An updated edition of Hani: A Life Too Short by Janet Smith and Beauregard Tromp is out in February from Jonathan Ball Publishers.

‘This is an excellent portrayal of the Chris I knew. Not one word of exaggeration, so large was Chris. His contribution to our freedom is inestimable.’ – Mavuso Msimang, ANC veteran and former member of the military high command of uMkhonto we Sizwe

Chris Hani’s assassination in 1993 gave rise to one of South Africa’s greatest political questions: if he had survived, what impact would he have had on the ANC government?

On the 30th anniversary of his murder by right-wing fanatics, this updated version of the bestselling Hani: A Life Too Short re-evaluates his legacy and traces his life from his childhood in rural Transkei to the crisis in the ANC camps in Angola in the 1980s and the heady dawn of South Africa’s freedom.

Drawing on interviews and the recollections of those who knew him, this vividly written book provides a detailed account of the life of a hero of South Africa’s liberation, a communist party leader and Umkhonto we Sizwe chief of staff who was both an intellectual and a fighter.

About the authors

Janet Smith is a former newspaper editor and the author of Patrice Motsepe. She was also a co-author of The Coming Revolution: Julius Malema and the Fight for Economic Freedom and The Black Consciousness Reader.

Award-winning journalist Beauregard Tromp is the Africa editor of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. He has also worked for the Mail & Guardian and The Star newspaper.

Categories Non-fiction South Africa

Tags Beauregard Tromp Hani: A Life Too Short Janet Smith Jonathan Ball Publishers New books New releases