What happens to a dream deferred?
This question, from one of President Thabo Mbeki's favourite poems by Langston Hughes, provides the thread for this magisterial new biography. In the long shadow of Nelson Mandela, Mbeki has attempted to forge an identity for himself as the symbol of modern Africa. And yet, as he prepares to leave office in 2009, his legacy remains intensely contested.
This book is both a work of deep scholarship and a gripping, highly readable story. By tracing the path of Mbeki's life, it sheds new light on his political personality and provides unprecedented insight into the dramtatic role he has played in South African history.
Mark Gevisser brings to life the voices and places that have made Thabo Mbeki - the frontier of the Eastern Cape; "Swinging Britain" and neo-Stalinist Moscow in the sixties; the frought world of African exile, of fatherhood and family. He tells the story of South Africa's black elite over a turbulent century - from "black Englishmen" to revolutionaries to heads of state - and Mbeki's own transition from doctrinaire communism to economic liberalism. He comes to grips with the current political turmoil bu examining the history of a man who has caried, on his shoulders, the collective burden of a country seeking to realise a dream too long deferred.
MARK GEVISSER has been working on Thabo Mbeki: the Dream Deferred since 1999. He was born in Johannesburg in 1964 and educated at Yale. His journalism has appeared in dozens of publications in South Africa and abroad; his celebrated Mail & Guardian political profiles were collected in Portraits of Power: Profiles in a Changing South Africa. Recently he has also been working as a documentary film maker, a museum exhibition designer, heritage consultant television scriptwriter. He lives in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Source: Thabo Mbeki the dream deferred©2007/Mark Gevisser
9 comments:
kuhle kubona i-biography le, ku ya jabulisa...........
deaer sir you have done the good,and he deserve mr president,and for the writer keep up the good work,thanks________vsngake@webmail.co.za
The dream deferred is the most honest and the work of scholarly prowess. The extensive research that Mark has undertaken on his subject makes it an indespensable part of historical literature and takes to the depth and personal life of Africa's most influential leaders of our time. He above all explores the rare intellectual abilities of Thabo Mbeki and what made him who he is. Those who think they know Thabo must read this book! T.M
The dream deferred is the most honest and the work of scholarly prowess. The extensive research that Mark has undertaken on his subject makes it an indespensable part of historical literature and takes to the depth and personal life of Africa's most influential leaders of our time. He above all explores the rare intellectual abilities of Thabo Mbeki and what made him who he is. Those who think they know Thabo must read this book! T.M
Fantastic book. I have not finished it because I borrowed it and now had to return it but so far it was worth meeting the president in a theoritical yet enlightening arena. I wish I could own my copy.Phindele phindele@tuks.co.za
The attempt by Mr Gevisser to shed light on Mr Thabo Mbeki has given life to a masterpiece of the genre. More than an exploration of the life of Mr Mbeki, Gevisser's work is a fascinating look at the ANC, South Africa and political leadership which tells us, with sharp analysis but yet shared empathy, that our dream is may be destined to be deferred. Patrick
looking forward to grasp this one, after I scrutinized “Thabo Mbeki and the battle for the soul of the ANC” by M Megumede. I profoundly sense that this is the magnificent life history of our extraordinary and valiant president.
Hi! Sir av been chasing Mr Thabo Mbekis upbringing for ever..I love hm so much.I want to be in contact with the world of the genuis.Thank u very much I am so looking forward to buy the book.
Its tandi again..I was askin my self having a great president such as Mr Thabo Mbeki..who has been doing tramendours things for South Africa and yet has been living in Mr Mandela's shadow ukuthi how does one get to know abt his fears,ups and downs,courage,life before being Mr President.I mean geting to know facts about his life.This book has given us the oppotunity to know him.
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