THE POLITICAL BACKBENCHER

204pp., colour illus., paperback, Lenasia, 2021

Autobiography of retired politician Ismail Vadi. Elected an ANC MP in the first democratic elections on April 27, 1994, he served on the portfolio committees on education, communications and the joint standing committee on intelligence. In 2010 he was appointed as a member of the Executive Council for Roads and Transport in Gauteng. He has lectured in the Faculty of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand. Currently, he is Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg and an adjunct faculty member at the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria.

"This book is a wonderful collection of anecdotes. It refreshes my own memory of the drama that unfolds behind the scenes at parliament ... The book is written in typical Vadi style - it is smart and funny, while being incisive ad erudite ... Through his book we get to know Ismail in a very personal and intimate way. He writes about family life, about friendship and most importantly about faith and belief ..." Derek Hanekom, Former Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs, Science and Technology and Tourism