Book description
Rabble-Rouser for Peace is the first book to tell the full
story of how a boy from South Africa's poverty-stricken black
townships became one of the world's best-known religious figures, a
moral icon to those who work for peace and justice everywhere.
Drawn from 30 years of the author's first-hand contact with Desmond
Tutu, this is not only a vivid character study of a public figure with
a unique capacity to communicate warmth, humour and compassion; it is
also a rich account of his dynamic place in history.
The story of Desmond Tutu's life tells a crucial part of South
Africa's history and its movement from Apartheid towards peace, but it
also follows the growth of one of the best loved and globally most
recognised men of our time.
First working as a journalist in South Africa, and then as Tutu's
Press Secretary, John Allen was invited to join the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission as Director of Communications in 1995. Next he
was aide to Tutu when the Archbishop taught in Atlanta for two years.
Thus he has had a unique opportunity to observe his subject at first
hand and is being given complete access to the Archbishop's personal and
public files. He lives in South Africa.
