A NEW book by award-winning Warrington journalist David Skentelbery has just been released and is available from Amazon.
“The Heroism of Youth” is his first novel – his previous books have been autobiographical or for children – and it is set partly in Cheshire and partly in South Africa.
The title is taken from a speech by Nelson Mandela on his release after 27 years in prison.
Although a work of fiction, many of the events described really happened and others could well have done so. The story tells of the lives and loves of two groups of young people, separated by thousands of miles but caught up in the lengthy worldwide campaign to end the racist apartheid system in South Africa, which is estimated to have led to some 7,000 political deaths between 1948 and 1989, as well as more than 19,000 cases of gross human rights violation.
Although it was probably worldwide economic pressures that eventually toppled the undemocratic South African government, sport, led by cricket, played a huge role by isolating South Africa from the rest of the world.
In 1968, David, now aged 88, was writing on current affairs and admits that he expressed views in print which he later realised were wrong.
He hopes his new book, as well as being an entertaining account of what it was like to be young in Britain and South Africa at that time, will redress the balance.
Away from fiction, in 2024 he was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the Borough of Warrington for his services to the borough through journalism.
The Heroism of Youth is available from Amazon.
