The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter, New Edition

by Albie Sachs, Desmond Tutu (Foreword by), Nancy Scheper-Hughes (Introduction)

On April 7, 1988, Albie Sachs, an activist South African lawyer and a leading member of the ANC, was car-bombed in Maputo, capital of Mozambique, by agents of South Africa's security forces. His right arm was blown off and he lost the sight of one eye. This intimate and moving account of his recovery records the gradual recuperation of his broken body, his complex interaction with health professionals, the importance of touch and sensuality, and his triumphant reentry into the world. It also captures the spirit of a remarkable man: his enormous optimism, his commitment to social justice, and his joyous wonder at the life that surrounds him. In a new epilogue, Sachs gives a gripping insider's view of the major public events of the last decade--the election of Nelson Mandela, the formation of the Constitutional Court and Sachs's appointment as judge, and his own role with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Genres: Nonfiction, South Africa, Africa, Biography, Law, History, Sociology

249 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Albert "Albie" Louis Sachs is a former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was appointed by Nelson Mandela in 1994 and retired in October 2009. Justice Sachs gained international attention in 2005 as the author of the Court's holding in the case of Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie, in which the Court overthrew South Africa's statute defining marriage as between one man and one woman, finding this to be a violation of the Constitution's general mandate for equal protection for all and its specific mandate against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Reviews

[Kiran Dellimore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter is an entertaining, playful and touching memoir written by anti-Apartheid struggle hero Albie Sachs. It is a humble, gentle and at times humorous account of Albie’s recovery from an assassination attempt in which his right arm was blown off by a car bomb in Maputo, Mozambique. While I must admit that several of the ‘tactile,’ sensual stories that Albie recounts were at times a bit too intimate for my taste, I did appreciate his openness to describe all facets of his recovery. ‘Spectacles…testicles..wallet and watch' and all! What most resonated with me in The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter were the parts in which Sachs described how his body felt after the bomb, as well as the up and down roller-coaster of emotions that he experienced during his long and arduous physical (and mental) rehabilitation. The pain, anger and tears that he shares are all very human and relatable to anyone who has been through a life-threatening trauma. Indeed, Albie’s words are a vivid reminder of my own recovery from a close brush with death more than a decade ago. I admire greatly his perseverance and indomitable spirit which is exemplified in his final jog on the beach in Maputo in which he symbolically finished the run that he was about to embark on moments before the car bomb went off. This book adds to the exceedingly rich body of literature on apartheid and is worth reading since it deepens as well as expands the scope of what it meant to be a ‘freedom fighter’ during the struggle against apartheid.

[AJ Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ninth book I read in Kenya. Well, while I started it in Kenya, I finished it in the Brussels airport.

I was a bit disappointed with this book, only because it wasn't what I expected. I thought it was going to be a story of the author and his role in the ANC and the fight for freedom in South Africa. But, it was just a journal of his recovery after surviving a car bomb. While many of his insights were very interesting, and I really appreciated his honesty in introspection, I wished there was less talk about his recovery and more on the politics of South Africa and the struggle. Though, I realise now that that wasn't the point of the book.

I admire his optimism shown throughout the ordeal, and found myself wondering how I would feel in his situation - probably I wouldn't handle it quite so well. Though, I guess like him, you never know how you will handle something until you have to.

I recommend this book, especially for people recovering from trauma or amputation, or anyone who is interested in a personal account of a white freedom fighter at the end of apartheid. The new epilogue from 1998 is especially interesting, and I enjoyed it immensely.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those amazing books that NO ONE has read, and it's an absolute shame. Sachs is a friend of the anthropology chair at UC Berkeley, and in taking her class freshman year we all were required to read it.

Albie Sachs is a lawyer on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, a court that deals with the acts if apartheid in a unique way. Anyone can come before the TRC and essentially 'confess' their acts, and in return they will not be charged. It's been surprisingly effective in healing the wounds of apartheid in the country.

Sachs worked closely with the ANC and Mandela, and in 1988 was the victim of a car bomb in Mozambique. He wakes up to find he has lost his arm and vision in one of his eyes. What follows is an incredibly moving story of his physical recovery from injuries, while around him apartheid is being dismantled and the country must begin to emotionally heal from its injuries.

Sachs came to speak at Berkeley a year later, and he's a remarkable man, a true hero who's story will likely go unnoticed by most. SUCH a good book.

[Martyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected. This was a visceral, deeply personal account of Albie Sachs' injury and recovery after the car-bomb in Maputo. It is almost uncomfortably vulnerable, but therein lies its power I think. One of the greatest minds of South African jurisprudence lays bare his personal struggles with a mixture of angst, drama, and comedy.

I highly recommend it for a different perspective of one of the most influential justices of post-Apartheid South Africa.

[Jacob Lines · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may not have heard of Albie Sachs. He was an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa. Later he helped write the new South African Constitution and Nelson Mandela appointed him to the South African Constitutional Court. This is his account of being nearly killed by a car bomb planted by the South African security forces and then recovering from it. He lost most of his right arm and the vision in one eye. While the focus of this book is on his recovery, he also discusses his work and his country. This is an easy and engaging entrée into modern South African history written by a man who was in the thick of it.

[Bohani Hlungwane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving and recommended

This is such a moving reflection by Judge Albie Sachs. The sacrifices of people like him and his contemporaries is the reason South Africa exists today. There new challenges to be defeated but Judge Sachs and his generation fulfilled their mission to liberate South Africa. Thank you Judge. Freedom Fighter

[Wayne Jordaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rated this book 5 stars, not just because of comradely bias, but because it is an easy to read, honest narrative of Albie Sach's recovery, and coming to terms with losing his right arm, after an assassination attempt through a car bomb.

This coming to terms part is given an added nuance, because in the book Albie Sachs appears to be quite particular about his image, which is at odds with his life of self-sacrifice and service to the struggle. Not for Albie the best orange on the tray, but give him a lekka (very nice) pair of shorts anytime of the day.

There are a couple of light-hearted moments in the book, for example Madiba's mock concern about being in a confined space with Albie the jailbird, but for me the best is Albie joining one of the first, if not the first, gay rights marches in Cape Town. Arriving late he parked illegally in a spot reserved for Cathedral staff, and hurried back because he dreaded finding "a note in stern prelate's language informing me that I had conducted myself with extreme disrespect for the Church."

I expected the book to dwell more on his early life and how he reached the decision to commit himself to the non-racial struggle and the establishment of a human rights framework and culture in South Africa. Thinking about it though, I realised that this book is not it, and he has written other books (not read yet) which most probably deal adequately with the subject of his earlier life. This book is about channeling his anger into ensuring that a different inclusive South Africa emerged out of our divided painful history, in the process getting his own back.

A great read, which I will recommend widely, and to think I bought this book as a graduation present for a newly qualified lawyer seven years ago, never gotten round to hand it to her, but never read it myself either. Thanks for the prod Carolien.

[Carolien · Rating 4 out of 5]

In April 1988, Albie Sachs was the victim of a car bomb in Maputo planted by the apartheid government. The book focuses very narrowly on the author's road to recovery, mostly in England, in the months thereafter. It is a very inward looking book and the author acknowledges this fact, but it does become a bit claustrophobic as a result. An interesting perspective.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m very glad I read this. The author is very honest and direct on the practical and ethical and spiritual implications of what happened to him in the wake of his recovery from a bomb blast meant to kill him. He is funny, warm and interesting. It is an encouraging read for one thinking of the human condition.

[Elliot Ratzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Albie Sachs is one of the great heroes of South African history. Born to Jewish communists, Sachs became a lawyer and one of the ANC’s top legal minds. He was appointed to the constitutional court of the new South Africa and was a crucial drafter of the new constitution. I got to spend some time with an 80-something Sachs when he came to Philadelphia for our Jewish Film Festival. The documentary is in part based on this memoir, but there’s more on Sachs’ inner life and outer loves, especially the time he spent in Mozambique where he was nearly killed by a car bomb. Recovering from the loss of his arm and eye, Sachs recalls funny and frightening encounters with future notables, his family and even the security officer responsible for the bomb. “This is my vengeance, my way of fighting back…not by killing…but by transmuting bad into good..to project…a vision of survival, struggle, triumph, and humanity...I look forward to the day when the wimps and the wets and the weak inherit the earth.

[Hulananni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone interested in South African policies should read this. Personal story with a bonus of enlightening readers about the true cost of freedom abd how soft vengeance can be liberating.

[Shelbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was very inspirational and everyone should read it!

[Allison Borchardt]

I can't open this book. It doesn't give me the option to "read now". Please help... Thank you.