Extract from the book review by Catherine Jenkins (SOAS, University of London), published in Politikon, (May 2005), 32(1), 170-172:
""This is a fine, well-researched work written with the deceptively light touch of the experienced journalist. Herbstein conveys the passionate conviction of Canon Collins and the commitment of the IDAF team in a narrative that is compelling and enjoyable. Whilst relating the very human rivalries, jealousies and disputes from which even the clergy are apparently not exempt, the book is ultimately a celebration of the achievements of Canon Collins and all those who had, in the words of Diana Collins, the 'imaginative sympathy that enables people to identify with people they don't know, who are suffering in any way' (p. 329). Indeed, remarkably, the Canon himself visited South Africa only once in his lifetime. The idea that 'imagination is the great instrument of moral good' (p. 329) gives Herbstein's book a universal appeal. It should be of special interest to all who now work in the non-governmental human rights movement to which the Canon made such a distinguished early contribution.""
Extract from the book review by Mandy Goedhals (University of Kwazulu-Natal), published in Transformation, Vol. 59 pp. 124-126:
""The HSRC Press and James Currey, neither of them publishing lightweights, have thought it worthwhile to take on Denis Herbstein's history of Canon John Collins and the International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF). ...The account has been brilliantly written, with the elaborate and intricate sequence of events laid out with clarity. Herbstein maintains clear control of the central narrative, but the chapters are fascinating and well organised units in themselves.""
Extract from review by Richard Dale (Fountain Hills, Arizona) in the African Studies Review Vol. 49.3 (Dec 2006):
""The authors of both books under review have provided exceptional, pioneering, and well-grounded analyses of IDAF's and AAM's political, financial, and legal contributions to the struggle against apartheid, and their works will have an established place in the Africanist popular and research literature.""
Click on the link below to read reviews:
Farmers Weekly 26 March 2006
African Business 01 October 2005
Sunday Times Lifestyle 10 July 2005
Cape Librarian January - February 2005
Church Times 8 April 2005
African Review of Books 05 March 2005
Ham & High 04 March 2005
The Guardian 22 February 2005
Witness 5 January 2005
Cape Times 7 Dec 2004
Beeld Plus 29 October 2004
The Star 27 October 2004
Die Burger 25 October 2004
Sunday Times Extra 24 October 2004
Sunday Tribune 17 October 2004
""Herbstein's book is an inspiring tale of inventive commitment and courage, which, in its unspectacular way, contributed to the downfall of apartheid.""
Marcel Berlins, The Guardian, 22 February 2005
