Book Summary and Reviews of A Legacy of Liberation by Mark Gevisser

A Legacy of Liberation by Mark Gevisser

A Legacy of Liberation

Thabo Mbeki and the Future of the South African Dream

by Mark Gevisser

  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Published:
  • Mar 2009, 400 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

A gripping social history of South Africa’s past and future. 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.

This accessible account of a monumental period in world history is the definitive look at contemporary South Africa.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. [A] judicious and an eye-opening account of a life intersecting history at the most profound level." - Publishers Weekly.

"Gevisser skillfully examines Mbeki's legacy within the context of a complicated, still uncertain South African history ... Densely packed research in a well-organized package." - Kirkus Reviews.

"A monumental biography." - The New York Times.

"Anyone who wants to go beyond those clichés, and also to understand what has happened in South Africa since the end of white rule should read [this]." - Financial Times (UK).

"{Gvisser]e sheds considerable light on more than half a century of South Africa's difficult history. … essential reading for anyone intrigued by South Africa's complex philosopher-king." - The Economist.

This information about A Legacy of Liberation was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Mark Gevisser

Mark Gevisser is a journalist at the Johannesburg Sunday Times and former correspondent for London's Mail & Guardian and The Nation. In 2008, he won the prestigious Sunday Times Alan Paton Prize for the best non-fiction book of the year, and has also won the Recht Malan prize for non-fiction. He was educated at Yale University and received an MFA from Columbia University. He lives in South Africa.

South African politician Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki served almost two terms as the second democratically elected President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008.

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