MY NEIGHBOUR MADIBA. AND OTHERS. JOURNEYS IN JOURNALISM. IN SOUTH AFRICA

Lion's Head Publishers, 2007. 230 x 150 mm; laminated pictorial wrappers; pp. xii + 310; photographs; cartoons. Very good condition. 'In an extensive career in journalism Andrew Drysdale has been close to momentous events - and knows many of the big-time players. "My neighbour Madiba. and others" tells their story - and his own. An anecdotal journey, from cadet reporter to newspaper editor (Pretoria News and The Argus, Cape Town) in the apartheid years to the new South Africa, it traverses brutal repression and violent upheaval to inspirational leadership. Mostly it's about people. Big, important people, and small, equally important people. all the while with time out for the humorous and bizarre. The remarkable Nelson "Madiba" Mandela has pride of place. Share his poignant thoughts in prison, and joyous memories of a boyhood roaming riverbanks and wooded countryside in his beloved Transkei. Join Madiba's epic return to freedom - and shrink at the danger on the very day of his release. That and many other asides to the prisoner who became president, and icon to the world. Here, too, intrigue and power plays between beleaguered presidents PW Botha and FW de Klerk as they square up for the decisive end game. Andrew Drysdale also is drawn to the melting pot of Africa. Face to face encounters serious and light-hearted await in a strife-torn and beguiling continent. And he knows all about the white-hot tension - and vaudeville - of journalism. He tells what it's like - warts and all.. a revealing and compelling read.'