidental Frontline...

Television came late to apartheid South Africa. By the early 1980s the state-owned broadcaster was ready to expand the network to include the black majority. There were sound economic and propagandist reasons for this.  Msibi was among those recruited to be trained as technicians, journalists, and cameramen. The irony was that this enterprise coincided with the sustained popular uprising that finally led to the end of white minority rule. So the new generation of black television journalists went back into their own townships and ‘homelands’ to record, like no-one else could, the rising resentment and the reciprocal repressions that characterised large swathes of the country in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Price R290.00
Taj Mahal And Tea
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Taj Mahal And Tea

THE GREATEST STORY IS THE ADVENTURE YOU DIDN’T EXPECT

A funny, heartfelt adventure of selfies, surprises and self-realisation that will inspire and  and delight you. Discover how change can occur at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected ways and how a disciplined, successful, corporate CEO ended up having an uninhibited, life-altering grand adventure in a country of chili and chai.

Experience the light and colour of Diwali and Holi celebrations and marvel at the vibrant history, architecture and culinary delights of India. An enlightening and uplifting celebration of the bonds of friendship and life in all its diversity.

 

Price R210.00
So Send I You - Finding the...
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So Send I You - Finding the...

This book charts a remarkable woman’s engagement with deep rural communities in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province – and in particular with the high numbers of brain-damaged children left stranded in huts all over the foothills of the great Drakensberg Mountains.

Price R180.00
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