A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780618446599)

An acutely nuanced and original study of a state-sanctioned mass murderer, A Human Being Died That Night explores what it means to be human--both the good and the evil within us.

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, a psychologist who grew up in a black South African township, reflects on her interviews with Eugene de Kock, the commanding officer of state-sanctioned death squads under apartheid.

Gobodo-Madikizela met with de Kock in Pretoria's maximum-security prison, where he was serving a 212-year sentence for crimes against humanity. In profoundly arresting scenes, Gobodo-Madikizela conveys her struggle with contradictory internal impulses to hold him accountable and to forgive.

Ultimately, as she allows us to witness de Kock's extraordinary awakening of conscience, she illuminates the ways in which the encounter compelled her to redefine the value of remorse and the limits of forgiveness.

Author: Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela
ISBN-10: 0618446591
ISBN-13: 9780618446599
Publisher: Mariner Books Classics
Language: English
Published: 04/19/2004
Pages: 193
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.47lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.54w x 0.53d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 9.6
Point Value: 9
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 102557 / Human Being Died That Night: A South African Story of Forgiveness


Review Citation(s):
Kliatt 07/01/2004 pg. 40
Essence 09/01/2004 pg. 138