Informative and portable, this guide offers a brief yet lively introduction to the Umkhonto we Sizwe’s (MK) history; the MK was the armed wing of the African National Congress, which fought against the South African apartheid government.

Written by leading experts in their fields, it presents in broad outline the various stages in MK’s 30-year history, considers the difficult strategic and moral problems the army faced, and argues that its operations are likely to be remembered as a just war conducted with considerable restraint.

With personal accounts from those who were active members of this armed group, this handbook also provides a critical analysis of the South African liberation struggle.