Ronnie Kasrils has always written. From his work on Bertrand Russell, to poetry during the exile years, to his pieces under the pseudonym ANC Khumalo, for the various ANC publications in exile.

But it was after his return to South Africa that his writing took off. And how.

These four titles, written at different stages of his career, always tell a story of truth to power.

Catching Tadpoles: The Shaping of a Young Rebel

‘Unputdownable.’ – Mark Gevisser, author of Lost and Found in Johannesburg: A Memoir

With Ronnie Kasrils’s remarkable memory for evocative detail, and his flair for the spoken word, his story revels in the social, sexual and political awakening of a roguish boy’s adventures with girls, rock music, bohemian culture and leaping across the colour barrier.

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A Simple Man: Kasrils and the Zuma Enigma

Kasrils’s insights into Jacob Zuma, both shocking and revelatory, are vividly told through this story, from their shared history in the underground to Kasrils’s time as minister of intelligence, to his views on the New South Africa. The oft-told story of Zuma the struggle hero becomes clearer through Kasrils’s telling.

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Armed and Dangerous: From Undercover Struggle to Freedom

Now in its fourth edition, Armed & Dangerous is the author’s account of his years in both the liberation struggle and in government. He gives an insider’s account of the workings of Umkhonto weSizwe, the armed wing of the ANC, and of his role in Mandela’s first cabinet, moving on then to Mbeki’s.

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The Unlikely Secret Agent

Winner of South Africa’s top literary prize, the Alan Paton Award, The Unlikely Secret Agent tells the thrilling true story of one woman’s struggle against the apartheid system.

This remarkable story of a young woman’s courage and daring at a time of increasing repression in apartheid South Africa is told here for the first time with great verve by Eleanor’s husband, Ronnie Kasrils, who eventually became South Africa’s Minister of Intelligence Services in 2004.

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Categories Non-fiction South Africa

Tags A Simple Man Armed and Dangerous Catching Tadpoles Jacana Media Ronnie Kasrils The Unlikely Secret Agent