Year of Fire, Year of Ash

This account of the 1976-77 Soweto uprisings by an exiled South African Marxist (and former political prisoner) documents a surprising number of black labor union strike actions during the 1970s. It is less successful in documenting its theses about the student revolts. The author contends-but does not show-that the African National Congress played a significant role therein and disputes the importance of the "black consciousness" movement in changing the apartheid system.