A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid (Paperback)

~ Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela (Author)
Key Phrases: truth commission, apartheid politicians, trigger hand, South Africa, Cape Town, Eugene de Kock (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A startlingly personal account...written with clarity, energy, and enormous empathy."

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

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (April 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618446591
• ISBN-13: 978-0618446599
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #262,266 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #24 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Race Relations > Apartheid
  #80 in	Books > History > Africa > South Africa

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Profound Reflection on our capacity for Reconciation, November 4, 2004

By	Ann Mcelligott "Honolulu reader" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Pumla Gobodo-Madikezela reflects on central human issues such as the nature of individual and social evil, the possibility of social reconciliation, the individual's ability to move from participation in violent evil to remorse, and the capacity to meet one another with forgiveness. As urgent at these issues are, her narrative makes compelling reading -- both her accounts of her face-to-face meetings with de Kock and her reflections on her personal story. She raises important questions. How are we to achieve reconciliation in an environment of domonization and divisiveness? Is the Nuremburg model of seeking justice for crimes against humanity actually a way of moving towards reconciliation? While she does not come to clear and definitive conclusions, her experiences and reflections raise some of the most urgent questions facing us as a human community.

5.0 out of 5 stars Contemplating Forgiveness, June 17, 2009

By	Michael D. Moon "moon88" (Independence) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read this book shortly after returning from a year in South Africa, when the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings were just waning. I originally bought it because of the timeliness of my visit. But I was also beginning the process of divorce. This book is a fascinating insight into the mind of a ruthless, apartheid murderer, but most important to me, the book has an underlying theme of the concept of forgiveness. We all have been taught that forgiving is the right thing to do, but is it? The author lets the reader decide. Terrific book!

1 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Expedient, March 11, 2006

By	Susan Wanjau - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Expedient is one word I can use to describe this transaction. I got the book within one week of purchase. The book was in as good a state as the seller had said it would be. Totally satisfied with the purchase.