Home
/
Non-Fiction
/
Country Of My Skull
Country Of My Skull
Nov 19, 2024 9:25 AM

Author:Antjie Krog

Country Of My Skull

The first free elections in South Africa's history were held in 1994. Within a year legislation was drafted to create a Truth and Reconcilliation Commission to establish a picture of the gross human rights violations committed between 1960 and 1993. It was to seek the truth and make it known to the public and to prevent these brutal events ever happening again. From 1996 and over the following two years South Africans were exposed almost daily to revelations about their traumatic past. Antije Krog's full account of the Commission's work using the testimonies of the oppressed and oppressors alike is a harrowing and haunting book in which the voices of ordinary people shape the course of history.

WINNER OF SOUTH AFRICA'S SUNDAY TIMES ALAN PATON AWARD

Reviews

One of the best books of the year

—— The Economist

No one will tell us more about the struggle for the Afrikaner's soul; for this book, like the events it reports, is an act of redemption

—— Daily Telegraph

Krog's account of the hearings, which recorded 20,000 statements from victims and nearly 8,000 applications for amnesty, is vivid and impassioned

—— Mail on Sunday

Whatever it is that makes a major lasting work of non-fiction, it is here

—— Observer

Her accounts are so powerful, her resilience, humour and compassion so engaging...to have written this book is heroic

—— Sunday Times

Exciting contemporary history, a must for anyone concerned with what is happening now. Scathing in his criticism of newly rich magnates, he also exposes the two-faced liberals

—— Booklist

A brisk, lively and vividly written portrait of post-apartheid South Africa

—— Peter Godwin, author of Mukiwa

The ingenious plot leads from corruption at the top to a shocking and wholly believable revelation

—— The Sun

Unsparing account . . . simultaneously bracing and really quite depressing

—— Time Out

A giddying, gleeful whistlestop tour of the 20th century... Ostrom has the enthusiasm and mischievous twinkle of TV historian Lucy Worsley.

—— Rebecca Franks , We Love This Book

A book to savour... an education and a pleasure. I couldn’t recommend it for fragrance lovers more highly.

—— Jane Cunningham , British Beauty Blogger

Witty and elegant... works like an enticing spell.

—— Louise Gorrod , The Simple Things

An intriguing, intoxicating guide to all things perfume.

—— Book of the Week , New! magazine

This is a wonderful book... will appeal to readers of fashion biographies and fashion history and anyone will a love of scent.

—— Catherine Amey , Fashion Bookworm

[Tindall] has written an absorbing account… This is a work of love and scholarship.

—— Catholic Herald

A thoughtful and engaging interpretation of London’s history through metaphors of tunneling and excavation.

—— Richard Dennis , History Today

Enchanting.

—— Daily Telegraph

Fascinating… One of her strengths is to discover historical first-person narratives, and this, plus her extensive research, make her book an entertaining and informative read

—— Chris Nancollas , Tablet

Engaging… It’s an entertaining book. Crossrail should stock copies on its trains, ready for the inevitable day when signal failure traps thousands of us between Bedlam and a plague pit.

—— Richard Morrison , The Times

The Journey of Humanity is a good summary of growth theories and is an elegantly written and accessible book

—— Irish Times

Galor argues that climate policy should not be restricted to cutting carbon but should also involve "pushing hard for gender equality, access to education and the availability of contraceptives, to drive forward the decline in fertility". India will do well to heed that advice

—— New Indian Express

The Journey of Humanity stretches from the emergence of Homo sapiens to the present day, and has a lot to say about the future, too. In just over 240 pages it covers our migration out of Africa, the development of agriculture, the Industrial Revolution and the phenomenal growth of the past two centuries. It takes in population change, the climate crisis and global inequality ... There will be inevitable comparisons with Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens ... If you need an evidence-based antidote to doomscrolling, here it is ... Galor builds his case meticulously, always testing his assumptions against the evidence, and without the sense of agenda-pushing that accompanies other boosterish thinkers - the Steven Pinkers or Francis Fukuyamas of this world

—— Guardian

Incredibly wide-ranging and detailed historical and even anthropological examination of the myriad factors that have brought success and failure to nations ... Lively and learned

—— Tim Hazledine, Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Auckland , Inerest.co.nz

An optimist's guide to the future ... Oded Galor's 'Sapiens'-like history of civilisation predicts a happy ending for humanity

—— Guardian

Enjoyable and intriguing

—— Steven Poole , Guardian

An antidote to doomscrolling

—— Guardian, *Summer Reads of 2022*

A great historical fresco

—— Le Monde

Breathtaking. A new Sapiens

—— L'Express

Ambitious and deep ... the product of genuine scholarship

—— Jason Furman, economics professor at Harvard, former advisor to Barack Obama , #1 Best Economics Book of 2022, FiveBooks.com
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved