Annotated Bibliography/Resources
Avildsen, John G. The Power of One. DVD. Burbank: Warner Brothers, 1999. Filmed in 1992 and starring Morgan Freeman and Stephen Dorff, the screen realization of Courtenay's book maintains the tenor of the book while delivering the theme in a severely abridged form. The addition and deletion of characters is disturbing, but given that this was a motion picture release and not a miniseries it is understandable. Courtenay served as consultant on the film.
Baginski, Mike. http://www.mpsvt.org/msms/grade6/gov-quest/. (accessed May 31, 2008). Mr. B's class assignment on determining the best government includes good definitions of several types of government in an interesting assignment. Although intended for grade 6, the clear delineation of the government types will be helpful to the English teacher.
Bloom, Allan. The Republic of Plato. 2 ed. New York: Basic Books, 1991. Told in the form of dialogue among Plato and his colleagues, this ten-chapter discussion of how to live includes sections on determining the genuine from the imitation, the roles of each gender in a society, and the limits a government should exercise. Bloom's edition includes extensive notes, line numbers for easy reference, and his own interpretive essay.
Courtenay, Bryce. The Power of One. New York: Ballantine/Random House, 1996.
The "Classic Novel of South Africa" is the bildungsroman of a white English boy who clashes with the Afrikaners who despise him. A chance meeting with an aspiring boxer spurs young Peekay on to his own dreams of becoming the welterweight champ of South Africa. Along the way, Peekay is mentored by Doc, a German naturalist who becomes a father figure as well as a teacher, and Giel Piet, a kaffir at the local prison where he trains as a boxer. Peekay's journey is told in a stunning and thoughtful way, bringing the Western reader to a time and place both foreign and irresistible.
de Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America. New York: Perennial/Harper/Collins, 2000. In the mid 1800s, Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States in its democratic infancy. The perspective of this Frenchman's view of how our government worked in the early days provides a unique vantage point for the modern reader.
Dovey, Lindiwe. "SparkNote on The Power of One." (accessed 7/16/2008). http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/power/. This site offers a complete summary, character descriptions, a section on themes and symbols, and analyses by chapter.
Godwin, Peter. Mukiwa. New York: Grove Press, 1996. This is a great memoir of a white boy growing up in Zimbabwe in the 1960s. It is an interesting extension of what continued to happen following the politicalevents in Courtenay's book and is recommended for those wishing to delve further into the subject.
Graetz, Michael J., and Ian Shapiro. Death by a Thousand Cuts. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. Utilizing the analogy of the torture called "death by a thousand cuts," Graetz and Shapiro clearly outline how the death tax in America bleeds citizens of their hard-earned wealth. Specific cases of individuals whose estates have been affected bring life to this account of the unfairness of this tax, what it does to people and their families, and how it came to be.
Hamilton, Alexander, and James Madison and John Jay. The Federalist Papers. New York: Penguin, 2003. This is a compilation of all the numbers published by the authors anonymously in serial form beginning in 1787. With an introduction and notes by Charles R. Kesler and edited by Clinton Rossiter, this edition also includes the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Articles of Confederation.
James, G.."Freedom in the UK." 8/5/2000.http://dspace.dialpipex.com/town/street/pl38/set2/htm (accessed 7/16/2008). A more sophisticated discussion of political systems is presented in this devoted to civil liberties in the UK.
Library of Congress, "Religion and Apartheid." http://countrystudies.us/south-africa/53.htm (accessed July 16, 2008). This website was valuable in delineating religious practices of the various groups in South Africa, particularly helpful in researching conditions in former Southern Rhodesia during the time of Courtenay's book.
Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1978.
Mill's five-chapter work expounds on the definitions and meanings of liberty, citing examples and posing hypothetical situations in which government intervention should be imposed.
Shapiro, Ian. Democracy's Place. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996. In a collection of essays, Shapiro covers several topics dealing with justice in different situations: With Courtney Jung he explores the role of democracy in South Africa, while his essay on autonomy and religious freedom, written with Richard Arnelson, critiques Wisconsin v. Yoder.
Stutz, David. "Stutz Family web site." August 16, 1999. http://www.stutzfamily.com/mrstutz/WorldAffairs/typesofgovt.html (accessed July 16, 2008). This site offers an excellent chart of government types.
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