The sequel to Of Warriors, Lovers and Prophets, this book is a collection of more colorful, fascinating and mostly unknown characters, spanning more than three hundred years of South African history.

There are stories of slaves, lively Khoisan characters and the first 'Cape Malays' and Muslims. The story of the Xhosa prophet Makhanda, who nearly succeeded in taking Grahamstown from the British in 1819 and who later escaped from Robben Island, will take most readers by surprise. Also covered are the Foster gang of Johannesburg, who were indirectly responsible for the killing of Boer hero Koos de la Rey; David Pratt, the man who shot Hendrik Verwoerd in the head at the Rand Easter Show; and the three men who pulled off the biggest jewelry heist of the time, stealing Bridget Oppenheimer's jewelry in 1956. And there's the sensational and previously unknown story of how a right-wing attack using small airplanes at Nelson Mandela's inauguration in 1994 was thwarted at the last moment....

This is South African history as you've never seen it before: a fresh, lively, accessible book recounting fascinating, quirky and unexpected stories about our past. Drawing from seven years of historical research, Max du Preez has collected the richest and most extraordinary tales that he found. There s the story of the Khoikhoi chief who was kidnapped and taken to England in 1610. And of King Moshoeshoe s mercy towards the cannibals who had eaten his beloved grandfather, because killing them would defile his grandfather's grave. There s the story of Boer War general Christiaan de Wet and his brother Piet, who joined the British forces and fought his own people. The stories span the centuries, up to recent times, and take in the variety of South Africa's regions and cultures. The result is a fascinating mosaic of our rich historical heritage. There are plenty of academic histories of South Africa, but this is a book that the general reader will enjoy, and it will appeal to tourists too. It s researched with an investigative journalist's thoroughness, and written in the easy, accessible style that has made Max du Preez s writing so popular....