Loved and loving, indulged, even downright spoilt and at the heart of a migrant family whose forebears had sought a haven and livelihood in South Africa in the late 19th century, Edward Joffe's memoir of his Johannesburg up-bringing is not only a happy romp through the travails and adventures of childhood to adulthood but also a vivid window on 20th century life in a country of dramatic and often bitter contrasts. Acutely drawn characters people Eddie's early life - from the bodybuilding Ash to the London Cockney Gran with her Boer War memories, from Aunt Minnie decorating every available...