SA heritage from different perspectives

Despite the diverse range of titles on the bookshelves, Patricia McCracken has picked out a range of stories with a distinctly South African flavour that includes history, nature, comfort food and some suspense too.

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Attacking The Heart Of Apartheid: The ANC’s MK Special Operations Unit (Penguin, R390)

Insurgency history written from the perspective of the insurgents isn’t as common as books about conventional warfare.

There’s no shortage of biographies and autobiographies of liberation figures giving their perspectives on the struggle within South Africa, although rarely critically.

It’s as if the old habits of secrecy around the actual military actions, usually bombings, still cloak such clandestine actions.

There have been exceptions, but the overall campaign details tend to be obscure, which makes this book special.

It is not only an affirmation of the armed struggle, but also a detailed chronology of that struggle.

The reader will be astonished at how few on-theground cadres kept the war going, albeit with widespread popular support. Because of all the detail, this book will survive the test of time.

Tree Spotting: Cape From Coast To Kalahari by Val Thomas, Rina Grant & Eugene Moll (Jacana, R480)