First with your head and then with your heart.'

So says Hoppie Groenewald, boxing champion, to a seven-year-old boy who dreams of being the welterweight champion of the world. For the young Peekay, it is a piece of advice he will carry with him throughout his life.

Born in a South Africa divided by racism and hatred, this one small boy will come to lead all the tribes of Africa. Through enduring friendships with Hymie and Gideon, Peekay gains the strength he needs to win out. And in a final conflict with his childhood enemy, the Judge, Peekay will fight to the death for justice.'

Bryce Courtenay's classic bestseller is a story of the triumph of the human spirit'a spellbinding tale of all ages.

"It's hard to imagine a reader delivering his audience so completely to a foreign locale as Humphrey Bower does in this coming-of-age novel." 'AudioFile