Bram Fischer
Subtitle: Afrikaner revolutionary
By: Stephen Clingman.
Series: Myibuye literature and history series ;; no. 86; Mayibuye history & literature series ;; no. 86.
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Amherst, MA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 500
Subjects: Fischer, Bram, 1908-1975.; Communists -- South Africa -- Biography.; Apartheid -- South Africa.; South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1948-1961.; South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1961-1978.
Description: In 1964 Bram Fischer led the defence of Nelson Mandela in the Rivonia Trial. In 1966 Fischer was himself sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa for his political activities against the policies of apartheid. Before his sentencing he had spent nine months underground, in disguise, evading a nationwide manhunt. He was South Africa's most wanted man, his cause recognised and celebrated around the world.

What had brought him to these circumstances? And what led to his untimely death after nine years in prison? This biography follows a fascinating journey of conscience and personal transformation.

Fischer was born into one of the most prominent Afrikaner nationalist families, yet came to understand that to be a South African in the fullest sense he had to identify with all of South Africa's people. A Rhodes Scholar and distinguished lawyer, endowed with gifts of intelligence, charisma, and integrity, he abandoned the temptations of power and prestige to ensure human rights and justice for all. Drawn to communism in order to solve problems of race, he offered revised versions and visions of both.

Covering more than one hundred years of South African history, the book ranges from the stories of Fischer and his wife, Molly, to the courtroom drama of South Africa's great political trials, to the political intrigue of the 1960s and beyond.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 480-488) and index.