Year of Fire, Year of Ash

Year of Fire, Year of Ash

The Soweto Revolt: Roots of a Revolution Some thirty-five years after its original publication, but never previously available in South Africa, Year of Fire, Year of Ash still stands as one of the leading accounts of the 1976-77 Soweto Revolt, one of the most significant acts of resistance in the history of the anti-apartheid movement. Authored by a South African activist and scholar who was intimately involved in the movement, Year of Fire, Year of Ash provides an unparalleled insight into the origins and events of the uprising, from its antecedents in the early 1970s to its role in galvanizing the global struggle against apartheid.

Best Red

  • Product Information
  • Format: 216 x 138 mm
  • Pages: 400
  • ISBN 13: 978-1-9282-4607-7
  • Publish Year: BestRed
  • Rights: Southern African rights

The Soweto Revolt: Roots of a Revolution Some thirty-five years after its original publication, but never previously available in South Africa, Year of Fire, Year of Ash still stands as one of the leading accounts of the 1976-77 Soweto Revolt, one of the most significant acts of resistance in the history of the anti-apartheid movement. Authored by a South African activist and scholar who was intimately involved in the movement, Year of Fire, Year of Ash provides an unparalleled insight into the origins and events of the uprising, from its antecedents in the early 1970s to its role in galvanizing the global struggle against apartheid. Crucially, the book overturned much of the conventional logic around the uprising, by showing that it was not simply a student protest, but a revolt by the wider black working class. As South Africa experiences a new wave of popular revolt, and as new forms of black consciousness come to the fore in movements around the world, Hirson’s book provides a timely reminder of the continued significance of the Soweto revolt to struggles against oppression today. This South African edition includes an abridged transcription of an interview with Billy Masetlha.

Baruch Hirson, born 1921 in Johannesburg, was a South African historian and anti- Apartheid activist. A committed socialist from a young age, he became involved in the ANC-affiliated ‘African Resistance Movement’ which carried out acts of sabotage against the apartheid regime. Hirson was jailed for nine years for his involvement with the group, and after his release he moved to England, where he lectured at a number of universities as well as writing Year of Fire, Year of Ash and numerous other works. Following the end of apartheid, he returned to South Africa, where he died in 1999.

  • Published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the start of the Soweto Uprising on 15th June 1976
  • Author had first-hand experience of the anti-apartheid struggle and spent almost ten years in a South African jail due to his beliefs
  • One of the earliest and most comprehensive studies of the uprising’s origins and internal dynamics
  • Overturned many mainstream interpretations of the revolt
  • With a Foreword by Shula Marks

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