Litnet

"Not only does Zuma challenge the ANC politically, but he also claims its heritage."

"In 1970, the NP scored a massive victory at the polls, but it was a time that government opposition became weakened and the Progressives gained ground. Was it because the newspapers in the Nasionale Pers were conscientising Afrikaners to start accepting change?"

"The reader of this book will soon find that Head writes as if he is birdwatching while writing. This strategy is an important feature in the book; there is an arrangement of the words, searching meaning, like turning out to watch birds – birds jumping around on the pages, flitting about in all directions."

"In appraising Colenso, some have portrayed him as a heretic, an ambiguous figure and an enigma. As a bishop, he never really fitted in with the work he was meant to do, because of his divergent views from the mainstream canons of the English Church. This is not to deny his work as a missionary and a teacher, which, in retrospect, might have been the correct designation for his role."

"The name Krotoa is not only linked to a woman, but also to an entire underrepresented group of people indigenous to Southern Africa and the area now known as the Western Cape."

"Politics is a dynamic field, and one can only hope that one way we as South Africans can have a future of some sort, lies in the energies of the next generation of leaders who bear with them the qualities of integrity."

"Are they now automatically excluded from Crito’s discussions?"

"Neither is Steyn professing to write academically, he writes for readers who read for pleasure but who want to be informed. The fact remains the book is an important text and adds richly to South African historiography for an understanding of an era."

"The established South African historian Albert Grundlingh explains his decision to pen the biography on Frederik van Zyl Slabbert (1940–2010). Primarily a 'social historian', Grundlingh nevertheless decided to take up the challenge as a biographer and write about Slabbert. As he was working on an article on him, so he gradually became intrigued by his subject, leading to this cradle-to-grave biography. The book explores Slabbert’s life in each of his designations – as an academic, as a politician, as a social activist and finally as a person engaged in business and entrepreneurship."

"He wants to be alone to remake himself in conditions of aloneness, of brief solitariness. Here begins his exploration. He is a tabula rasa on which he can rewrite his story. He explores the place geographically, establishes a frame within which to live his life. He discovers new ways, new routines, sees new things."

"He was one of the greatest the country has ever seen, iconic beyond description, who stood up for the rights of all South Africans, and whose legendary status reached the rooms, offices, courts of monarchs, heads of nations and spiritual leaders of virtually every country in the world."

"De Klerk was never trusted by the securocrats – they preferred the old boys’ club of PW Botha, Magnus Malan, Kobie Coetsee, Louis le Grange and Adriaan Vlok. They saw him as a softie, a weakling, a goody two shoes, a bluestocking."

"Duncan and Proust have compiled a magnificent book, a feast for the eye. In it, they have captured numerous buildings, each with its own intriguing story."

"The big question stands: how did it get its name, the Lanzerac? How did she come upon the name?"

"Spacious walkways stretch from one side of Kalk Bay to the other, offering excellent facilities for recreational walking or just sight-seeing – at places, with sight-seeing of the harbour and the mountains. Or, just come and enjoy fresh fish and chips from some of the local venues, such as Kalky’s, which is reasonably priced."