Robben Island and political imprisonment played a significant role in South Africa's struggle against apartheid and for democracy. Today, Robben Island prison is a museum and World Heritage Site which receives tens of thousands of visitors from around South Africa and the world. Having served a term of imprisonment on Robben Island, and as chairperson of the Robben Island Museum Council, I find Fran Buntman's book a welcome addition to the much-needed literature on apartheid prisons.

Robben Island and Prisoner Resistance to Apartheid is invaluable in explaining why thousands of political prisoners who spent years in prison for the cause of liberation found the experience enriching and a source of pride. There was no room for bitterness, hatred, anger, or revenge. Although there are many valuable memoirs by former Islanders and political inmates of other apartheid prisons, this book offers an original scholarly account of the apartheid years in Robben Island's prison. Buntman's book makes a vital and innovative contribution to showing how and why political prisoners were able to survive and, in many ways, to flourish. It shows how we used our imprisonment to resist apartheid and contribute to a free and democratic South Africa.

The research for this book is both broad and deep. Fran Buntman identifies and explains the significance of the many complex aspects of prison life.