BOOK LAUNCH AT EXCLUSIVE BOOKS IN KILLARNEY MALL

Book Launch: The Poverty of Ideas
Author: William Gumede and Leslie Dikeni
Venue: Exclusive Books at Killarney Mall
DATE: Thursday, 3 December 2009
TIME: 6 for 6:30pm
RSVP: Exclusive Books on 011 646 0931 or Email: killarney@exclusivebooks.co.za

Join Exclusive Books at Killarney Mall and Jacana Media at the launch of William Gumede and Leslie Diken'’s latest book, The Poverty of Ideas: South African Democracy and the Retreat of Intellectuals.

This groundbreaking book tackles the uncomfortable and much avoided issue of the devaluation of ideas and the intellect in the public sphere in post-apartheid South Africa. The Poverty of Ideas examines the intolerance of criticism and dissent, particularly during the Mbeki era, and the impact this has had and continues to have on the consolidation of democracy.

"A riveting but disturbing account of intellectual thought and development from apartheid to democracy. An innovative and eye-opening discourse about the relationship between powerful institutions and politicians and intellectuals in a developing democracy. This book is a must-read for those who wonder what's happened to South Africa's intellectuals." - Professor Daniel Plaatjies, Director and Head of the Graduate School of Public and Development Management, University of the Witwatersrand

About the Authors
William M. Gumede is Senior Associate and Programme Director, Africa Asia Centre, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; and Honorary Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He was Deputy Editor of the Sowetan, South Africa's largest national daily newspaper. He is author of the bestselling book Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC (2005).
Leslie M. Dikeni is Research Associate at the Department of International Politics, University of Pretoria. He was executive director, Africa Secretariat, UN Human Rights Commission. He has been a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies. His research interests include globalisation and the social construction of knowledge.

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