Summary

Racial murder and rebellion lie at the heart of this book. It focuses on South Africa's 'Rand Revolt' of 1922, when Johannesburg and its surrounding towns were wracked by industrial strife, racial violence and insurrection. White workers rose against their employers and the State, black people were hunted through the streets, and strikers launched an onslaught upon police and the army. Krikler recreates this world of intense conflict and analyses the sources and complex nature of its extreme passions. The book suggests novel ways of looking at racial identity and violence, and breaks new ground in other areas -- for example, in its assessment of the impact of the First World War on labour movements, and in its exploration of the significance of female violence during the upheaval. Written with panache and a determination to explore deeper meanings, the book has wide implications for our understanding of race and class in South Africa and elsewhere. It also offers a most vivid portrayal of a rebellion -- with all its cruelty, heroism, drama and pathos.