Over the course of a prolific career Sol Plaatje wrote letters to the press, newspaper articles and editorials, pamphlets, political speeches, evidence to the government commissions of enquiry, autobiographical writings (unpublished), and many personal letters. This collection provides an engaging personal record and a very readable – and revealing – commentary on South African social and political affairs during the period of colonialism and Union, from 1899 through to Plaatje’s tragically early death in 1932. His work as a public intellectual has had significant historical importance for translation, journalism, land reform and key political debates in the early twentieth century. This fascinating collection has been assembled from a variety and often obscure sources, making a comprehensive selection of Plaatje’s writing available to a wider audience. It is reissued here with a new preface by Brian Willan.