ePub Every Secret Thing: My Family, My Country download

by Roger Donald,Gillian Slovo

Author:

Roger Donald,Gillian Slovo

ISBN13:

978-0316799232

ISBN:

0316799238

Language:

English

Publisher:

Little Brown & Co; 1st U.S. ed edition (May 1, 1997)

Category:

Social Sciences

Subcategory:

Sociology

ePub file:

1191 kb

Fb2 file:

1364 kb

Other formats:

mbr azw mobi txt

Rating:

4.6

Votes:

138

Roger Donald Gillian Slovo Sociology English

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Gillian Slovo, 1997: Every Little Thing; my family, my country London: Abacus. By any standard, this is an exceptional political memoir about the meaning of commitment to the cause of a multi-racial South Africa. Gillian, the daughter of Ruth First and Joe Slovo, has given us a profound insight into the tensions between the public and private lives of her parents, two of the ANC's best-known figures.

Slovo, Gillian, 1952-. Slovo, Gillian, 1952-, Slovo, Gillian, 1952-, Slovo, Gillian, 1952-, First, Ruth, 1925-1982, Slovo, Joe, Novelists, English, Novelists, English, Anti-apartheid movements, Civil rights workers, Political activists, Journalists, Communists, Parent and child, Families. Boston : Little, Brown. Books for People with Print Disabilities. Internet Archive Books. Uploaded by loader-ElisaR on October 21, 2010. SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata).

Items related to Every Secret Thing: My Family, My Country. Published by Little Brown & Co (T) (1997)

Items related to Every Secret Thing: My Family, My Country. Gillian Slovo Every Secret Thing: My Family, My Country. ISBN 13: 9780316799232. Every Secret Thing: My Family, My Country. A passionate witness to the colossal upheaval that has transformed her native South Africa, Gillian Slovo has written a memoir that is far more than the story of her own life. For she is the daughter of Joe Slovo and Ruth First, South Africa’s pioneering anti–apartheid white activists - a daughter who always came second to political commitment. Published by Little Brown & Co (T) (1997). ISBN 10: 0316799238 ISBN 13: 9780316799232.

Author: Slovo, Gillian. This autobiography provides an investigation into the past of Gillian Slovo's family and country - South Africa. Notes: Signed by Author(s)the book is signed and inscribed thus : 'to Gerald with best wishes. the jacket is a little shelf rubbed but it is bright and attractive and untorn. Read full description. As the daughter of two of the most heroic anti-apartheid campaigners, it is a story that intersects with much of South Africa's bloodiest history.

A passionate witness to the colossal upheaval that has transformed her native South Africa, Gillian Slovo has written a memoir that is far more than a story of her own life. For she is the daughter of Joe Slovo and Ruth First, South Africa’s pioneering anti-apartheid white activists, a daughter who always had to come second to political commitment.

assassination by South African forces in 1982. Interview of Gillian Slovo by Anthony Clare on BBC Radio 4's In the Psychiatrist's Chair (originally broadcast August 1997), based in part on her biography. For she is the daughter of Joe Slovo and Ruth First, South Africa's pioneering anti-apartheid white activists, a daughter who always had to come second to political commitment

Gillian Slovo discusses Red Dust on the BBC World Book Club. Gillian Slovo discusses Red Dust on the BBC World Book Club. Audio/Video recording of a talk by Gillian Slovo on "Human Rights and the Arts: Guantanamo in the Theater" at the University of Chicago.

The daughter of South African Communist Party leader Joe Slovo tells how, when Nelson Mandela came to power, she returned to her homeland to reclaim her father and find her mother's murderer, only to discover the shocking truth about her parents' lives. 20,000 first printing.

Fordregelv

I downloaded this book as it was the April choice for my book club. I was surprised at the high price (close to $16), as the book was published in 1996, and disappointed that this was a higher price than the paperback version. Once I got used to the meandering, and at times disjointed narrative style, I became quite immersed in the book. Although I found Slovo's narrative to be somewhat self-absorbed at times, overall, I enjoyed this book for two reasons: it made me realise the sense of deprivation, lack of love and sense of identity that besets the children of parents who are either celebrities or have high public profiles. So much of the narrative seemed a cry for recognition and love. Slovo's frustration at her parents' indifference made me think of a number of children of famous parents who go off the rails or commit suicide - Peach Geldof being a recent one. The second reason I enjoyed the book was that it gave me a real glimpse of South Africa during the Apartheid era- for example, Slovo's shock when arriving in England and seeing a white person clean her steps, as she had only seen blacks do manual work. She conveyed convincingly through the depiction of her unsettled childhood the atmosphere of fear and secrecy that dominated her everyday life. The fact that her mother's violent death did not come as a surprise says it all. Having read quite a lot of articles and books about many of the black activists from that time such as Mandela and Tambo, it was also interesting to observe the lives of significant white activists such as Slovo's parents from that era. I will read the book again. Interestingly, our book group were very divided about the book - some loved it, and some couldn't relate to it and chose not to finish it.

Teonyo

This is a great book about the complex South African struggle. The heroes were larger than life but they were also human, parents, husbands and sons & daughters. South Africa is definitely better for their sacrifice but it is also true that their families bear the scars. Joe Slovo and Ruth First are indeed fascinating heroes. Thank you Gillian for writing your story

White gold

A great read that poses the difficult question: what ought to come first--one's children, or one's cause? Especially challenging when the cause is the end of apartheid. Gillian Slovo is bitter that she didn't have her parents because they were busy trying to free South Africa. Understandable from an individual point of view, but the contribution of the Slovos to the anti-apartheid movement was invaluable. I don't know the correct answer to the question, but I do know that this is a good and engaging tale.

Manazar

Good cond. Great book.

Gholbirdred

As many of you know I'm really interested in the history of South Africa, particularly about the figures who played an essential role to bringing about the downfall of the apartheid regime. So when I did another one of my numerous library searches I came across this book and knowing very little except the basics about Ruth First and Joe Slovo I decided to give it a shot.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting this book to be really since I knew nothing about Gillian Slovo (apart from her parentage) and I've never read any of her other books before but what I got was not what I was hoping for.

I never go into a non-fiction read especially a biography or a memoir thinking that it will be a fast paced read like a novel and while this is sometimes the case in this instance the book crawled like a turtle. It took forever for me to get into the writing style and even as I finished the book I still hadn't warmed up to it.

While I understand that the lives of those in the spotlight are neer what they appear to be and that what goes on behind closed doors is often nothing like we would imagine I was surprised that the author chose to refer to her parents by her first name. Perhaps this is because she was trying to distance herself from them in order to focus on them as people rather than mom and dad but it bothered me. The book was written with such a coldness it was as if she'd rather not be connect to them at all.

However given her tumultuous upbringing I can understand if there are old wounds that never healed but I suppose if you're going to discuss your family that it would be prudent to add some snippets of your family life like some warmer moments just to offset the cold clinical attitude that the author adopted. Another thing I disliked was that she skipped back and forth from from different points in time. Often I would find her referring to events in the 1950's and she would skip ahead to the 1980's and back again. There was no fluidity to the writing at all.

The one saving grace of the Every Secret Thing was that I learned an amazing amount about the real Ruth First and the real Joe Slovo. While the way their life stories were told didn't sit well with me I did get an intimate look into the history of this political powerhouse of a couple.

Overall, I wasn't too impressed with Every Secret Thing but I do respect Gillian Slovo for penning this book. It is no easy thing to delve into your parent's pasts and uncover long hidden secrets (like a long lost brother) and she should be commended for her efforts. I just wish that it was put forward in a better way. I would recommend this to people who enjoy biographies and those with an interest in reading about two people who helped change the world.

Kefym

It is often difficult to determine the events in current affairs by reading the newspapers since much of what is written is either shallow or what is being fed by the Government. This book gives a very moving and descriptive story of life for those who lived and worked in South Africa fighting apartheid. Gillian is uncompromisingly critical of both herself, her family and the people her family worked with fighting apartheid. The result is an excellent and moving story that depicts accurately much of what went on but was unreported during those troubled times.

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