Foreign Native: An African Journey

by R.W. Johnson

In Foreign Native, RW Johnson looks back with affection and humour on his life in Africa. From schooldays in Durban – fresh off the plane from Merseyside – to later years as an academic, director of the Helen Suzman Foundation and formidable political commentator, he has produced an entertaining and occasionally eye-popping memoir brimming with history, anecdote and insight.Johnson charts his evolution from enthusiastic, left-leaning Africanist to political realist, relating episodes that influenced his intellectual worldview, including time spent among the exiled liberation movements in London during the 1960s, a sojourn in newly independent Guinea and more recent forays into Zimbabwe. There are wonderful stories, some hilarious, others filled with pathos, about the multitude of characters – Harold Strachan, Tom Sharpe, Ronnie Kasrils, Helen Suzman, Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, among many others – that he met along the way.Perceptive, critical and full of verve, Foreign Native is leavened with a deep humanity that makes it a pleasure to read.

Genres: South Africa, Politics, Africa

307 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 23, 2020

About the author

R. W. Johnson is a British-South African journalist and historian. Born in England, he was educated at Natal University and Oxford University, as a Rhodes Scholar. He was a fellow in politics at Magdalen College, Oxford, for twenty-six years; he remains an emeritus fellow. He was formerly Director of the Helen Suzman Foundation in Johannesburg.

He is currently a South Africa correspondent for the London Sunday Times and also writes for the London Review of Books. His articles for the LRB generally cover South African and, to a lesser extent, Zimbabwean affairs.

~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._W._Jo...

Reviews

[Marion Roux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, wow - a very readable book on politics and prospects by an experienced political scientist.
There is a great deal of 'behind the scenes' politicking explained (from his personal perspective). Interestingly, too, he disproves a number of issues in Anthony Sampson's biography (as official biographer) of Mandela.
A very pertinent quote from the book - " If you persist in taking a realistic view, no matter how good or bad it is in understanding or predicting events, you have failed the optimism test and are bound to be unpopular"'

[Nic van der Westhuizen · Rating 5 out of 5]

RW Johnson is always a good read. He calls it as he sees it. A welcome change from politicians and most other commentators.

[David Ansara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book in three sentences:

Bill Johnson reflects on his youth in apartheid South Africa, where his abhorrence of racial discrimination led to an initial sympathy with left-wing radicalism.

As an Oxford scholar and writer, his direct contact with African liberation movements – in exile and throughout post-colonial Africa – led him to adopt a more realist and pragmatic politics rooted in the liberal tradition.

Reflects a life spent in stubborn pursuit of the truth and in opposition to various forms of nationalism (both White Afrikaner and African Nationalism).

Quotes

"In any case, I realised anew that personal liberties really mattered and they were basic. You simply could not build a democratic society without them; they were non-negotiable." p. 117.

"There are few prizes in Africa for those who speak out in an independent-minded way, let alone for those who advocate liberal principles. Something that Afrikaner nationalists, African nationalists and communists all heartily agree upon is their execration of liberals and liberalism." p.246

"It now seems almost funny that my original abhorrence of apartheid led me into a fairly uncritical support for African nationalism. For the main thing to grasp about African nationalism is that it is the opposite of what it seems and promises to be. Although African nationalist politicians frequently advocate socialism, in practice they are key actors in the primary accumulation of capital. The result, everywhere in Africa, has been a huge increase in inequality, one that goes far beyond anything seen in pre-colonial African society or even in colonial society." p.261

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging and interesting account of a life involved in the anti-apartheid struggle ... and beyond as the author fought against the corruption and maladministration endemic in the ANC. Remarkedly frank and candid!

[Davis Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnson is one of the last of a dying breed. He lived through history and knows how to tell you about it. Worth a read if you’re interested in South African politics - or even if you’re not.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authentic, beautiful and very funny tapestry of an interesting and brave intellectual.