Iron in the soul by F.A. Mouton

Iron in the soul (Standard First Edition, First Impression)

A Group Biography of South Africa's Parliamentary Opposition Leaders, 1910 to 1993

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Iron in the soul: The leaders of the official parliamentary opposition in South Africa, 1910–1993
• Author: F.A. Mouton
• Editor: Danél Hanekom
• Publisher: Protea Book House, Pretoria
• Publication Date: 2017
• ISBN-13: 9781485305507
• Edition Details: First Edition, First Impression. Standard softcover release.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated card wrappers, perfect bound, with a dark red spine strip.
• Physical Format: Large softcover (trade paperback), 224 pages.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Exterior / Wraps: The illustrated wrappers are clean and bright, with no visible creasing or marks to the front cover. The dark red spine with cream lettering is straight, with no cracking or fading. A bookseller price and barcode sticker (Protea Stellenbosch 05/17) sits on the back cover; it is partly peeled and lifted at one edge.
• Interior: The paper is clean, with a slight brownish stain or toning along the left gutter edge of the copyright page.
• Provenance: A retailer's sticker on the back cover reads Protea Stellenbosch 05/17. No inscriptions, bookplates or ownership stamps.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Iron in the Soul: The Leaders of the Official Parliamentary Opposition in South Africa, 1910-1993, edited by Danél Hanekom and published in Pretoria in 2017, is a group biography of the men who led the official opposition in Parliament before democracy. It concentrates on those who never became prime minister or executive president.

The subjects include Sir Leander Starr Jameson, Sir Thomas Smartt, J.G.N. Strauss, Sir De Villiers Graaff, Radclyffe Cadman, Colin Eglin, Frederik van Zyl Slabbert and Dr A.P. Treurnicht. The book argues that political change also rests on individual decisions, and it weighs what these often-overlooked figures contributed to the shaping of South African history before the first democratic election in 1994.

The title draws on a phrase used by Van Zyl Slabbert, who saw exceptional personal attributes, or 'iron in the soul', as the mark of an effective opposition leader. This is a useful reference for collectors of South African political history and the Union and Republic eras.

Author Profile: F.A. (Alex) Mouton

F.A. (Alex) Mouton is a Professor of History at the University of South Africa (Unisa), where he teaches modern South African history.

His other work includes a biography of F.S. Malan, examining Malan's liberalism, Afrikaner nationalism and career, and The Opportunist: The Political Life of Oswald Pirow, 1915-1959, published by Protea Boekhuis in 2022.

Iron in the Soul Mouton · South African parliamentary opposition leaders · Union of South Africa opposition history · F.A. Mouton Protea Boekhuis · Colin Eglin and Van Zyl Slabbert biography · De Villiers Graaff opposition leader book · first edition South African political history