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Phumlani72 reviews3 followersFollowFollowAugust 4, 2013Let me start by saying I am not a huge fan of biographies,i much prefer auto biographies, I feel auto biographies are a bit more..Personal. Anyway, I approached this book with a hint of cynicism, thinking Pogrund had just written it merely as an academic exercise...but boy was i wrong! This book conjured a lot of emotions in my usually immovable heart, mainly awe, envy and something akin to sympathy, but not sympathy, I’m yet to be able to label that emotion. This man was a legend, albeit a lonely legend let me hasten to add that I had the privilege of going to Robben Island and saw where the diabolic apartheid government had decided to hide him. Standing there looking at the dingy place where he was kept hidden, I was attacked by a sense of shame and this strange sensation that made my eyes want to release that salty fluid that is a cause for embarrassment for a strong man such as myself.This man was a genius; he is an unsung hero in not only South African, but African liberation. This is a man who was a pioneer in Pan Africanism.The book is a very detailed look at the philosophies and decisions of a genius, Pogrund out did himself, he paid attention to detail and the book is very well researched.Not to be read by the overly emotional :-) Fadesola12 reviews5 followersFollowFollowFebruary 1, 2015Cape Town is the most beautiful place while simultaneously being its ugliest. Robert Sobukwe links both the past and present of South African oppression in ways few people ever can.I purchased this book upon my visit to Robben Island in Cape Town souvenir on a bit of impulse after our tour guide showed us where his solitary confinement was located. Although a bit too dryly written considering it is an account of the relationship rather than a detached biograhy, it does a decent job in it portrayal of the great Robert Sobukwe. Upon reading this, with my admittedly limiteds knowledge of south african history, it seem quickly apparent that it was an element of pure luck that the Sobukwe's name isnt as well known as Mandela's as both did very much to advance South African society.They were both leaders of influential african political groups. Both were jailed under draconian laws in terrible conditions. In fact one could argue Sobukwe was jailed under worse conditions- he was jailed in solitary confinement for 6 years, whereas Mandela was not, where he lost the ability to speak for a while because the guards where instructed not to speak to him . It seems that the critical distinction between them was that of their organizational structure- PAC, Soubkwe's group fell apart after he went to jail, while ANC, Mandela's group remained active. It seems that in business, politics and revolutionary struggles, foundations are critically important for continued success. But I digress.Robert Sobukwe gave his entire life to the struggle to make South Africa a better place through violence. His organization was the driving force behind the protests that caused the Sharpeville massacre, a peaceful protest to a draconionian law where the police opened fire on an unarmed crowed killing 69 people- 70% of which forensic research showed people got shot from the back. Sobukwe was sentenced to 3 years in jail but spent 6 years under the "Sobukwe Clause" where the government every subsequent year following his actual release date would just extend it for another year because they were like, fuck it, why not?After his release, mostly due to psychological issues caused by solitary confinement for years, he then served house arrest for another umpteen years before his death to cancer, which was left to fester undetected due to the extremely restrictive nature of his house arrest. Basically the government took away his freedom and killed him.I cried while reading this book- whether it was the nature of Sobukwe's repression, his positive mindset & hope, his unwavering stance of anti-racism or the lack of fulfillment of his dreams, it is very evident that is a very remarkable man.It would be a damn shame if his dream went unfulfilled. For all the beauty of Cape Town, the putrid stench of racism linger through my every interaction in the city. It is no coincidence that one of the most brutal prisons known to man lie in the confines of this city. The rich are almost exclusively white and the poor exclusively black. Not only that but it is quite evident in every day interactions that every one has their place. I got lost and tried to ask a white woman my mother's age directions to the hotel and she wouldn't even stop to listen to what i has to say. I was intitally angry but then I pitied her when I realize that she didn't even know what she was doing. Furthermore, if my mother had been a South African she probably would not have gone to school.The black South Africans have gained political freedom but what use is political freedom without economic freedom?"...my own feeling is that [Sobukwe] would have been shocked by the continued lack of freedom in South Africa today. I think he would have been shocked that so many human beings live without freedom. A person is not free if they do not have enough to eat, if they have to hear their children cry in vain for food. A person is not free if they have to sell their bodies in one way or another for a very tiny mess of potage. A person is not free if they cannot read and write in a society that rewards only the literate. A person is not fee if they must beg on the streets, or go irredeemably into debt, or steal from others – in other words, beg, borrow or steal. That is the condition of the majority of our black population – and some from other population groups as well. The astonishing thing is how many do NOT resort to crime, considering the alternatives."- Njongonkulu NdunganeMy hope is that one day, south africa will be truly free.
Rebecca DavisAuthor 14 books31 followersFollowFollowAugust 19, 2014This is almost a definitive history of the struggle against apartheid from a South African perspective other than Mandela's. Robert Sobukwe was a member of the PAC (Pan-Africanist Congress) instead of the ANC. He was a brilliant mind and so feared by the Nationalist Party (the political party in power that instated Apartheid) that he was held in prison not for his deeds but from fear of what he would do. Read my whole review here: http://rebeccafjellanddavis.com/rober...The book is work because some of it reads like a history book, but it's fascinating and well worth the time spent!I'd never even heard of Sobukwe until I visited Robben Island prison off the coast of Cape Town. He's a man we should all know.
Dr. Corey HolmesAuthor 3 books2 followersFollowFollowDecember 22, 2011Sobukwe was the brightest of all South African robben island captives.....leader of the PAC and a professor at Wits, the Harvard of the east......he died to young people in Kimberly away from all he knew and loved...
Jaydee Tarpeh1 review1 followerFollowFollowDecember 18, 2016Wonderful book! Not just a biography of Sobukwe but a history of South Africa. Pogrund beautifully shows Bob Sobukwe as a person and a legend. So So powerful! I would read again and again. Inem76 reviews22 followersFollowFollowMarch 29, 2025I have very mixed feelings about this book. I was excited when I found it on the shelves of a used bookstore in the US because I've heard a lot about Robert Sobukwe and wanted to better understand his struggle and the fight for Pan-Africanism and African nationalism in Azania. I do have comrades who are members of the Pan-African Congress of Azania (PAC) and I mentioned to one that I had purchased this book. He warned me to take certain things with a grain of salt because it was written by a white liberal author. I completely understand his reticence and if I were in his place, I would probably have even taken the warning further by writing off the book entirely. After all, Pogrund is pretty disrespectful to PAC and their politics in the book. It is really only in the first few chapters that we learn anything about Sobukwe as a Pan-Africanist and as an organiser. Most the books is focused on Pogrund's personal relationship with Sobukwe while he is in prison, a significant portion of his life sure-- but with a de-emphasis on his organising work and a near complete erasure of his leadership and relationship with the PAC, it's hard to really understand why Sobukwe is so important based off of this particularly biography. The way Pogrund writes this is like Sobukwe organised one important campaign once in 1960 and then that was the full extent of his political organising work. Even worse, Pogrund seems to insist that Sobukwe was this "colorblind" liberal who loved American democracy and was perhaps even a mild to moderate zionist. The latter claim is hard to judge in this book given the tremendous and clear bias of the author. It does seem like Sobukwe was critical of Israel, but still in some ways stood by the country. If that is the case, I would not write him off entirely for it, as during this era, there were mixed feelings among Africans worldwide regarding Israel. MLK, for example, defended Zionism out of ignorance and Kwame Nkrumah maintained diplomatic relations with Israel at a certain point (largely because I don't think it ever really occurred to him not to). However Sobukwe's perspective on Israeli aggression in the region comes across as rather critical and unsupportive and I feel like the author likely sanitized some of Sobukwe's views. Pogrund has no understanding of revolutionary Pan-Africanism or revolutionary nationalist opposition to settler colonialism. He spends the conclusion of this book freaking out about the potential of reverse racism in South Africa. Worst of all, he weaponizes Sobukwe the way that white liberals in the United States weaponize Martin Luther King Jr. Every time there's a Pan-Africanist or African revolutionary action he disagrees with, he makes some sort of "Sobukwe didn't die for this" type of argument, domesticating Sobukwe's revolutionary legacy and cherry picking the most comfortable and palatable of Sobukwe's positions to whip out when convenient. I reiterate that I really wish this book had focused more on Sobukwe's leadership and continual engagement with PAC, his enduring Pan-African politics-- the beginning chapters mention his dedication to the United States of Africa, and his connections with Nkrumah and Sékou Touré and then the once he goes to prison, his Pan-Africanism seemingly disappears in the author's narrative-- and his relationship with Steve Biko and the slightly later Black Consciousness Movement. To be fair, the author does touch on the latter subject, I just would have liked more, perhaps even an entire chapter. But I think we have to take this book for what it is, one white liberal's personal story about his connections to Robert Sobukwe. I'm harsher in my review than my rating, probably because there are so few books about Sobukwe out there, that I feel hesitant to rate this any lower. It is regrettable that PAC has not produced and published any comparable book.
Stephen A BessAuthor 1 book6 followersFollowFollowJanuary 4, 2011Great book about a great South African. He's the reason I am married. It's a long story, but my close friends understand. 
Fela39 reviews7 followersFollowFollowSeptember 6, 2011Robert Sobukwe is as great as Nelson Mandela....read this book
Sicelo8 reviews3 followersFollowFollowDecember 30, 2014Benjamin Pogrund's account of the political life of Robert Mangaliso Sobukhwe does not only provide illumination and insight into the mind of this great leader of South Africa's liberation struggle but also weaves neatly a tapestry of circumstances underwhich the struggle for liberation occurred and how each of the leadership components interacted as well as the extent to which such vital cooperation aided the process. It is a delightful read especially also to the extent that it exposes to a degree the extent of contribution some pockets of the white people community made to the struggle in terms of their support for either the liberation political parties (or movement) or key figures therein. After reading Pogrund's account, there is without doubt that not ALL white South Africans necessarily supported the apartheid regime nor folded their arms when they could contribute to the struggle for its elimination.Indeed, Pogrund's account gives an interesting perspective on how delicate yet involved and intense the process of engagement was between some white people communities and the black liberation struggle leaders, to the extent of risking their own and family members' personal lives to achieve an ideal.It's worth a read!
Nur631 reviews17 followersFollowFollowMay 13, 2013I always had a great admiration for Robert Sobukwe, the founder of the Pan African Congress ( a break-away from the African National Congress), who also inspired the Black Consciouness Movement.
Mpho1 review6 followersFollowFollowDecember 9, 2013Best book ever
Annlin_the_archaeologist64 reviews2 followersFollowFollowApril 28, 2023WoW. Just wow.
Quincy Tsatsi1 review1 followerFollowFollowApril 9, 2013Great insight on the man Biko once described as God Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
Want to ReadRate this bookHow Can Man Die Better: The Life of Robert SobukweBenjamin Pogrund
4.42Want to ReadRate this book‘I am greatly privileged to have known him and to have fallen under his spell. His long imprisonment, restriction and early death were a major tragedy for our land and for the world.’ – Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Sobukwe On 21 March 1960, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe led a mass defiance of South Africa’s pass laws. He urged blacks to go to the nearest police station and demand arrest. Police opened fire on a peaceful crowd in the township of Sharpeville and killed 69 people. The protest changed the course of South Africa’s history. Afrikaner rule stiffened and black resistance went underground. International opinion hardened against apartheid. Sobukwe, leader of the Pan-Africanist Congress, was jailed for three years for incitement. At the end of his sentence the government, fearful of his power, rushed the so-called ‘Sobukwe Clause’ through Parliament, to keep him in prison without a trial. For the next six years, Sobukwe was kept in solitary confinement on Robben Island, the infamous apartheid prison near Cape Town. On his release, Sobukwe was banished to the town of Kimberley with very severe restrictions on his freedom. He died there nine years later in February 1978. This book is the story of this South African hero – the lonely prisoner on Robben Island. It is also the story of the friendship between Robert Sobukwe and Benjamin Pogrund whose joint experiences and debates chart the course of a tyrannous regime and the growth of black resistance.- GenresSouth AfricaAfricaHistoryBiographyPoliticsNonfiction
419 pages, Hardcover
First published May 24, 1990
Book details & editions56 people are currently reading943 people want to readAbout the author
Benjamin Pogrund
21 books9 followersFollowFollowBenjamin Pogrund was born in South Africa and was deputy editor of the Rand Daily Mail in Johannesburg. He now lives in Jerusalem and is founder director of Yakar's Center for Social Concern. He has written three books: about Robert Sobukwe, Nelson Mandela, and the press under apartheid, and is co-editor of Shared Histories: A Palestinian-Israeli Dialogue.Ratings & Reviews
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4.425 stars85 (56%)4 stars46 (30%)3 stars18 (11%)2 stars2 (1%)1 star0 (0%)Search review textFiltersEnglishDisplaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviewsPhumlani72 reviews3 followersFollowFollowAugust 4, 2013Let me start by saying I am not a huge fan of biographies,i much prefer auto biographies, I feel auto biographies are a bit more..Personal. Anyway, I approached this book with a hint of cynicism, thinking Pogrund had just written it merely as an academic exercise...but boy was i wrong! This book conjured a lot of emotions in my usually immovable heart, mainly awe, envy and something akin to sympathy, but not sympathy, I’m yet to be able to label that emotion. This man was a legend, albeit a lonely legend let me hasten to add that I had the privilege of going to Robben Island and saw where the diabolic apartheid government had decided to hide him. Standing there looking at the dingy place where he was kept hidden, I was attacked by a sense of shame and this strange sensation that made my eyes want to release that salty fluid that is a cause for embarrassment for a strong man such as myself.This man was a genius; he is an unsung hero in not only South African, but African liberation. This is a man who was a pioneer in Pan Africanism.The book is a very detailed look at the philosophies and decisions of a genius, Pogrund out did himself, he paid attention to detail and the book is very well researched.Not to be read by the overly emotional :-) Fadesola12 reviews5 followersFollowFollowFebruary 1, 2015Cape Town is the most beautiful place while simultaneously being its ugliest. Robert Sobukwe links both the past and present of South African oppression in ways few people ever can.I purchased this book upon my visit to Robben Island in Cape Town souvenir on a bit of impulse after our tour guide showed us where his solitary confinement was located. Although a bit too dryly written considering it is an account of the relationship rather than a detached biograhy, it does a decent job in it portrayal of the great Robert Sobukwe. Upon reading this, with my admittedly limiteds knowledge of south african history, it seem quickly apparent that it was an element of pure luck that the Sobukwe's name isnt as well known as Mandela's as both did very much to advance South African society.They were both leaders of influential african political groups. Both were jailed under draconian laws in terrible conditions. In fact one could argue Sobukwe was jailed under worse conditions- he was jailed in solitary confinement for 6 years, whereas Mandela was not, where he lost the ability to speak for a while because the guards where instructed not to speak to him . It seems that the critical distinction between them was that of their organizational structure- PAC, Soubkwe's group fell apart after he went to jail, while ANC, Mandela's group remained active. It seems that in business, politics and revolutionary struggles, foundations are critically important for continued success. But I digress.Robert Sobukwe gave his entire life to the struggle to make South Africa a better place through violence. His organization was the driving force behind the protests that caused the Sharpeville massacre, a peaceful protest to a draconionian law where the police opened fire on an unarmed crowed killing 69 people- 70% of which forensic research showed people got shot from the back. Sobukwe was sentenced to 3 years in jail but spent 6 years under the "Sobukwe Clause" where the government every subsequent year following his actual release date would just extend it for another year because they were like, fuck it, why not?After his release, mostly due to psychological issues caused by solitary confinement for years, he then served house arrest for another umpteen years before his death to cancer, which was left to fester undetected due to the extremely restrictive nature of his house arrest. Basically the government took away his freedom and killed him.I cried while reading this book- whether it was the nature of Sobukwe's repression, his positive mindset & hope, his unwavering stance of anti-racism or the lack of fulfillment of his dreams, it is very evident that is a very remarkable man.It would be a damn shame if his dream went unfulfilled. For all the beauty of Cape Town, the putrid stench of racism linger through my every interaction in the city. It is no coincidence that one of the most brutal prisons known to man lie in the confines of this city. The rich are almost exclusively white and the poor exclusively black. Not only that but it is quite evident in every day interactions that every one has their place. I got lost and tried to ask a white woman my mother's age directions to the hotel and she wouldn't even stop to listen to what i has to say. I was intitally angry but then I pitied her when I realize that she didn't even know what she was doing. Furthermore, if my mother had been a South African she probably would not have gone to school.The black South Africans have gained political freedom but what use is political freedom without economic freedom?"...my own feeling is that [Sobukwe] would have been shocked by the continued lack of freedom in South Africa today. I think he would have been shocked that so many human beings live without freedom. A person is not free if they do not have enough to eat, if they have to hear their children cry in vain for food. A person is not free if they have to sell their bodies in one way or another for a very tiny mess of potage. A person is not free if they cannot read and write in a society that rewards only the literate. A person is not fee if they must beg on the streets, or go irredeemably into debt, or steal from others – in other words, beg, borrow or steal. That is the condition of the majority of our black population – and some from other population groups as well. The astonishing thing is how many do NOT resort to crime, considering the alternatives."- Njongonkulu NdunganeMy hope is that one day, south africa will be truly free.Rebecca DavisAuthor 14 books31 followersFollowFollowAugust 19, 2014This is almost a definitive history of the struggle against apartheid from a South African perspective other than Mandela's. Robert Sobukwe was a member of the PAC (Pan-Africanist Congress) instead of the ANC. He was a brilliant mind and so feared by the Nationalist Party (the political party in power that instated Apartheid) that he was held in prison not for his deeds but from fear of what he would do. Read my whole review here: http://rebeccafjellanddavis.com/rober...The book is work because some of it reads like a history book, but it's fascinating and well worth the time spent!I'd never even heard of Sobukwe until I visited Robben Island prison off the coast of Cape Town. He's a man we should all know.Dr. Corey HolmesAuthor 3 books2 followersFollowFollowDecember 22, 2011Sobukwe was the brightest of all South African robben island captives.....leader of the PAC and a professor at Wits, the Harvard of the east......he died to young people in Kimberly away from all he knew and loved...Jaydee Tarpeh1 review1 followerFollowFollowDecember 18, 2016Wonderful book! Not just a biography of Sobukwe but a history of South Africa. Pogrund beautifully shows Bob Sobukwe as a person and a legend. So So powerful! I would read again and again. Inem76 reviews22 followersFollowFollowMarch 29, 2025I have very mixed feelings about this book. I was excited when I found it on the shelves of a used bookstore in the US because I've heard a lot about Robert Sobukwe and wanted to better understand his struggle and the fight for Pan-Africanism and African nationalism in Azania. I do have comrades who are members of the Pan-African Congress of Azania (PAC) and I mentioned to one that I had purchased this book. He warned me to take certain things with a grain of salt because it was written by a white liberal author. I completely understand his reticence and if I were in his place, I would probably have even taken the warning further by writing off the book entirely. After all, Pogrund is pretty disrespectful to PAC and their politics in the book. It is really only in the first few chapters that we learn anything about Sobukwe as a Pan-Africanist and as an organiser. Most the books is focused on Pogrund's personal relationship with Sobukwe while he is in prison, a significant portion of his life sure-- but with a de-emphasis on his organising work and a near complete erasure of his leadership and relationship with the PAC, it's hard to really understand why Sobukwe is so important based off of this particularly biography. The way Pogrund writes this is like Sobukwe organised one important campaign once in 1960 and then that was the full extent of his political organising work. Even worse, Pogrund seems to insist that Sobukwe was this "colorblind" liberal who loved American democracy and was perhaps even a mild to moderate zionist. The latter claim is hard to judge in this book given the tremendous and clear bias of the author. It does seem like Sobukwe was critical of Israel, but still in some ways stood by the country. If that is the case, I would not write him off entirely for it, as during this era, there were mixed feelings among Africans worldwide regarding Israel. MLK, for example, defended Zionism out of ignorance and Kwame Nkrumah maintained diplomatic relations with Israel at a certain point (largely because I don't think it ever really occurred to him not to). However Sobukwe's perspective on Israeli aggression in the region comes across as rather critical and unsupportive and I feel like the author likely sanitized some of Sobukwe's views. Pogrund has no understanding of revolutionary Pan-Africanism or revolutionary nationalist opposition to settler colonialism. He spends the conclusion of this book freaking out about the potential of reverse racism in South Africa. Worst of all, he weaponizes Sobukwe the way that white liberals in the United States weaponize Martin Luther King Jr. Every time there's a Pan-Africanist or African revolutionary action he disagrees with, he makes some sort of "Sobukwe didn't die for this" type of argument, domesticating Sobukwe's revolutionary legacy and cherry picking the most comfortable and palatable of Sobukwe's positions to whip out when convenient. I reiterate that I really wish this book had focused more on Sobukwe's leadership and continual engagement with PAC, his enduring Pan-African politics-- the beginning chapters mention his dedication to the United States of Africa, and his connections with Nkrumah and Sékou Touré and then the once he goes to prison, his Pan-Africanism seemingly disappears in the author's narrative-- and his relationship with Steve Biko and the slightly later Black Consciousness Movement. To be fair, the author does touch on the latter subject, I just would have liked more, perhaps even an entire chapter. But I think we have to take this book for what it is, one white liberal's personal story about his connections to Robert Sobukwe. I'm harsher in my review than my rating, probably because there are so few books about Sobukwe out there, that I feel hesitant to rate this any lower. It is regrettable that PAC has not produced and published any comparable book.Stephen A BessAuthor 1 book6 followersFollowFollowJanuary 4, 2011Great book about a great South African. He's the reason I am married. It's a long story, but my close friends understand. Fela39 reviews7 followersFollowFollowSeptember 6, 2011Robert Sobukwe is as great as Nelson Mandela....read this book- african-litbiographies-memoirspolitics ...more
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Sicelo8 reviews3 followersFollowFollowDecember 30, 2014Benjamin Pogrund's account of the political life of Robert Mangaliso Sobukhwe does not only provide illumination and insight into the mind of this great leader of South Africa's liberation struggle but also weaves neatly a tapestry of circumstances underwhich the struggle for liberation occurred and how each of the leadership components interacted as well as the extent to which such vital cooperation aided the process. It is a delightful read especially also to the extent that it exposes to a degree the extent of contribution some pockets of the white people community made to the struggle in terms of their support for either the liberation political parties (or movement) or key figures therein. After reading Pogrund's account, there is without doubt that not ALL white South Africans necessarily supported the apartheid regime nor folded their arms when they could contribute to the struggle for its elimination.Indeed, Pogrund's account gives an interesting perspective on how delicate yet involved and intense the process of engagement was between some white people communities and the black liberation struggle leaders, to the extent of risking their own and family members' personal lives to achieve an ideal.It's worth a read!Nur631 reviews17 followersFollowFollowMay 13, 2013I always had a great admiration for Robert Sobukwe, the founder of the Pan African Congress ( a break-away from the African National Congress), who also inspired the Black Consciouness Movement.Mpho1 review6 followersFollowFollowDecember 9, 2013Best book everAnnlin_the_archaeologist64 reviews2 followersFollowFollowApril 28, 2023WoW. Just wow.Quincy Tsatsi1 review1 followerFollowFollowApril 9, 2013Great insight on the man Biko once described as God Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviewsJoin the discussion
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