`I have sought to paint a portrait of my childhood and youth in Alexandra, a black ghetto of Johannesburg, where I was born and lived for 18 years, with the hope that the rest of the world will finally understand why apartheid cannot be reformed; it has to be abolished.' Angry, authentic, intensely personal, this autobiography graphically reveals the truth about being black in South Africa. Mark's first memory is of being woken at dawn by a police raid. Too terrified to speak and reveal where his parents were hiding, he was beaten up. He was 5. As he grew older, it got worse: life was a constant battle against starvation, cold, ignorance and the ensuing violence. Drawing readers into the turmoil, terror, and sad strategems for survival, Mark makes us see what it means for his people to life under the prevailing conditions. It may make your blood boil, shock you, or leave you emotionally drained, but it is too important not to read. Mark escaped. The rest remain...