Emergency Author:Richard Rive Copyright 1964, Collier edition 1970 in their African-American Library series. Introduction by Ezekial Mphahlele. — Why did Andrew run? He ran for his life -- from Cape Town's slums to almost=white Walmer Estate, from the university to politics, to teaching -- to Ruth. And now Andrew Dreyer is running again; this time from Cape Town's Special Bra... more »nch where he is wanted for political insurgency and for violation of the Immorality Act. Because he dared to love a white woman. But Andrew Dreyer's real crime is that he chose to be a man in the country of his birth.
"Emergency" is played out against the taut backdrop of the Sharpesville Massacre of March, 1960 -- during the three terrible days between the Sharpesville shootings and the declaration of a state-of-emergency in South Africa. What began as a nonviolent African protest against the racist Pass Laws soon escalated into bloody war at the hands of the South African gestapo. Richard Rive has powerfully rekindled the horror of these three days of infamy that the world chose to forget.« less