Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa by Mathabane, Mark - 1987

E Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.: New Amer Library, 1987 1st Paperback edition, 5th Printing Plume Paperbacks. "Kaffir," a disparaging epithet used in South Africa to refer to persons of colour is an arabic word meaning "infidel." This 1986 autobiography by the tennis player Mark Mathabane describes his life in the slums outside of Johannesberg under apartheid. It was a landmark publication at the time, and was added to a number of U.S. high school curriculums. It still reads well. Mathabane was able to attend university in the U.S. due to his tennis skills and interventions on his behalf by some mentors. It is apparent from his writing that he is intelligent and capable in many ways. Who knows, even under the present regime how he would have fared if he had not had the tennis skills and the mentors. An important reminder of the obstacles that face many of the world's peoples. The book contains a pictorial section with black and white photos. It does not appear to have been read, but the front cover has sustained a fair bit of wear including two creases, a scratch, a bumped corner and edgewear, particularly at the tail of the spine. Pages are beginning to tan slightly. Otherwise the book is like new, clean, tight and unmarked with a good binding.