50 people who royally 'stuffed' up our fine, glorious land - Alexander Parker

From Jan van Riebeeck to Thabo Mbeki, from Sepp Blatter to minibus taxi drivers… these people stuffed up beautiful South Africa.

I'm surprised you managed to write such a short book!

Bruce Whitfield, The Money Show

Every week The Money Show’s Bruce Whitfield interviews the author of a trending business book.

This week Whitfield interviewed Alexander Parker, author of “50 People Who Stuffed Up South Africa”.

Parker is also the author of “50 People Who Messed Up the World"; a book reviewed on The Money Show almost exactly three years ago.

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Description of “50 People Who Stuffed Up South Africa” on loot.co.za:

Part history, part social commentary, “50 People Who Stuffed Up South Africa” is an engrossing and edifying read that delves into South African politics, war, sport and culture, and answers the question, "who are the greatest villains, the direst leaders, the foulest corrupters and the most offensive personalities to have spread their regrettable influence through our fine and glorious land?"

From Jan van Riebeeck in 1652 to Sepp Blatter in 2010 – via Basson, Botha, Shaka and Shaik – it is filled with the nastiest names to have besmirched our past.

These are men of infamy (and three women) who have steered the good ship South Africa firmly in the wrong direction by virtue of their ruinous megalomania (Mbeki, Rhodes), foul convictions (Verwoerd, Terre’Blanche) or general idiocy (Malema, Erwin).

But the obvious political gangsters and historical heavy-hitters are just the half of it: there’s also the colonial warmonger (Lord Milner), the national embarrassment (Rudolph Straeuli), the societal delinquent (the minibus taxi driver), the unexpected sports villain (Richie Benaud!), the Euro-chancer (Mark Thatcher), the traitor (Kevin Pietersen) and the twat (Kevin Pietersen).

Listen to the interview in the audio below.

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