First drafts

It was Philip Graham, legendary publisher of The Washington Post in the 1960s, who coined the epigram that the journalist's role is to write 'a first rough draft of history'. It is a concept that has long fascinated veteran journalist Allister Sparks, because it means that a collection of those rough drafts can present a different kind of history, a contemporaneous history. With the perfect vision of hindsight, historians can reconstruct events as they actually turned out. But the question is, what did it look like at the time, when the future was anything but obvious? No journalist has covered South Africa with the same insight and depth as Sparks. For many years his reporting and opinion pieces have been eagerly sort out by decision makers, analysts and the public at large. First drafts - a scintillating collection of Sparks' writing - takes the reader on a journey through the tumultuous years of the past decade. In his inimitable style, Sparks writes on subjects that cut across the landscape both local and international. He tackles the failed Mbeki presidency, tracking the never-ending Zimbabwe crisis and the HIV-Aids debacle.
Sparks follows the extraordinary rise to power of President Jacob Zuma and a new political elite. He comments on the Arms Deal that won't go away, the scourge of crime, the crisis in the judiciary, and a host of problems that bedevil South Africa. He also examines a number of foreign issues, particularly those that have a bearing on South Africa. He weighs in against the failure of US foreign policy during the Bush years; the fall from grace of Tony Blair in the UK; and the conflict in the Middle East.