FD24 History

Bush Brothers is not about special forces or heroic, secret missions. Instead, it is an intimate look at the daily life of ordinary soldiers – and the unbreakable bonds they formed under fire. This is the story of thousands of infantry men who were deployed in the SADF, on or across the Border. Colourful characters and wild partying are interspersed with the life-and-death choices troops were forced to make as they sacrificed life and limb, not so much for their country, but for each other.

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In this radical critique of established pre-colonial and colonial history, Mellet centres land dispossession, the destruction of livelihoods and the brutality of slavery in South Africa. Drawing on scholarly work and his own experience of searching for identity, Mellet provides a bold new perspective on the loss of land and belonging. Characters such as Autshumao, Krotoa and Doman come to life in the story of the founding of a port at Cape Town – over 50 years before Jan van Riebeeck arrived.

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Winner of the 2022 Humanities and Social Sciences Award for Best Non-Fiction Monograph South Africa was born in war, its growth has been marked by crises and ruptures, and it once again stands on a precipice.            History of South Africa explores the country’s tumultuous journey from the aftermath of the Second Anglo-Boer War to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on never-before-published documentary evidence – including diaries, letters, eyewitness testimony and diplomatic reports – the book follows the South African people through the battles, elections, repression, resistance, strikes, insurrections, massacres, economic crashes and health crises that have shaped the nation’s character.            Tracking South Africa’s path from colony to Union and from apartheid to democracy, History of South Africa documents the influence of key figures including Pixley Seme, Jan Smuts, Lilian Ngoyi, H.F. Verwoerd, Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko, P.W. Botha, Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa. The book gives detailed accounts of definitive events such as the 1922 Rand Revolt, the Defiance Campaign, Sharpeville, the Soweto uprising and the Marikana massacre. Looking beyond the country’s borders, it sheds light on the role of people such as Mohandas Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Fidel Castro and Margaret Thatcher, and unpacks military conflicts such as the World Wars, the armed struggle and the Border War. The book explores the transition to democracy and traces the phases of ANC rule, from the Rainbow Nation to transformation, state capture to ‘New Dawn’. It examines the divisive and unifying role of sport, the ups and downs of the economy, and the impact of pandemics from the Spanish flu to AIDS and COVID-19.            With South Africa currently facing a crisis as severe as any in its history, the book shows that these challenges are neither unprecedented nor insurmountable, and that there are principles to be found in history that may lead us safely into the future.

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Infused with colour, scenes from the Anglo-Boer War suddenly come to life in this striking collection of colourised photos from one of the biggest conflicts on South African soil. The Anglo-Boer War, or South African War, pitted the two Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State against British imperial might. The effects of this devastating war on the political, economic and social landscape were felt long after its end. Volume 1 covers the conventional part of the war from October 1899 to June 1900 when Lord Roberts occupied the Boer republics. The photos show the Boer strikes into Natal and the Cape Colony, the sieges of British garrison towns at Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking, as well as some of the major battles of the war. The Boer War in Colour contains many iconic photos from the war, as well as several previously unpublished images. Over the past 120 years, hundreds of books on the Anglo-Boer War have been published, but this will be the first to show this conflict in full colour - introducing a fresh perspective and transforming it into living history.

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1 Recce. Een van die skerpste, veelsydigste en dodelikste spesialiseenhede in die Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag. Die manne was superfiks en bomenslik taai. Hulle het telkens hul lewe op die spel geplaas in geheime operasies. Alexander Strachan, bekroonde skrywer en self 'n gewese Recce, vertel die verhaal van 1 Recce se ontstaan, geskiedenis en rol in die Bosoorlog. Na jare van mites en geheimhouding gee die boek 'n binneblik op die Recces en die werk wat hulle onsigbaar agter die skerms gedoen het.

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"...Wild at heart, aggressive and fearless, SAS Lieutenant Richard Stannard was born and bred to fight against the odds." With roots going back to Cecil Rhodes' buccaneering Pioneers, Stannard, like many of his countrymen, was born and bred to fight against the odds as a soldier defending a country at war with the world. Never frightened to lead, he tackled his foe with skill, incredible courage and almost unbelievable good cheer. Serving in both the SAS and the Selous Scouts, before joining the South African Recces, Stannard fought alongside the best and the bravest black and white soldiers of the Bushwar including legends of the conflict like Chris Schulenburg, Martin Chikondo and Darrell Watt. In the process, he carved a name for himself as one of the greatest fighting men of his generation.

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Die Slag van Cuito Cuanavale is al dekades lank 'n bron van hewige konflik en emosie, maar tot nou toe was min bekend oor die Recces se teenwoordigheid en impak tydens dié omstrede gevegte. In hierdie laaste boek van die spanningsvolle trilogie oor 1 Recce onthul Alexander Strachan, bekroonde skrywer en self 'n oud-Recce, meer oor die Recces se betrokkenheid by Cuito. Propvol spanning, adrenalien, hoogdrama en onvergeetlike vertellings deur oud-Recces wat dié ervarings eerstehands beleef het.

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Daar was hewige vuurgevegte, oorwinnings, maar ook verliese . . . 1 Recce, Agter vyandelike linies, neem die leser tot in die Recces se 'binnekamer'. In hul eie woorde vertel Recce-operateurs van die lewensgevaarlike operasies wat hulle onder groot geheimhouding in die laat 1970s in Angola en Rhodesia uitgevoer het. Die leser sien die operateurs sweet in die vliegtuig of duikboot en beleef die gevaar wanneer hulle in die nagdonker riviere met krokodille trotseer. Die spanning en adrenalien loop hoog wanneer die Recces springstof in 'n treintonnel diep in vyandelike gebied plaas of 'n groot brandstofbergingsplek in 'n Angolosese hawestad in 'n vlammehel omskep. Die wat daar was vertel van die spanning, afwagting, vrees, adrenalien, moegheid, dors en hartseer wat hulle beleef het, maar ook van die humoristiese momente en die vriendskapsbande wat gesmee is. 1 Recce, Agter vyandelike linies is Alexander Strachan, bekroonde skrywer en gewese Recce, se opvolgboek op sy topverkoper: 1 Recce, Die nag behoort aan ons.

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1 Recce. One of the sharpest, most versatile and deadliest specialist units in the South African Defence Force. These men were superfit and unbelievably tough. Time and again they put their lives on the line in covert operations. The award-winning author Alexander Strachan, himself a former Recce, tells the story of 1 Recce's formation, history and role in the Bush War. After years of myth and secrecy, this book provides an inside look at the Recces and the work they did behind the scenes.

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The demolition team is passing the cases containing explosives one by one to Klein-Jakes Jacobs where he is hanging spiderlike from the top of the scaffolding in the train tunnel. It is a dangerous process. If the scaffolding topples, the explosives will drop 10 m to the ground – and the entire Recce team will be blown to kingdom come. 1 Recce: Behind Enemy Lines takes the reader into the ‘inner sanctum’ of one of the sharpest, most versatile and deadliest specialist units in the former South African Defence Force. In their own words, Recce operators recount some of the life-threatening operations they conducted under great secrecy in Angola, Rhodesia and Mozambique during the late 1970s. Operators sweat in aircraft or in submarines deep below the ocean’s surface. They brave crocodile-infested rivers in the dark of night. Recces place explosives in a train tunnel deep inside enemy territory and transform a large fuel storage facility in an Angolan port city into a fiery inferno. There were intense firefights, victories, but also losses . . . Those who were there give first-hand accounts of the tension, anticipation, fear, adrenalin, exhaustion, thirst and grief they experienced, but also of the humorous moments and the close bonds of friendship that were forged in situations of mortal danger.

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The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale has been a source of fierce contestation and emotion for decades, but up to now little was known about the Recces’ presence and impact during this controversial battle. In the last book of the nail-biting trilogy about 1 Recce, the award-winning author Alexander Strachan, himself an ex-Recce, reveals more on the Recces’ involvement at Cuito. Packed with suspense, adrenaline, high drama and unforgettable accounts by ex-Recces who experienced these adventures personally.

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