The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter, New Edition [Paperback]

Albie Sachs (Author), Nancy Scheper-Hughes (Introduction), Desmond Tutu (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520220196 | ISBN-13: 978-0520220195 | Publication Date: February 28, 2000 | Edition: 1

On April 7, 1988, Albie Sachs, an activist South African lawyer and a leading member of the ANC, was car-bombed in Maputo, capital of Mozambique, by agents of South Africa's security forces. His right arm was blown off and he lost the sight of one eye. This intimate and moving account of his recovery records the gradual recuperation of his broken body, his complex interaction with health professionals, the importance of touch and sensuality, and his triumphant reentry into the world. It also captures the spirit of a remarkable man: his enormous optimism, his commitment to social justice, and his joyous wonder at the life that surrounds him. In a new epilogue, Sachs gives a gripping insider's view of the major public events of the last decade--the election of Nelson Mandela, the formation of the Constitutional Court and Sachs's appointment as judge, and his own role with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sachs has written a highly personal and sensually explicit odyssey concerning his own damaged body at the same time as writing a book imbued with apparently undaunted idealism concerning his damaged mother-country South Africa." -- Times Educational Supplement

"This is an extraordinary book: courageous, horrifying, sad, and funny. . . . Because he is a gifted writer, Albie Sachs's account of his slow physical rehabilitation is fascinating. We share his pain, his difficulty in relearning to walk, his ingenuity in tying shoelaces and his tie with his left hand alone. . . . This book will make everyone who reads it more aware of the urgency of the need for total change. It will also deepen our admiration for Albie Sachs and the thousands of others who have shown such amazing courage in fighting evil." -- Times (London)

From the Inside Flap

"I've never read anything quite like this bookwild, loving, sad, with humor striking deep as emotion."--Nadine Gordimer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 249 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (February 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520220196
• ISBN-13: 978-0520220195
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #604,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > History > Africa > Mozambique

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Back from the brink, December 20, 2011

By 

Bobchronic - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter, New Edition (Paperback)

Albie Sachs has been an activist within the South African African National Congress (ANC) for most of his adult life and, for that very reason, the apartheid state sent someone to assassinate him in Mozambique in 1988. He survived but lost his right arm as a result of the attack. This book is a witty and moving account of his attempt to regain his health and take control of his life. He leads the reader through every little detail of his journey towards well-being and we feel (almost) as much a sense of achievement as he did when he learns to wipe his bum with his left hand for the first time. He explains the reasons why he decided not to use a prosthetic arm. He did not abandon his principles and was able to play a major role, as a lawyer, in the drafting of the post-apartheid constitution which is based upon 'democratic values, social juatice and fundamental human rights.' In the epilogue to the expanded 2011 version of the book, he explores the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and recounts his experience of being approached by a man who claimed to be part of the team that had been charged with assassinating him. This book succeeds in making the political events of South Africa at the end of apartheid very personal, as well as showing us why Sachs' own personal story is inescapably political.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book on the struggle in apartheid South Africa, April 20, 2008

By 

M. A. McCauley (Johannesburg, South Africa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: THE SOFT VENGEANCE OF A FREEDOM FIGHTER (Paperback)

An account of the attempt by the South African secret police on Albie Sachs' life while he was in exile in Maputo Mozambique during the 1980s.