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Jonathan Ancer

Goodreads Author

Born

Johannesburg, South Africa

Website

https://jancerjancer.wordpress.com/

Twitter

jonathanancer

Genre

Biography, History, Memoir

Influences

George Orwell; Tom Wolfe

Member Since

August 2012

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Journalist, cryptic crossword fan, enthusiastic cyclist and collector of Billy Bunter books.

Author of:
The Victor Within;
Spy: Uncovering Craig Williamson;
Betrayal: The Secret Lives of Apartheid Spies; Mensches in the Trenches: Jewish foot soldiers in the anti-apartheid struggle;
Joining the Dots: The Unauthorised Biography of Pravin Gordhan; and
Bullsh!t: 50 Fibs that Made South Africa

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Jonathan Ancer’s books

Average rating: 4.14 · 196 ratings · 32 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	Spy - Uncovering Craig Williamson 4.14 avg rating — 66 ratings — published 2017 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Victor within: an extraordinary story of optimism, tenacity and sheer determination by Victor Vermeulen, Jonathan Ancer (Goodreads Author), Nelson Mandela (Foreword) 4.16 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 2000	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Joining the Dots: An Unauthorised Biography of Pravin Gordhan by Jonathan Ancer (Goodreads Author), Chris Whitfield 4.55 avg rating — 29 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Betrayal: The secret lives of apartheid spies 3.90 avg rating — 31 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	BULLSH!T: 50 Fibs That Made South Africa 3.88 avg rating — 16 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mensches In The Trenches: Jewish Foot Soldiers In The Anti-Apartheid Struggle by Jonathan Ancer (Goodreads Author), Thabo Mbeki (Foreword) 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Three Comma Club: How Billionaires Think, Act & Shape Our World by Jonathan Ancer (Goodreads Author), Gus Silber 3.75 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	JOINING THE DOTS - A Unauthorised Biography of Pravin Gordhan by Jonathan Ancer (Goodreads Author), Chris Whitfield (Contributor) 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Betrayal 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Worst Journeys: An anthology of South African travel disasters by Pat Hopkins (Editor), Bridget Hilton-Barber (Editor), Stephen Taylor (Contributor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Amabookabooka podcast with Jonathan Jansen

As by Fire: The End of the South African UniversityWhat are the real roots of the student protests of 2015 and 2016? Is it actually about fees?

Why did so many protests turn violent?

Where is the government while the buildings burn, and do the students know how to end the protests?

In his book As By Fire, former Free State University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jonathan Jansen delves into Read more of this blog post »

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Published on November 29, 2017 23:55 • Tags: amabookabooka

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Jonathan liked Paige Nick's review of The Three Comma Club: How Billionaires Think, Act & Shape Our World: "Do you know what the difference is between a millionaire and a billionaire? I didn't. At the launch of this gripping book, author Jonathan Ancer explained that while a million seconds is 11 days, a billion seconds is 31 years. That's a big difference" Read more of this review »
Jul 06, 2026 11:45AM · see review
Jonathan rated a book it was amazing Spire by Fiona Snyckers (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 17, 2026 05:38AM · like
Jonathan rated a book it was amazing An Act of Murder (An Arnold Prinsloo murder mystery Book 1) by Tom Eaton (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
An Act of Murder has everything - a fantastic cast of quirky characters, humour, dark humour, drama, friendship, love, a little bit of sex, Dobermans and a plot that will keep you guessing. There’s even a car chase - the world’s slowest car chase to ...more
May 18, 2025 08:01AM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of An Act of Murder by Tom Eaton. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — An Act of Murder by Tom Eaton <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Jonathan Ancer (?)

“The National Party (NP) tried to make its nakedly racist system seem palatable with the phrase 'separate development' - perhaps Apartheid's greatest lie. The truth was that in Verwoerd's magic kingdom, Snow White carried a sjambok and beat the shit out of anyone that failed the pencil test.”
― Jonathan Ancer, BULLSH!T: 50 Fibs That Made South Africa

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Jonathan Ancer’s Followers (18)

Jonathan’s Bookshelves

Jonathan’s Friends (309)

Jonathan Ancer

Goodreads Author

Learn moreAsk the Author

Combine EditionsJonathan Ancer’s books

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Amabookabooka podcast with Jonathan Jansen

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