A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Story of Forgiveness (Hardcover)

by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela (Author) "AS I DROVE the last half-mile of the road that leads to South Africa's notorious Pretoria Central Prison, I felt a dread unlike any I..." (more)
Key Phrases: apartheid politicians, trigger hand, prime evil, South Africa, Cape Town, Eugene de Kock (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
More focused than most books about South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), this searing account is by a psychologist who grew up in the black townships and who served on the TRC under Archbishop Tutu. She brings you close to the horrific testimony about what apartheid's perpetrators did, and also to what Tutu called "holy" scenes of forgiveness by victims' families. But at the center are her personal prison interviews with Eugene de Kock, who directed "the blood, the bodies and the killing" against apartheid's enemies. Does he feel remorse? Can Gobodo-Madikizela feel empathy for him? Demonizing him as monster, as hopelessly other, lets him--and us--off too easily, she maintains. The elemental issues about perpetrators, victims, and bystanders stretch back to the Holocaust and will spark intense discussion. How can apartheid Prime Minister De Klerk say his hands were clean? What about the majority of whites who say they didn't know? No easy answers, just the hope embodied in the TRC that cycles of political violence can be broken and that there are alternatives to revenge. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
An acutely nuanced and original study of a state-sanctioned mass murderer. Not since Dead Man Walking have we seen so provocative a first-person encounter with the human face of evil.

Eugene de Kock, the commanding officer of state-sanctioned apartheid death squads, is currently serving 212 years in jail for crimes against humanity. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, who grew up in a black township in South Africa, served as a psychologist on that country's great national experiment in healing, the Truth and Reconcilation Commission. As this book opens, in an act of inescapable, multilayered symbolism and extraordinary psychological courage, Gobodo-Madikizela enters Pretoria's maximum security prison to meet the man called "Prime Evil." What follows is a journey into what it means to be human.
Gobodo-Madikizela's experience with and deep empathy for victims of murderous violence, including those killed by de Kock and their families and friends, become clear in arresting scenes set during the TRC hearings, in which both perpetrators and their victims are given voice. The author's profound understanding of the language and memory of violence, and of the searingly complex issues surrounding apology and forgiveness after mass atrocity, will leave a mark on scholarship as well as on our emotional lives. Gobodo-Madikizela's journey with de Kock, during which she allows us to witness the extraordinary awakening of his remorse, brings us to one of the great questions of our time: What does it mean when we discover that the incarnation of evil is as frighteningly human as we are?

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (January 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618211896
• ISBN-13: 978-0618211890
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #639,199 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential text, July 24, 2003

By	Louise Steinman (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela's encounter with Eugene De Kock, known as South Africa's "Prime Evil" of the apartheid system-- tested her boundaries for forgiveness and compassion. It is an essential text for anyone interested in learning how--after traumatic events--it is possible to transcend feelings of revenge and move on.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Moving, January 17, 2004

By	Sunisurekick "sunisurekick" (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews

I was extremely fortunate to hear Ms. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela present her book on booktv on December 7, 2003. I strongly urge you who are reading this amazon comment to seek her out and go to listen to her if she is speaking anywhere near your area. Read this book by one of the world's most remarkable women and a true seeker of peace. Judge Albie Sachs also spoke in conjunction with Dr. Gobodo-Madikizela's book presentation and I would encourage the reader to seek him out as well. These two are truly exceptional human beings.

BOOKTV description of the presentation:
A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Story of Forgiveness
from March 9, 2003
From John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, South African activist Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela discusses her book "A Human Being Died That Night." A psychologist, Ms. Gobodo-Madikizela had many conversations with Eugene de Kock, the former commanding officer of the apartheid police squads. De Koch, whose nicknames include "Dr. Death" and "Prime Evil," is currently serving 212 years in prison for crimes against humanity. Much of the book is set during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings, during which both the perpetrators and their victims were given the right to be heard. Ms. Gobodo-Madikizela suggests that the TRC hearings may not have produced complete reconciliation, but the validation the victims received and the absolution they subsequently offered was therapeutic and necessary for the creation of the new democracy. Albie Sachs, a judge with the Constitutional Court of South Africa joins Ms. Gobodo-Madikizela. This program is hosted by Facing History and Ourselves, a nonprofit educational organization that encourages an interdisciplinary approach to teaching history by relating it to the daily experiences of the students.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, February 7, 2007

By	M. Neumann "Oyibo" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is not only a great reference for studying forgiveness and conflict resolution, as other reviewers have suggested, but also for anyone looking for an understanding of apartheid and post-apartheid in South Africa. I purchased this book as a student of human rights law, and found it incredibly helpful in detailing background and implementation of such law in South Africa. A good choice for a student or for entertainment.