What do you think?
Rate this book
Coloured: A Profile Of Two Million South Africans
564 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
3 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Al J. Venter
57 books32 followersAlbertus Johannes Venter is a South African journalist and historian who is arguably the world's foremost expert on the modern military history of Africa. He has been a war correspondent/military affairs reporter for many publications, notably serving as African and Middle East correspondent for Jane's International Defence Review. He has also worked as a documentary filmmaker, and has authored more than forty books.
He has reported on a number of Africa’s bloodiest wars, starting with the Nigerian Civil War in 1965, where he spent time covering the conflict with colleague Frederick Forsyth, who was working in Biafra for the BBC at the time.
In the 1980’s, Al J Venter also reported in Uganda while under the reign of Idi Amin. The most notable consequence of this assignment was an hour-long documentary titled Africa’s Killing Fields, ultimately broadcast nationwide in the United States by Public Broadcasting Service.
In-between, he cumulatively spent several years reporting on events in the Middle East, fluctuating between Israel and a beleaguered Lebanon torn by factional Islamic/Christian violence. He was with the Israeli invasion force when they entered Beirut in 1982. From there he covered hostilities in Rhodesia, the Sudan, Angola, the South African Border War, the Congo as well as Portuguese Guinea, which resulted in a book on that colonial struggle published by the Munger Africana Library of the California Institute of Technology.
In 1985 he made a one-hour documentary that commemorated the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
He also spent time in Somalia with the US Army helicopter air wing in the early 1990s, three military assignments with the mercenary group Executive Outcomes (Angola and Sierra Leone) and a Joint-STAR mission with the United States Air Force over Kosovo.
More recently, Al Venter was active in Sierra Leone with South African mercenary pilot Neall Ellis flying combat in a Russian helicopter gunship (that leaked when it rained.) That experience formed the basis of the book on mercenaries published recently and titled War Dog: Fighting Other People's Wars.
He has been twice wounded in combat, once by a Soviet anti-tank mine in Angola, an event that left him partially deaf.
Al Venter originally qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers at the Baltic Exchange in London.
(from wikipedia)
He has reported on a number of Africa’s bloodiest wars, starting with the Nigerian Civil War in 1965, where he spent time covering the conflict with colleague Frederick Forsyth, who was working in Biafra for the BBC at the time.
In the 1980’s, Al J Venter also reported in Uganda while under the reign of Idi Amin. The most notable consequence of this assignment was an hour-long documentary titled Africa’s Killing Fields, ultimately broadcast nationwide in the United States by Public Broadcasting Service.
In-between, he cumulatively spent several years reporting on events in the Middle East, fluctuating between Israel and a beleaguered Lebanon torn by factional Islamic/Christian violence. He was with the Israeli invasion force when they entered Beirut in 1982. From there he covered hostilities in Rhodesia, the Sudan, Angola, the South African Border War, the Congo as well as Portuguese Guinea, which resulted in a book on that colonial struggle published by the Munger Africana Library of the California Institute of Technology.
In 1985 he made a one-hour documentary that commemorated the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
He also spent time in Somalia with the US Army helicopter air wing in the early 1990s, three military assignments with the mercenary group Executive Outcomes (Angola and Sierra Leone) and a Joint-STAR mission with the United States Air Force over Kosovo.
More recently, Al Venter was active in Sierra Leone with South African mercenary pilot Neall Ellis flying combat in a Russian helicopter gunship (that leaked when it rained.) That experience formed the basis of the book on mercenaries published recently and titled War Dog: Fighting Other People's Wars.
He has been twice wounded in combat, once by a Soviet anti-tank mine in Angola, an event that left him partially deaf.
Al Venter originally qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers at the Baltic Exchange in London.
(from wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 22, 2015
An Amazing Book, Must read for all South Africans and anyone. Put a short bit of it on this blog of mine:
https://bookclubforoneblog.wordpress....
I think for me as a Coloured person, a child in Apartheid with small memories, unless your parents were political, most of our parents deal with the past by just burying it... They don't tell stories, unless you ask... And when you do mention or ask a difficult question, you get the answer...
"You won't understand..."
This book helps me to understand...
Also as quoted on the blog, it is necessary to eat salt with someone. If I wanna help someone, even if I disagree, I should try to understand how they feel. Even if they are wrong in what they are feeling, we can at least attempt to hear where that frustration is coming from.I really loved seeing that and my eye being opened to so many different communities.
I also like knowing the history, and I've had questions about different provinces as well's perspectives, which when I read this it makes sense...I tried to read the Joburg chapter before going on holiday there, so when I get there I could look out for places and it could make sense.
Its also funny when areas today, are maybe just seen as the poorer part, but back then was the part they moved people in to. Also people mentioned in the book may have passed on, but they are, this one's neighbours grandpa, or my mothers music teacher, etc, etc... Its not too long on for someone I know not to know who was interviewed...
I do get frustrated when people stereotype and dont realise the differences, the culture and the history, maybe it's cause we're a minority. E.g. I am living in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town, grew up in coloured area, we all speak English, our parents speak Afrikaans to each other, but english to us. The Afrikaans they do speak is Jy en Jou, not Djy en Djou, so can be highly frustrating when travelling and people do not understand why I am not speaking Afrikaans as a first language... (when you can say that of at least 50% of Cape Town coloureds) but even in Cape Town, when I do speak Afrikaans, a comment is made of my accent... Which is similiar to our whole town and neighbouring towns... This was answered when my Uncle pointed out what we speak is Boland's Afrikaans...
Anyway bottom line is, while we all have preconceptions or even we can generalise and point out what is the same, I am not saying it is wrong, do not be surprised when you find that people or a people group do not match your preconception of them... or as I say, when getting to know someone, always put a comma at the end of a sentence, and never a fullstop. If they don't even fully understand themselves, how can you box them. I see this, but, comma, there is always more to know too.
I hope somehow AlJ Venter would see my comment, or I could get an e-mail for him, and say thank you for taking the time to write this book about a people that most people laugh with but overlook:
Also it's not just because you wrote about coloured people, but the time you took and invested to write, and to engage and understand a people other than your own, or even just for the effort regardless of hte topic and a job well done! Bless you. Chan
https://bookclubforoneblog.wordpress....
I think for me as a Coloured person, a child in Apartheid with small memories, unless your parents were political, most of our parents deal with the past by just burying it... They don't tell stories, unless you ask... And when you do mention or ask a difficult question, you get the answer...
"You won't understand..."
This book helps me to understand...
Also as quoted on the blog, it is necessary to eat salt with someone. If I wanna help someone, even if I disagree, I should try to understand how they feel. Even if they are wrong in what they are feeling, we can at least attempt to hear where that frustration is coming from.I really loved seeing that and my eye being opened to so many different communities.
I also like knowing the history, and I've had questions about different provinces as well's perspectives, which when I read this it makes sense...I tried to read the Joburg chapter before going on holiday there, so when I get there I could look out for places and it could make sense.
Its also funny when areas today, are maybe just seen as the poorer part, but back then was the part they moved people in to. Also people mentioned in the book may have passed on, but they are, this one's neighbours grandpa, or my mothers music teacher, etc, etc... Its not too long on for someone I know not to know who was interviewed...
I do get frustrated when people stereotype and dont realise the differences, the culture and the history, maybe it's cause we're a minority. E.g. I am living in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town, grew up in coloured area, we all speak English, our parents speak Afrikaans to each other, but english to us. The Afrikaans they do speak is Jy en Jou, not Djy en Djou, so can be highly frustrating when travelling and people do not understand why I am not speaking Afrikaans as a first language... (when you can say that of at least 50% of Cape Town coloureds) but even in Cape Town, when I do speak Afrikaans, a comment is made of my accent... Which is similiar to our whole town and neighbouring towns... This was answered when my Uncle pointed out what we speak is Boland's Afrikaans...
Anyway bottom line is, while we all have preconceptions or even we can generalise and point out what is the same, I am not saying it is wrong, do not be surprised when you find that people or a people group do not match your preconception of them... or as I say, when getting to know someone, always put a comma at the end of a sentence, and never a fullstop. If they don't even fully understand themselves, how can you box them. I see this, but, comma, there is always more to know too.
I hope somehow AlJ Venter would see my comment, or I could get an e-mail for him, and say thank you for taking the time to write this book about a people that most people laugh with but overlook:
Also it's not just because you wrote about coloured people, but the time you took and invested to write, and to engage and understand a people other than your own, or even just for the effort regardless of hte topic and a job well done! Bless you. Chan
Displaying 1 of 1 review