After unknown saboteurs toppled a strategic pylon near Lethabo Power Station in the Free State in November 2021, almost causing the country to plunge into stage 5 load-shedding, Eskom's chief executive officer André de Ruyter declared: 'This was clearly now an act of sabotage and I think we can call it as such.'

It was not the first such incident, but it was the clearest indication to date that there are individuals out there intent on causing maximum damage to the ailing power utility, and more specifically, to its corruption-busting CEO, De Ruyter, and straight-shooting COO Jan Oberholzer.

In Sabotage: The Onslaught on Eskom, award-winning journalist Kyle Cowan unravels the history, corruption and politicisation of the state power utility to explain how and why those entrusted with turning it around are being systematically targeted in what can only be described as a sustained and vicious onslaught designed to protect political patronage networks and those intent on robbing the country.
Drawing from interviews, documents, court cases and testimony at the Zondo Commission, this is a shocking account of an orchestrated campaign that affects the daily lives of all South Africans and the survival of the country's economy.

Liberalism - the comparatively mild-mannered sibling to the more ardent camps of nationalism and socialism - has never been so divisive as today. From Putin's populism, the Trump administration and autocratic rulers in democracies the world over, it has both thrived and failed under identity politics, authoritarianism, social media and a weakened free press the world over. Since its inception following the post-Reformation wars, liberalism has come under attack from conservatives and progressives alike, and today is dismissed by many as an 'obsolete doctrine'. In this brilliant and concise exposition, Francis Fukuyama sets out the cases for and against its classical premises: observing the rule of law, independence of judges, means over ends, and most of all, tolerance. Pithy, to the point, and ever pertinent, this is political dissection at its very best.

'An essential, uplifting read, brimming with humanity, humility and humour' PROFESSOR DAME SUE BLACK Lucy Easthope lives with disaster every day. When a plane crashes, a bomb explodes, a city floods or a pandemic begins, she's the one they call. As one of the world's leading experts on disaster she has been at the centre of the most seismic events of the last few decades - advising on everything from the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami to the 7/7 bombings, the Salisbury poisonings, the Grenfell fire and the Covid-19 pandemic. She has travelled across the world in this unusual role, seeing the very worst that people have to face, and finding that even the most extreme of situations, we find the very best of humanity. In her moving memoir she reveals what happens in the aftermath. She takes us behind the police tape to scenes of destruction and chaos, introducing us to victims and their families, but also to the government briefing rooms and bunkers, where confusion and stale biscuits can reign supreme. With wisdom, resilience and candour When the Dust Settles looks back at a life spent on the edges of disaster and shows us that where there is terrible tragedy there is also great hope and that humanity and humour can - and must - still be found on the darkest of days.

Join Nyimpini Mabunda on his journey from his childhood in an apartheid-era homeland to the CEO's office at one of the world's leading businesses.
In a career spanning Procter & Gamble, Nando's, Diageo and Vodacom in South Africa, the UK and Uganda, Mabunda actively sets out to always improve his business acumen and leadership skills. Constantly in learning mode and infused with positive energy, Mabunda's path offers insightful lessons and practical advice for anyone who wants to succeed in their career, build and lead a business.

This is your toolkit to take you the top!

Here's the Thing is a new collection of thought-provoking essays from Haji Mohamed Dawjee. Filled with stories and insights that are contemplative, comedic and controversial, you will find a touching letter to her father, the honest truth about the pain in the arse that is parenting and ponderings about struggling with the vicissitudes of the modern world filled with cancel culture and the controversies of appreciating the wrong artists. There is also a serving of the many wise lessons the game of tennis has to offer as well as hilarious insights and observations on dustbins, yes dustbins, and ageing, that ring true. Here's the Thing is relatable, relevant, entertaining, soothingly self-deprecating and, at times, morally challenging.

Can Donald Trump really build that wall? What does Brexit mean for Ireland's border? And what would happen if Elon Musk declared himself president of the Moon? In Border Wars, Professor Klaus Dodds takes us on a journey into the geopolitical conflict of tomorrow in an eye-opening tour of the world's best-known, most dangerous and most unexpected border conflicts from the Gaza Strip to the space race. Along the way, we'll discover just what border truly mean in the modern world: how are they built; what do they mean for citizens and governments; how do they help understand our political past and, most importantly, our diplomatic future?

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Black Flags, the harrowing true story of the mission to find and destroy Syria's chemical weapons and defeat ISIS - only to lose control of both. 'Presents [the story] sharply and compellingly' Washington Post 'Excellent' Independent In August 2012, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was clinging to power in a vicious civil war. Concerned that Assad might resort to chemical weapons, the international community warned that any such use would cross 'a red line', warranting a military response. When a year later Assad bombed the Damascus suburb of Ghouta with sarin gas, killing hundreds, global leaders were torn between living up to their word and becoming mired in another unpopular Middle Eastern war. So when Russia offered to store Syria's chemical weapons, the world leaped at the solution. So begins a race to find, remove, and destroy 1,300 tons of chemical weapons in the middle of Syria's civil war. Told in harrowing detail, the initial effort is a tactical triumph for the West, but soon Russia's long game becomes clear: it has UN cover to assist Assad's regime. Meanwhile, the territory gains of ISIS further destabilise the country, and the terrorist organisation seeks to secure Syria's chemical arsenals for itself, with horrifying consequences. Red Line is a classic Joby Warrick true-life thriller: a character-driven narrative with a cast of heroes and villains, including weapons hunters, politicians, commandos, diplomats, and spies. Through original reporting and eyewitness accounts from direct participants, Joby Warrick reveals how a well-intentioned effort to save Syrian lives became swept up in a calamitous chain of events that would spawn a terrorist movement, unleash torrents of refugees, frustrate two U.S. presidents and empower the Western alliance's most dangerous foes.

When the world stopped, all hopes rested on finding a vaccine. One team answered the call and were ready to act. But how do you develop a life-saving drug when every second counts and one mistake could be catastrophic? Married couple and decades-long research partners Ugur Sahin and OEzlem Tureci did just that within weeks of the pandemic breaking out. From convincing Big Pharma to support their ambitious project, to navigating political interference from the Trump administration and the European Union, the road to producing the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was by no means smooth. But these cutting-edge innovators overcame every obstacle to provide more than two billion doses of the life-saving drug to countries all around the world in record time. The Vaccine draws back the curtain on one of the most important medical breakthroughs of our age, containing contributions from the fascinating couple themselves, as well as more than 50 scientists, politicians, public health officials, and BioNTech staff. Shedding a light on the science behind the breakthrough, The Vaccine tells the story of the trailblazers to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude. More suspenseful than a novel, this is a real-life story of an extraordinary race against time to save the world.

South Africa revels in its reputation as a sport-loving country. Yet just beneath the surface lurks a dark underbelly that reeks of cheating and illicit shenanigans, where shady characters and willing athletes are prepared to do whatever it takes to come out on top. South African sport is awash with steroids, a habit that formed in the late 1980s and continues unabated today, with participants and champions alike opting to play dirty.
Guns and Needles infiltrates an extraordinary environment that includes the story of the youngest athlete, who happens to be a South African, to ever test positive. With doping numbers far higher than the international average, prominent sportswriter Clinton van der Berg probes why this is so.
He unmasks the rampant level of steroid use in schoolboy rugby and the prominent busts at senior and Springbok level. The murky steroid underworld, and related deaths, are examined, as is the doping culture in boxing, athletics and other sports. Guns and Needles is a gripping read filled with drama, tragedy and scarcely believable stories.`

The Tyranny Of Growth is a modern epic that exposes the lie of economic growth.
It provocatively recounts how the 2008 global financial meltdown and COVID-19 pandemic have become the leading cause of governments' and multilateral institutions' global spectacular failure. It brilliantly explains how a single number - GDP - came to have such bewildering power over our lives, despite its ruinous consequences.

But ultimately the book strives to illuminate a new way of imagining the world.

'Illuminating . . . reveals why some people and systems are more likely to be corrupted by power than others' - Adam Grant 'Passionate, insightful, and occasionally jaw-dropping . . . Corruptible sets out the story of the intoxicating lure of power-and how it has shaped the modern world' - Peter Frankopan 'A brilliant exploration' - Dan Snow 'Klaas is the rarest of finds: a political scientist who can also tell great stories. He mixes memorable anecdotes with stern analysis to tackle one of the biggest questions of all: do we have to be ruled by bad people?' - Peter Pomerantsev Does power corrupt, or are corrupt people drawn to power? Are entrepreneurs who embezzle and cops who kill the outgrowths of bad systems or are they just bad people? Are tyrants made or born? If you were thrust into a position of power, would new temptations to line your pockets or torture your enemies gnaw away at you until you gave in? To answer these questions, Corruptible draws on over 500 interviews with some of the world's noblest and dirtiest leaders, from presidents and philanthropists to rebels, cultists, and dictators. It also makes use of a wealth of counter-intuitive examples from history and social science: You'll meet the worst bioterrorist in American history, hit the slopes with a ski instructor who once ruled Iraq, have breakfast with the yogurt kingpin of Madagascar, learn what bees and wasps can teach us about corruption, find out why our Stone Age brains cause us to choose bad leaders, and learn why the inability of chimpanzees to play baseball is central to the development of human hierarchies. Corruptible will make you challenge basic assumptions about how you can rise to become a leader and what might happen to your head when you get there. It also provides a roadmap to avoiding classic temptations, suggesting a series of reforms that would ensure that better people get into power, while ensuring that power purifies rather than corrupts.

Women have been taught to 'lean in' and act like men to get ahead. But as the financial, environmental, and social systems crumble, isn't it time we had a different plan? The first two decades of the twenty-first century have seen financial collapse, a global pandemic, the devastation of our environment and the disintegration of democracies. But while some at the top are telling us 'it is what it is', there's a new generation of leaders showing the world how to be better. They're building trust, investing wisely and acting decisively. And they've got one thing in common. In Strong Female Lead, Arwa Mahdawi investigates the qualities demonstrated by female leaders who show us how it's done, including original research and interviews with Madeleine Albright, Mary Robinson, Audrey Tang and many others. Above all, she asks the question: What can women in power teach all of us about leadership? Reviews Strong Female Lead is as razor sharp as it is compelling. Utterly contemporary and relevant, Mahdawi is the best writer to give us a long overdue book that speaks so brilliantly to, and about, all women. - Chimene Suleyman This is a book I wanted to read before I knew it existed. It explores the vital question - What would the world look like if all positions of power were held by people who prioritised empathy and compassion? People who were not led by ego but by the idea of collaboration and inclusivity? Arwa proves without a shadow of doubt, that our future leaders need to be female or to be men who respect and emulate female leadership. I just hope we can hurry up and get there, for all of our sakes. - Annie Mac This is a bold, rigorous and lyrical work which feels both timely and essential. Mahdawi has made a thoroughly nuanced and utterly compelling argument for the new and better forms of leadership that our world urgently needs. Please read it, engage with it, then pass it on. - Musa Okwonga Any ambitious young person - male or female - should read this book. - Sirin Kale Arwa Mahdawi's latest book offers a bracing assessment of our current state of financial, ecological, and biopolitical collapse. Turning her attention to the experiences and strategies of women in leadership, Mahdawi brushes aside stale cliches about 'leaning in' and 'girl bossing' to uncover new social and political strategies. By turns pragmatic, idealistic, and moving, Strong Female Lead will be devoured by powerful women and those who love them. - Grace Lavery, author of Please Miss. So often the reason we don't hear about more women in history lessons is because their stories have never been told. Arwa Mahdawi is here to change that! Strong Fe

A new virus descended on the human species in 2019 wreaking unprecedented havoc. Finding out where it came from and how it first jumped into people is an urgent priority, but early expectations that this would prove an easy question to answer have been dashed. Nearly two years into the pandemic, the crucial mystery of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is not only unresolved but has deepened.
In this uniquely insightful book, a scientist and a writer join forces to try to get to the bottom of how a virus whose closest relations live in bats in subtropical southern China somehow managed to begin spreading among people more than 1,500 kilometres away in the city of Wuhan. They grapple with the baffling fact that the virus left none of the expected traces that such outbreaks usually create: no infected market animals or wildlife, no chains of early cases in travellers to the city, no smouldering epidemic in a rural area, no rapid adaptation of the virus to its new host—human beings.

To try to solve this pressing mystery, Viral delves deep into the events of 2019 leading up to 2021, the details of what went on in animal markets and virology laboratories, the records and data hidden from sight within archived Chinese theses and websites, and the clues that can be coaxed from the very text of the virus's own genetic code.

The result is a gripping detective story that takes the reader deeper and deeper into a metaphorical cave of mystery. One by one the authors explore promising tunnels only to show that they are blind alleys, until, miles beneath the surface, they find themselves tantalisingly close to a shaft that leads to the light.

Compiled from hours of interviews drawn from the eponymous National Geographic documentary, this inspiring book from world-renowned infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci shares the lessons that have shaped the celebrated doctors life philosophy, offering an intimate view of one of the world's greatest medical minds as well as universal advice to live by.
Before becoming the face of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and America's most trusted doctor, Dr. Anthony Fauci had already devoted three decades to public service. Those looking to live a more compassionate and purposeful life will find inspiration in his unique perspective on leadership, expecting the unexpected, and finding joy in difficult times. With more than three decades spent combating some of the most dangerous diseases to strike humankind-- AIDS, Ebola, COVID-19--Dr. Fauci has worked in daunting professional conditions and shouldered great responsibility. The earnest reflections in these pages offer a universal message on how to lead in times of crisis and find resilience in the face of disappointments and obstacles.

Filled with inspiring words of wisdom, this profound book will offer readers a concrete path to a bright and hopeful future.

Editor's Note: Dr. Anthony Fauci had no creative control over this book. He was not paid for his participation, nor does he have any financial interest in the book's release.

State capture has become something of a buzzword in South Africa. But to understand the current situation in our country, it is vital to understand the recent past. This book, aimed at ordinary South Africans, offers explanations to important issues:
• Exactly what is state capture, and how did it happen in South Africa?
• How prominent state-owned enterprises collapsed during former President Zuma's nine “wasted years” in office
• The role of the Gupta family and how this was exposed via the #GuptaLeaks
• How and why Parliament failed in its oversight duties to prevent state capture from happening, despite plenty of evidence and recommendations to take action against certain SOE executives and boards, certain MPs and even prominent ministers
• The argument for much-needed electoral and parliamentary reform
• What MPs can do to force Parliament to act against corruption, tax abuse and the abuse of power

The book also shares insights into the important work a small team of activists at the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) is doing to prevent state capture from happening again, and aims to start the vital conversation around Parliament's failure to serve the country, and how to prevent this from happening again.