People Who Have Stolen from Me: Rough Justice in the New South Africa [Paperback]

David Cohen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312424531 | ISBN-13: 978-0312424534 | Publication Date: December 9, 2004

Brothers-in-law Harry and Jack run a Johannesburg furniture business that is being robbed repeatedly. The investigation of the crime reveals that the perpetrators lie even closer than the proprietors expected--and explores also how the social forces at work in South Africa today have made crime the country's biggest growth industry.

Written on the tenth anniversary of the fall of apartheid, People Who Have Stolen From Me describes a nation in the throes of rebuilding itself, through the eyes of two witty, perceptive men.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

London-based journalist Cohen (Chasing the Red, White, and Blue) reports in this tight, perceptive study that crime-which has soared in the past 10 years-is now South Africa's biggest growth industry. Rather than taking a broad sociological approach, Cohen brilliantly uses one store-and its owners, customers, staff, thieves and swindlers-as a microcosm of the greater problem. Harry Sher and Jack Rubin own a furniture and appliance store on Johannesburg's Jules Street, where "crooked men thrive." The business endures armed robberies, defaulting creditors, theft by staff and a range of ingenious thievery schemes. Cohen cites the obvious reasons for the staggering crime rates, including the disparity between the haves and the have-nots (which still falls primarily along racial lines) and soaring unemployment. But Cohen, not satisfied with easy answers, persuasively contends that the problem is more complex. He argues, for instance, that South Africa had developed an apartheid township culture that saw crime (especially against whites) as honorable. More interestingly, criminal activity is not unique to the black population, a fact that Cohen makes clear through the case of Harry's younger brother, Ronny, who is fired after dipping one too many times into the company till. As a white security worker admits, "You look around in the new South Africa and you see people minting [money]. And you think-why not me?" While the book's subject may seem narrow and remote, the strength of Cohen's characterizations and narrative provide for a portrait of the new South Africa that many will find illuminating, fascinating and, sadly, universal. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"One of the most important books you will read this year." --Sunday Times, South Africa
"A perceptive and original take on the causes and consequences of South Africa's current crime wave....Social analysis with verve and insight." --Kirkus Reviews
"Acclaimed British-South African author David Cohen presents a pressing empirical question about South Africa: Just who has stolen from whom? The balance of detachment and intimacy is Cohen's greatest strength...This is not so much a book about crime as it is about relative moralities."--This Day, South Africa
"An important piece of reportage that vividly and sensitively demonstrates how difficult it is for societies, where justice has long been perverted, to change overnight. ...A comprehensive account of the current condition that also does much to explain the failing grade in crime on the national report card."--Washington Times
"Rather than taking a broad sociological approach, Cohen brilliantly uses one store-and its owners, customers, staff, thieves and swindlers-as a microcosm of the greater problem. The strength of Cohen's characterizations and narrative provide for a portrait of the new South Africa that many will find illuminating, fascinating and, sadly, universal."--Publishers Weekly
"A startlingly refreshing examination of the new South Africa's cathartic rebirth [and] one of the first books to deal with the story behind the headlines."--South African Times, London

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Picador (December 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312424531
• ISBN-13: 978-0312424534
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,035,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent work, August 3, 2005

By 

Matthew S. Cavnar "Matthew Cavnar" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: People Who Have Stolen from Me: Rough Justice in the New South Africa (Paperback)

This is an incredible book that beats the pants off of so much of what is considered good writing. Compelling, funny, you can't put it down. There is something here for everyone.

5.0 out of 5 stars "Rough Justice" but NOT a "rough" read!, February 26, 2011

By 

flagday1960 (St.Louis) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: People Who Have Stolen from Me: Rough Justice in the New South Africa (Hardcover)

Centers around a furniture & appliance store & the crimes perpetrated against & within it: armed robbers / shoplifters / burglars / ram-raiders / "shrinkage"(employee theft)/ embezzlers (to include family members!) / etc., as narrated from largely the owners' standpoint; Interesting too, are the attitudes of the overwhelmed police & private security companies.

Some history, some sociology, some psychology, some philosophy regarding crime from both sides, during a time of social change. An entertaining read, to be sure.