With the recent resignation of Thabo Mbeki and the predicted crowning of Jacob Zuma as President of South Africa in 2009, an autobiography of Cyril Ramaphosa is both topical and timely. The reason is, of course, that Ramaphosa, former General Secretary of the National Union Mineworkers and Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC) after its un-banning, had been considered by many to be a candidate for the position. The reasons why he did not assume office are outlined in Anthony Butler's lucid and detailed text.

Although regarded by some within the ANC as a ‘Johnny-come-lately’, Cyril Ramaphosa emerged as a leading personality following his ‘skillful management’ of the release of Robben Island prisoners: ‘Cyril was suddenly everywhere and often at the side of the man, Nelson Mandela, whom everyone wanted to see’ (252). Yet Mandela was concerned about Ramaphosa's dual roles as the country's negotiator and a leading figure within the movement. Tough talks had to take place before South Africa moved away from apartheid towards a new political settlement, not least with members of the corporate establishment. Ramaphosa could launch ‘his trademark tirades against big business’ (285) and threaten to nationalize the mines, but he seemed to meet his match in Anglo-American magnate Harry Oppenheimer, as it became clear that the business community had to play a role in South Africa's future. With the demise of the Soviet Union and its ideology, ‘Mandela's post-1994 government was obliged to ostentatiously adopt conservative macroeconomic policies’ (354), while Ramaphosa himself ‘has gradually accommodated himself to wealth and comfort’ (385).

Although Nelson Mandela chose the ‘older and better prepared’ Thabo Mbeki as deputy president rather than Ramaphosa, it is clear that the latter has achieved much during his life. Born in the Western Native Township close to Johannesburg in 1952, just four years after the National Party had gained power on the apartheid ticket which was to map his early life, he was an active Christian and became national chair of the Student Christian Movement which claimed that ‘apartheid is evil under God’. Ramaphosa studied law at the University of the North and it was not long before he was detained by the state, suspected of being part of the black consciousness movement. He spent eleven months in solitary confinement. In terms of his career, he made a decisive decision to work in the trade union sector and studied for a diploma in industrial relations. Many trade unions at that time were divided into black and white organisations. Ramaphosa began work as a legal adviser at the Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA), which was, Butler maintains, wrongly perceived as a black consciousness association. CUSA was, however, instrumental in helping establish the National Union of Mineworkers in 1982. As a man, Butler views Ramaphosa as quite aloof and certainly unenthusiastic about being the subject of a biography. But what is his role in the wider terrain of South African politics? He is ambitious and ascends ‘naturally to the leadership of almost every organisation he has joined’. So what of the ultimate prize: the presidency? As a former trade union colleague observes: ‘Cyril will not stand unless he wins. He is not a chancer and not a number two’ (396). Anthony Butler's biography not only charts the life of a significant player in recent South African politics, but also raises the question of what his role may be in the future.