Walking Proud

Walking Proud (Standard First Edition of Louis Luyt's Autobiography)

The Candid Life Story of the Businessman, Newspaper Owner and Rugby Administrator Behind the 1995 Rugby World Cup

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Walking Proud: The Louis Luyt Autobiography
• Editor: Sean Fraser
• Publisher: Don Nelson Publishers, Cape Town
• Publication Date: 2003
• ISBN-13: 9781868006212
• ISBN-10: 1868062120
• Edition Details: First Edition, 2003. Standard softcover release.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated perfect-bound wrappers with a full-colour portrait to the front panel and a dark spine.
• Physical Format: Large softcover (trade paperback) format. Edited by Sean Fraser. With black-and-white photographs to the rear cover.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Exterior / Wraps: The glossy photographic wrappers are clean and bright, with no tears or creasing. The spine is straight, with only slight wear at the head. The corners are fairly sharp.
• Interior: The text block is tight, with clean, bright pages and clean page edges. No foxing, markings or ex-library marks.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Walking Proud: The Louis Luyt Autobiography, edited by Sean Fraser and published in Cape Town by Don Nelson in 2003, is the personal account of one of the most forceful and controversial figures in modern South African business and sport.

Luyt recounts his poor childhood in the Karoo and his rise through business, including the fertiliser company Triomf, Luyt Lager and the newspaper The Citizen. He also tells his side of the Information Scandal, his feuds with business and political rivals, and his dealings with Nelson Mandela.

The book is also an important source on South African rugby at the moment of its transformation. Luyt writes on the Transvaal Rugby Union and the staging of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. In it he also revealed that he was born Oswald Louis Petrus Poley and took the surname of his stepfather, Charles Luyt. A strong addition to collections of South African political, business and rugby history.

Author Profile: Louis Luyt

Louis Luyt (1932-2013) was a South African business tycoon, politician and rugby administrator. After working as a railway clerk, a miner and a salesman for an oil and later a fertiliser company, he founded his own business, Louis Luyt Enterprises, in 1961.

He rose to prominence through the Transvaal Rugby Union and became president of South African rugby in March 1994. He organised South Africa's hosting of the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Louis Luyt autobiography · Walking Proud Louis Luyt · South African rugby history book · 1995 Rugby World Cup book · Louis Luyt Triomf and The Citizen · Don Nelson first edition 2003