Andrew Charman, Leif Petersen, and Thireshen Govender

Township Economy provides unique insight into the nature of informal businesses and entrepreneurship in the townships of postapartheid South Africa and Namibia. The authors draw on evidence collected across nearly a decade, beginning in 2010, to focus on microenterprises, the business strategies of township entrepreneurs, and the impact of autonomous informal economic activities on urban life.  More >

Nolwazi Mkhwanazi and Lenore Manderson, editors

What impact do economic, demographic, and social change have on the everyday health and well being of families and households in contemporary South Africa? The authors explore this question in twenty-nine case studies of people with diverse backgrounds in terms of ethnicity, class, sex and gender, age, and location, considering the influence of these factors across the life course.  More >

Thando Vilakazi, Sumayya Goga, and Simon Roberts, editors

Choice Outstanding Academic Book! What does it take for local entrepreneurs to effectively compete in South Africa? What factors affect entry and participation in sectors where established firms have existed for years? And with what impact?  Addressing these questions, Opening the South African Economy highlights the challenges posed by concentration, inequality, and exclusion across the  More >

Mlungisi B.G. Cele, Thierry M. Luescher, and Angela Wilson Fadiji, editors

As countries around the world find themselves grappling with sociotechnological shifts—the Fourth Industrial Revolution—science, technology, and innovation policy (STI) is at the intersection of local and global challenges. The authors of Innovation Policy at the Intersection call for a comprehensive rethinking of STI policy in order to meet those challenges. Highlighting the  More >

Iain Edwards and Marc Epprecht

The very existence of homosexual working-class men in South Africa has long-been suppressed—or worse. Iain Edwards and Marc Epprecht have recovered representative stories of these men who were previously deemed "outside of history." Based on a previously unpublished primary source from the early twentieth century, as well as unique interviews with men remembering their lives in  More >

Dawn K. Cecil

For centuries, people have been drawn to true stories of crime and the justice system. But what began primarily as a literary genre focusing on murder has evolved. From docuseries and podcasts to Facebook groups and events such as CrimeCon, modern true crime has become diverse, complex, and interactive. In Fear, Justice, and Modern True Crime, Dawn Cecil examines the genre to uncover the messages  More >

Mcebisi Ndletyana

Choice Outstanding Academic Book! Observers reacted with shock to the 2016 African National Congress electoral loss in Port Elizabeth, once an ANC stronghold. Yet, argues Mcebisi Ndletyana, that loss should not have come as a surprise—nor, perhaps, should the subsequent absence of reforms within the party. Ndletyana explores power and politics in Port Elizabeth since 1990, tracing the  More >

Linda Cooper and Sheri Hamilton, editors

Renewing Workers’ Education focuses on educational initiatives created by workers for workers across the employment spectrum. After documenting recent history and current practices related to workers' education in South Africa and beyond, the authors explore conceptual tools that can facilitate reflecting on, theorizing about, and effectively grappling with today's challenges.  More >

Leslie J Bank, Dorrit Posel, and Francis Wilson, eds.

A large portion of South Africa's population remains double rooted—many South Africans live in an urban area, but also have access to a rural homestead to which they periodically return and often retire. The authors of Migrant Labour After Apartheid explore this rural-urban reality, showing that internal migrancy continues to have profound impacts on social cohesion, family life, gender  More >

Tyrone August

Dennis Brutus (1924-2009) is perhaps best known for his powerful poems chronicling the suffering of apartheid in South Africa. But he was also a political activist whose voice helped to mobilize and intensify opposition to injustice and oppression worldwide. Tyrone August traces the many facets of Brutus's life from his childhood until his exile from South Africa in 1966. Placing the  More >