Zuma: A Biography

“Why should anyone write about me? I’m not an important person. I’m not a rich businessman. I’m not from a politically famous or royal family.”-- Jacob Zuma to biographer Jeremy Gordin

But of course Zuma has been at the epicenter of South African politics, and his life has spilt almost daily onto the pages of South Africa’s newspapers. Often embattled, always controversial, Zuma rose to take control of the ANC in Polokwane last year, unseating President Thabo Mbeki. Now, he appears destined to become the next president of South Africa.

In this unauthorized biography, veteran journalist Jeremy Gordin takes the reader beyond the daily and weekly reporting to capture something of the man: his ambitions; the political rollercoaster he has been on; his travails in his quest to bethe next president of South Africa.

In addition, award-winning writer Gordin covers Zuma’s early life as a herd boy, his adult life as a member of the ANC, his incarceration on Robben Island, his time in exile, and the transitional years of the early 1990s. But the main focus remains on the last seven or eight years – Zuma’s alleged corruption in the Arms Deal, his trial for rape, and his rise to power. This book promises to be immensely readable and, like its subject, highly controversial.