A General's
account of South
Africa's Border. General Jannie Geldenhuys is
widely regarded as one of the leading military commanders South Africa has
ever produced. As Chief of the South African Defence Force from 1985 to 1990 he
brought his experience to bear on the South African Border War, and was part of
the negotiating team which brought an end to the conflict in 1989. In this
completely revised and updated edition, Geldenhuys reflects on a life defined as
much by a military career spanning more than four decades as it was by politics
and indeed the need for peace on the African sub-continent. This book covers the
years before and during the protracted Border War. But rather than a
blow-by-blow official history, it consists of Geldenhuys' personal experiences
and insights. These include facts unknown to civilians and even to some
high-ranking military officials. In particular, Geldenhuys sheds light on the
final years of the conflict and the negotiated settlement. Geldenhuys also
writes of his early years, as he evolved from a rugby-mad young subaltern
officer to a deep-thinking, reflective man with ever-sharpening insights into,
war, peace, politics and, most of all, himself.
