A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Story of Forgiveness First Edition, First Printing Edition

by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela (Author)

12 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0618211890

ISBN-10: 0618211896

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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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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

About the Author

PUMLA GOBODO-MADIKIZELA served on the Human Rights Violations Committee of South Africa’s great national experiment in healing, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She lectures internationally on issues of reconciliation.

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Product details

Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; First Edition, First Printing edition (January 23, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0618211896
ISBN-13: 978-0618211890
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 12 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,115,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #522 in Books > History > Africa > South Africa
- #541 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Africa
- #745 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > Africa

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belle0313

Interesting read

June 13, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Interesting read but I wanted more about what De Kock had to say rather than the constant intermittent blurbs about what the author felt about random spaces in time. In fact the author's input as to her feelings were often distracting and took away from what I was hoping to get from the book. Glad I read it though.

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Travel Fan

Most touching book I've ever read

October 12, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

It's been eight years since I first read this book, just after I'd returned from some work and cultural study in South Africa. Of all the books I had read before and have read since, this book has made the biggest mark on my heart. It's also written well and interesting to follow. This should be required reading.

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J. Meadows

Well written and moving

January 11, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

After spending years in SA and living close to these stories, I had to read Pumla's book. Though I knew the stories, I was moved to tears. Had to put it down once and not read it for several weeks.

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January 17, 2004

Format: Hardcover

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.

6 people found this helpful

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January 25, 2011

Format: Hardcover

The lust for power and complete control bears the fruit of cruel dehumanization of those who become the objects of its victimization. Interestingly enough the ones most responsible for this human tragedy become the most dehumanized! This is very apparent in the book, A Human Being Died That Night, by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, a clinical psychologist in South Africa. Having served with Desmond Tutu on the Human Rights Violations Committee of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, she has written a very moving account of the power of a beleaguered race of people who chose to forgive those who so wrongfully mistreated them.

The monster behind the apartheid, de Kock seemed devil possessed to wipe out every native African in South Africa. Now that Apartheid was over Gobodo-Madikizela dared to interview him and offer her people's forgiveness for the terrible atrocities he engineered. Could a man of his caliber be touched by their offer of forgiveness?

Reading this book is an unforgettable experience. Forgiveness is a god-like thing. Would that all of us would learn how powerful it is!

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madcarrot

we could all learn ....

April 1, 2004

Format: Hardcover

It's a pity more of our current political leaders aren't reading books such as this one. Forgiveness, open hearts, the space to grow - how can this be anything but good? I heard Gobodo-Madikizela on NPR, inspiring me to read her book. It's amazing. I'd recommend it highly.

6 people found this helpful

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February 7, 2007

Format: Hardcover

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.

5 people found this helpful

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Alex Clark

If You've Ever Failed to Forgive, Read This Book

October 20, 2003

Format: Hardcover

I'm becoming a student of forgiveness because of this book. It details an amazing, and yet understandably human, encounter between a man who chose evil as his path, and the woman whose compassion allowed him room to turn away from it. It's the anti-Hannibal, the cure for all of the pain of the world and the evil that humans wreak on one another. If you;ve ever struggled to forgive someone, you'll find a new place to look in your heart to inspire that forgiveness after reading this book.

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Most recent customer reviews

christine d'orsi

Informative and moving.

A fascinating lesson in the history of post-apartheid South Africa's journey to closure and forgiveness.

Published on March 12, 2015

edwardian

She is remarkable.

Dr. Gobodo-Madikizela is a remarkable human being. I am awestruck by her depth of soul. She puts so many of us to shame.Read more

Published on December 3, 2006

Kate N

read this book

This is one of the most powerful books I've read on the power of forgiveness and what it means to be human. I highly, highly recommend it.

Published on May 6, 2006

Louise Steinman

An essential text

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...Read more

Published on July 24, 2003

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