num_pages: 139
description: An unforgettable account of defiance against political terror by one of South Africa's pioneering anti-apartheid activistsAn invaluable testimonial to the excesses of the apartheid system, 117 Days presents the harrowing chronicle of journalist Ruth First's isolation and abuse at the hands of South African interrogators after her arrest in 1963. Upon her arrest, she was detained in solitary confinement under South Africa's notorious ninety-day detention law. This is the story of the war of nerves that ensued between First and her Special Branch captors-a work that remains a classic portrait of oppression and the dignity of the human spirit.
language: English
title: 117 Days: An Account of Confinement and Interrogation Under the South African 90-Day Detention Law
publisher: Penguin Classics