Virtual Event: Justice Malala

Harvard Book Store welcomes JUSTICE MALALA—author of bestseller We Have Now Begun Our Descent: How to Stop South Africa Losing its Way—for a discussion of his new book The Plot to Save South Africa: The Week Mandela Averted Civil War and Forged a New Nation. He will be joined in conversation by EVE FAIRBANKS—author of The Inheritors.

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While payment is not required, we are suggesting a $5 contribution to support this author series, our staff, and the future of Harvard Book Store—a locally owned, independently run Cambridge institution. In addition, by purchasing a copy of The Plot to Save South Africa on harvard.com, you support indie bookselling and the writing community during this difficult time.

About The Plot to Save South Africa

Johannesburg, Easter weekend, 1993. Nelson Mandela has been free for three years and is in power sharing talks with President FW de Klerk when a white supremacist shoots the Black leader’s popular young heir apparent, Chris Hani, in hopes of igniting an all-out war. Will he succeed in plunging South Africa into chaos, safeguarding apartheid for perhaps years to come?

In The Plot to Save South Africa, acclaimed South African journalist Justice Malala recounts the gripping story of the next nine days, as the government and Mandela’s ANC seek desperately to restore the peace and root out just how far up into the country’s leadership the far-right plot goes. Told from the points of view of over a dozen characters on all sides of the conflict, Malala offers an illuminating look at successful leadership in action and a terrifying reminder of just how close a country we think of today as a model for racial reconciliation came to civil war.

Praise for The Plot to Save South Africa

“This is a dramatic work of history, prodigiously reported and beautifully crafted. Justice Malala is a first-rate storyteller, deftly weaving history with a narrative that reads like a novel. I couldn’t put it down.” —Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Ali: A Life

“Fast-paced, gripping, and expertly crafted, this book reads like a political thriller. A brilliant, moving, and extraordinary account of nine days that shaped a country and a continent, with the entire world looking on.” —Toluse Olorunnipa, coauthor of His Name Is George Floyd

“Magnificent, furious, nuanced, and un-put-downable. Malala steers us through the hatred, the grief, and the courage that shaped one nation-shaking week. The result is a searing thriller, a deeply moving work of investigative journalism, and a mesmerising reminder of what leadership can achieve—and what South Africa almost squandered.” —Andrew Harding, prize-winning author of The Mayor of Mogadishu