Author Description

Towards the Mountain is the moving autobiography of the author of Cry, the Beloved Country and an illuminating look at the politics and history of South Africa in this century. Born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, in 1903, Alan Paton was the son of deeply religious parents and grew up highly sensitive to questions of philosophy and to the beauty of the natural world. In Towards the Mountain he recalls his early life, his education, and his feelings about his country. He describes in detail his years as principal of Diepkloof, the reformatory for young blacks, where he was able to introduce revolutionary reforms despite a long tradition of rigidity and harshness. Those reforms brought him into conflict with the hard-line advocates of apartheid-who later gained political supremacy-making him all the more aware of the tensions and complexities of South African life. In 1948, on a world tour to study the penal systems of other countries, Paton reached a turning point in his life. The result was Cry, the Beloved Country, the now-classic novel of injustice, forgiveness, and hope, a book that thirty years later still speaks eloquently to men's hearts and minds. A leader in the fight for human justice, Alan Paton has written a number of important books and has stood fast against the ever increasing pressures of the South African government. Towards the Mountain is his story up to the publication of Cry, the Beloved Country, a portrait of a man of tremendous moral courage. It is a story important to us all.