CinemAfriq: Nabantwa Bam'

This volume is a fascinating collection of pieces by South African journalist Nomavenda Mathiane. Unlike much that is written about South Africa, these pieces are very personal observations and reflections based on day-to-day experiences. They range from descriptions of the horrors of 'necklacing' (the practice of placing a car tire about the body of an alleged informer or collaborator and setting it afire with gasoline), to the joy of a new birth, to the heartbreak of a mother whose son murders a neighborhood peer. Ms. Mathiane's analysis of politics and education is must reading for anyone who cares about the effects of apartheid. Her frequently pungent and controversial views have won for her an ever-widening audience in South Africa and other African countries. She deserves to be better known in other countries as well.

An examination of life in the then-unincorporated township in Johannesburg, published after the Soweto Uprising. Large text and black-and-white photo reproductions. First edition (first printing). A near fine copy in a dust jacket that is chipped at one corner and has a creased lamination flaw throughout, else very good. Lengthy inscription by the author to the poet Rod McKuen that reads in part: 'if, in some small way, this book can show you the reality of Soweto -- after the politicians here and over there have finished lying about it -- I would be more than pleased.' Publisher's presentation card tipped-in.

Bafana flunks his law studies at UCT, and must find a way to either admit the truth to his family, or find a job that will allow him to continue fooling them. A piercingly funny yet poignant novel by the author of Dog Eat Dog.

The book presents findings and analysis from six years of research on class structure and class identity in Soweto, South Africa's most populous and politically-important township. This is placed within the context of heightened socio-economic inequalities in nearly all countries around the world. The authors looked at a number of areas. How do Sowetans understand class and how do they locate themselves and each other within the broad divisions of class outline? What are the markers and indicators that influence their perceptions of class and does the terminology of class affect these perceptions through dilution into indigenous languages. Setting out class structure and class identity, with its extremes of unemployment, strike action and ongoing insurrectionary unrest among the urban poor, the book draws on a large, wide-ranging representative survey and extensive qualitative fieldwork. It makes an original contribution to the sociology of class and to the politics of contemporary South Africa.