Hannes Wessels

Notorious throughout Rhodesia for his compulsive womanizing, he cultivated what he imagined to be the languid drawl of the British aristocracy – earning himself the sobriquet The Piccadilly Dutchman at University – and antagonized apartheid politicians by referring to blacks as ‘munts’: he was PK van der Byl.



First Minister of Information and then of Defence, ‘Tripod’ did not marry until his late 50s because he enjoyed his bachelor lifestyle too much – huntin’ [romantic conquests], shootin’ [terrorists] and fishin’ [for influential international supporters of the Smith regime].



Controversial, charming, provocative and infuriating, PK is a fascinating character, and by over-praising him, Wessels does not do him justice: still, the book is invaluable for anyone interested in Southern African cultural and political history.… (meer)