What happens to a deferred dream?
Website design By BotEap.comBook Title: The Delayed Dream
Author: Mark Gevisser
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers Website design By BotEap.comThe Dream Deferred is a valuable biography of Thabo Mbeki, the oldest president of post-apartheid South Africa (1999-2008). Website design By BotEap.comThe book is both excellent academic work and a fascinating story of a man who succeeded international icon Nelson Mandela to lead South Africa. By tracing Mbeki’s life path, he sheds new light on the creation of both man and the new South Africa founded in 1994. He seeks and manages to bring to light the first successes of the transition to the new South Africa and its initial problems. of rebirth. It is part of (Mbeki’s) biography and part of the history of the long-running international struggle of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to end apartheid. Website design By BotEap.comThe author, Mark Gevisser, spent seven years reconnecting the dots in Mbeki’s life. He traveled to places where Mbeki spent his formative and exile years: Transkei, Angola, Swaziland, Tanzania, London, and Moscow, among others. He interviewed figures from the anti-apartheid movement around the world, exiled ANC activists, academics, historians, family and friends. He also navigated a mountain of documentary evidence, archival material, and of course interviewed its main protagonist, Thabo Mbeki. The result of Gevisser’s work is a rich contemporary look at the current state of South Africa using historical lenses as a guide and soundboard. The story is told in a fascinating way making it accessible to a wider audience. Website design By BotEap.comThe Dream Deferred follows in Mbeki’s footsteps from his early birth in the interior of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa until he was president of the country. It touches on how it faced the challenges of service delivery and the country’s re-entry into the international arena. Gevisser brings the voices and places that Thabo Mbeki made to life in a way devoid of bloat. Gevisser is critical, but empathetic to his main character (Mbeki), whom he believes to be a tragic figure. Examine in great detail the meaning of home and exile for Mbeki. He asks rhetorical questions about whether Mbeki’s dream of bringing South Africa to a modern state was postponed, if at all. If it was, Gevisser seems to wonder if this was solely due to Mbeki’s deficiency as a person or if he was part of an intricate web of attempts to pull a country out of the abyss of violent conflict in less than two decades after he was born with scarce resources. Website design By BotEap.comThe central plot of the book: The rebirth of South Africa is fraught with complex challenges that will take a lot of time, resources and energy to navigate and overcome. It uncovers Mbeki’s concern about levels of anger among black sections of the population, as the government’s service delivery machinery continued to advance at a snail’s pace. Gevisser speaks of this anxiety without judging the man. It seems to suggest through a narrative of Mbeki’s refusal to reconnect with his birthplace in the Eastern Cape that the Chief (Mbeki’s political nickname) has yet to grasp the meaning of home. Website design By BotEap.comIn his analyzes of Mbeki’s speeches, his favorite quotes and poems, Gevisser was able to discern a man who was not comfortable with himself. Gevisser argues that Mbeki could be a prisoner of his favorite Shakespearean character, Coriolanus. Caius Maroius Coriolanus is shown in the play as an aggressive, tactless and antisocial man. He is very unfriendly, obnoxious, and very open about how he feels towards others. On the other hand, he is admired for his strength and directness, but his old qualities make it impossible to love him. In fact, in 2008, Mbeki’s party lost faith in him and decided to remember him as president. He resigned six months before the end of his term. He remains a member of the ANC and is actively involved in his favorite African Renaissance project and peacebuilding in Africa. Website design By BotEap.comTo this end, the Deferred Dream is a sociological study of a society in transition and how key political figures through acts or omissions can derail or accelerate the political and economic development of a newly independent state. The book is a collector’s item and a must-read for legislators, students of sociology, politics, and philosophy. He makes an important contribution to the body of thought on key figures in Africa who brought many attributes to the table besides war and famine.
Author: Mark Gevisser
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers Website design By BotEap.comThe Dream Deferred is a valuable biography of Thabo Mbeki, the oldest president of post-apartheid South Africa (1999-2008). Website design By BotEap.comThe book is both excellent academic work and a fascinating story of a man who succeeded international icon Nelson Mandela to lead South Africa. By tracing Mbeki’s life path, he sheds new light on the creation of both man and the new South Africa founded in 1994. He seeks and manages to bring to light the first successes of the transition to the new South Africa and its initial problems. of rebirth. It is part of (Mbeki’s) biography and part of the history of the long-running international struggle of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to end apartheid. Website design By BotEap.comThe author, Mark Gevisser, spent seven years reconnecting the dots in Mbeki’s life. He traveled to places where Mbeki spent his formative and exile years: Transkei, Angola, Swaziland, Tanzania, London, and Moscow, among others. He interviewed figures from the anti-apartheid movement around the world, exiled ANC activists, academics, historians, family and friends. He also navigated a mountain of documentary evidence, archival material, and of course interviewed its main protagonist, Thabo Mbeki. The result of Gevisser’s work is a rich contemporary look at the current state of South Africa using historical lenses as a guide and soundboard. The story is told in a fascinating way making it accessible to a wider audience. Website design By BotEap.comThe Dream Deferred follows in Mbeki’s footsteps from his early birth in the interior of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa until he was president of the country. It touches on how it faced the challenges of service delivery and the country’s re-entry into the international arena. Gevisser brings the voices and places that Thabo Mbeki made to life in a way devoid of bloat. Gevisser is critical, but empathetic to his main character (Mbeki), whom he believes to be a tragic figure. Examine in great detail the meaning of home and exile for Mbeki. He asks rhetorical questions about whether Mbeki’s dream of bringing South Africa to a modern state was postponed, if at all. If it was, Gevisser seems to wonder if this was solely due to Mbeki’s deficiency as a person or if he was part of an intricate web of attempts to pull a country out of the abyss of violent conflict in less than two decades after he was born with scarce resources. Website design By BotEap.comThe central plot of the book: The rebirth of South Africa is fraught with complex challenges that will take a lot of time, resources and energy to navigate and overcome. It uncovers Mbeki’s concern about levels of anger among black sections of the population, as the government’s service delivery machinery continued to advance at a snail’s pace. Gevisser speaks of this anxiety without judging the man. It seems to suggest through a narrative of Mbeki’s refusal to reconnect with his birthplace in the Eastern Cape that the Chief (Mbeki’s political nickname) has yet to grasp the meaning of home. Website design By BotEap.comIn his analyzes of Mbeki’s speeches, his favorite quotes and poems, Gevisser was able to discern a man who was not comfortable with himself. Gevisser argues that Mbeki could be a prisoner of his favorite Shakespearean character, Coriolanus. Caius Maroius Coriolanus is shown in the play as an aggressive, tactless and antisocial man. He is very unfriendly, obnoxious, and very open about how he feels towards others. On the other hand, he is admired for his strength and directness, but his old qualities make it impossible to love him. In fact, in 2008, Mbeki’s party lost faith in him and decided to remember him as president. He resigned six months before the end of his term. He remains a member of the ANC and is actively involved in his favorite African Renaissance project and peacebuilding in Africa. Website design By BotEap.comTo this end, the Deferred Dream is a sociological study of a society in transition and how key political figures through acts or omissions can derail or accelerate the political and economic development of a newly independent state. The book is a collector’s item and a must-read for legislators, students of sociology, politics, and philosophy. He makes an important contribution to the body of thought on key figures in Africa who brought many attributes to the table besides war and famine.