Die Lewe van D.F. Malan: Die Eerste Veertig Jaar (Afrikaans Edition) Author: Prof. Dr. Bun Booyens (Benjamin Booyens)
Die Lewe van D.F. Malan: Die Eerste Veertig Jaar
An In-Depth and Thoughtful Analytical Study of the Formative Years of a Defining South African Statesman
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Die Lewe van D.F. Malan: Die Eerste Veertig Jaar (Afrikaans Edition)
- Author: Prof. Dr. Bun Booyens (Benjamin Booyens)
- Publisher: Tafelberg-Uitgewers, Cape Town / Elsiesrivier
- Publication Date: 1969
- ISBN: Not Issued (Pre-dates standard commercial ISBN systems; standard for 1960s South African releases).
- Edition Details: First Edition.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium full-cloth hardcover boards with its matching matching pictorial paper dust jacket.
- Physical Format: Octavo (23 x 16 cm), 329 pages. Richly enhanced with historical black-and-white documentary photographs tracking his childhood, academic training, and early public life.
- Language: Afrikaans text.
Official Condition Report
-
The Book: Used - Very Good (VG)
- Exterior / Boards: The original publisher's cloth boards are remarkably flat, clean, and square. Minor, standard storage friction is present only along the lower extremities and corners. The spine is uncracked, robust, completely unbroken, and firmly attached to the inner hinges with clean text elements.
- Interior: The 329-page text block is robustly bound, clean, and tight. Internal pages and photographic plates are clean, crisp, and beautifully preserved. Completely free from user highlighting, ink annotations, dealer pencil marks, dog-ears, or institutional library markers.
-
The Dust Jacket: Used - Very Good (VG)
- Condition details: The original pictorial paper dust jacket remains visually complete and structurally sound. It exhibits minor, standard edge wear along the top and bottom extremities, accompanied by slight surface chafing on the main jacket faces. Free of large missing paper sections or deep tears.
- Preservation: The dust jacket has now been professionally stabilized and protected with a brand-new, archival-grade clear plastic cover to prevent future handling friction and hold it beautifully intact.
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in 1969 by Tafelberg, Die Lewe van D.F. Malan: Die Eerste Veertig Jaar is an authoritative, meticulously researched biographical study written by the distinguished historian Prof. Dr. Bun Booyens. This text shifts focus away from the typical legislative battles of his twilight years to provide a critical, deep look into the key formative years and psychological development of Dr. Daniel François Malan before his rise to absolute executive premiership.
Booyens traces Malan's complex path as a young man driven by deep calling. The narrative explores his deep theological training at Stellenbosch and Utrecht, his foundational role as a devoted Dutch Reformed minister, and his sudden, passionate involvement in the burning "armblankevraagstuk" (poor white problem) and social upliftment. The biography highlights his early battles for the official recognition of the Afrikaans language in schools, the establishment of an independent Afrikaans university, and his transition into editing Die Burger. For collectors of vintage political biography, Cape church history, and early twentieth-century Africana, this first-edition printing remains an essential and highly sought-after cultural reference document.
Author Profile: Bun Booyens
Prof. Dr. Benjamin "Bun" Booyens (1916–2010) was a highly respected South African cultural historian, biographer, academic, and author. He spent decades serving as a prominent professor of Afrikaans Cultural History at Stellenbosch University, dedicating his life to archival preservation and folklore tracking. Booyens was deeply embedded in the social history of the Western Cape, publishing several benchmark cultural studies, including Bronwaters van genesing and Ek heb geseg! His prose is widely celebrated by modern historians and collectors for its immense academic objectivity, narrative elegance, and systematic reliance on private diaries and historical records.
die lewe van df malan bun booyens, df malan eerste veertig jaar, tafelberg uitgewers 1969, afrikaans political biography, rare afrikana literature, dr df malan, collectible copy, used collectible book
