The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

The Power of One (Collectible Penguin Australia Edition, 2006)

Bryce Courtenay's Celebrated Coming-of-Age Novel of a Boy and Boxing in Racially Divided South Africa

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: The Power of One
• Author: Bryce Courtenay
• Publisher: Penguin Books, Camberwell, Victoria, Australia
• Publication Date: 2006
• ISBN-13: 9780143004554
• ISBN-10: 0143004557
• Edition Details: Penguin Group (Australia) edition, 2006. First published by William Heinemann Australia, 1989; Penguin Books Australia, 1997.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated laminated paper wrappers, perfect bound.
• Physical Format: Large softcover (trade paperback) format, thick volume. Australian Penguin edition.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Good (G)
• Exterior / Wraps: The laminated pictorial wrappers show honest signs of handling. The spine carries a visible vertical crease line with some white creasing and loss of colour along its length. The front cover has diagonal crease lines near the lower right corner and a further crease near the top right, with light rubbing and slight wear to the lower corner. The back cover shows some edge wear and a small scuff near the bottom left. The edges are slightly rubbed.
• Interior: The text block is intact and tight. The page edges are toned to a yellow-tan colour. The sampled text pages are clean, with no markings.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

The Power of One, first published in 1989, follows Peekay, an English-speaking South African boy, from 1939 to 1951. Growing up in a racially divided country, he dreams of becoming welterweight boxing champion of the world.

Helped by friendships and the advice of a boxing champion, Peekay grows in strength and resolve, and eventually confronts his childhood enemy, the Judge, in a fight for justice. Courtenay describes it as a novel rather than a memoir, though many readers see it as loosely based on his own life.

The book became the author's best-known work, selling over eight million copies and appearing in eighteen languages. It won a British Book Award in 1990 and was adapted as a film in 1992. This 2006 Penguin Australia paperback is a good used copy of a modern classic of South African-set fiction.

Author Profile: Bryce Courtenay

Bryce Courtenay was born in South Africa on 14 August 1933 and died in Canberra on 22 November 2012. He worked in advertising in Sydney for more than thirty years before becoming a full-time writer, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1995.

The Power of One is his best-known novel. Its sequel Tandia appeared in 1991, and his novel Jessica was adapted as a television miniseries. His only nonfiction book published in his lifetime was April Fool's Day (1993).

The Power of One Bryce Courtenay · Bryce Courtenay Penguin 2006 · South African boxing novel · Peekay coming-of-age novel · Bryce Courtenay paperback · used collectible Courtenay novel