Preparing for Power: Oliver Tambo Speaks

Heineman African Writers

by Oliver Tambo

Book by Tambo, Oliver

Genres: South Africa, Nonfiction, Africa

284 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Tefo Mohapi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a pity that even in post-independence South Africa, texts such as this don't form a part of History education in schools. In my school years, all I remember being taught about is Jan Van Riebeek, Difecane, and some European history - very little on apartheid. In this book I got to understand, in O.R. Tambo's own words, how the ANC became the defacto leader of the struggle. I also got a glimpse of the type of man he was. Glad that all these speeches were published as a compilation however I think the book could've done with an editor who provided a timeline, context, and commentary about each speech for the reader to understand the time during which the speeches were made better. An introduction is provided before each section but in my view this isn't sufficient to help readers understand the context, especially those not too familiar with the finer details of South Africa's history.