Paul & Adelaide
Joseph
Dear
Alan,
Thank
you very much for the copy of your biography on the lives of Ruth First &
Joe Slovo ‘In the War Against Apartheid.’
In
the course of convalescing I managed to finish the book. I found it absorbing,
enriching in which there were so many facets that were new to me.
The
way you sketched out these two characters with such poignancy, sensitivity
& fascinating details brought out such vivid recollections of our
association with Joe & Ruth over years of friendship.
As
I was getting towards the end of the book I was listening to Nigel Kennedy
performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at a Proms night. He was accompanied by some
musicians from Gaza.
He
played with gusto. When he finished there was a tremendous applause. He made a
short statement of how pleased he was with the end of apartheid. There was an
explosion of applause.
At
that very moment I was reading your description of how Joe’s life was seeping
out.
I
choked and cried at the way you described Ruth & Joe who gave their lives
to end apartheid.
It
was well after 1 a.m. I got up to go to Adelaide’s room. I wanted to talk to
her about what you wrote about Ruth & Joe.
She
was sound asleep. Her health is also not too good. I left her.
The
next morning as she was preparing the coffee I briefly told her but could not
continue as I broke down. She embraced me saying she understood how I felt
about Ruth & Joe.
My
sincere appreciation to you for describing the lives of Ruth & Joe as well
as that of Tilly, Julius, Ronnie & the grand-daughters.
I
think this book should be considered for a textbook for universities of South
Africa which encompasses the CP, ANC, the Congress Alliance and MK.
The
book will also benefit scholars, students and activists in Africa, Europe and
the Americas & the Caribbean & Asia.
Many
thanks for a work of true scholarship.
Sincere
Regards,
Paul
Joseph
