Book Reviews

In The Awareness Effect, the author uncovers the components that allow us to direct and drive the reality we produce in our lives. Introduced in the pages within, is the four-phase approach, an awareness tool we can utilise as we fine-tune the art of shaping our experiences.

Discover the critical art of rethinking: how questioning your opinions can position you for excellence at work and wisdom in life. Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world, the most crucial skill may be the ability to rethink and unlearn.

Widely known for his extreme off-the-beaten-track adventures, ultra-endurance athlete Jamie Marais has launched his first book, Determination: The Autobiography. It’s based on a series of solo ultra-endurance challenges, each of which takes place in a dangerous setting with intensely challenging physical objectives and natural threats including unpredictable weather, high altitude, steep mountain passes and dangerous wildlife.

Talking about oil and gas isn’t easy, especially at a time of widespread anxiety about the link between fossil fuels and climate change. But NJ Ayuk has never been one to shy away from difficult conversations. Instead, he embraces opportunities to approach thorny questions head-on, with a spirit of optimism about the future.

Life and business are not mutually exclusive. Business can, and must work for you, not the other way around. We have been conditioned to believe that being willing to sacrifice everything is the ‘right thing to do’ and the entrepreneurial way. That is a flawed approach.

In 2020, the world found itself in a state of flux. A global pandemic disrupted the world order while the digital transformation that is the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), with its challenges and huge potential benefits, presented a fundamental paradigm shift.

Nuts & Bolts is a book about hope; it is full of stories about real people and companies who are making a difference, with testimonies from entrepreneurs, experienced ecosystem builders and innovators. It captures deep insights, from the considerable time McLean has spent with entrepreneurs and innovators, on the importance of inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship, and provides a mix of global experiences and entrepreneurship narratives that eloquently sketch out the ‘nuts and bolts’ for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Written by the author of Incorruptible, The Unlikely Mr Rogue: A life with Ivan Pillay is the story of the quiet man behind the so-called ‘rogue unit’ at SARS who has become a lightning rod for so many in politics. It takes the reader on a journey from Ivan’s growing up in Merebank, KwaZulu-Natal, to his politicisation, his friendship with Pravin Gordhan and the story of Operation Vula, which Ivan ran from Lusaka, reporting to Oliver Tambo.

After hitting a brick wall in both his business and personal life in 2006, Pepe Marais discovered his purpose on which he rebuilt all aspects of his life over the course of the next fourteen years. The results of his purposeful approach to life have been nothing short of spectacular and in this, his second book, Pepe once again sets out to deliver on his personal purpose: to bring out the best in those around him.

Six years since his death (2013), Nelson Mandela still occupies an extraordinary place in the global imagination. Internationally, Mandela’s renown seems intact and invulnerable. In South Africa, however, his legacy and his place in the country’s history have become matters of contention and dispute, especially among younger black South Africans.