Schmidt's book, which respected journalist Max du Preez calls "the best reporter's notebook I've ever read", dives into a time of anxious revolution and rebellion - a period which Schmidt claims to be "airbrushed", by selectively nostalgic capitalist opportunists.
The South African press has been pushed into a precarious position by factors such as the Secrecy Bill, which pose a direct threat to media freedom. Not since the apartheid era have journalists been faced with such a blatant attack on their right to disseminate information - particularly information relating to the state.
In this current climate, Michael Schmidt's Drinking with Ghosts is an example of rigorously researched and brave investigative journalism. The Executive Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in South Africa, Schmidt has a respected track record as a journalist for publications including Sunday Times.
Drinking with Ghosts unpacks and reflects on the actions, both covert and overt, carried out by the state and its operatives during the apartheid years in Southern Africa. Its specific focus is on the Dirty War as exemplified by hidden nuclear weapons, clandestine forays into neighbouring states, mass poisoning and disposal of military opponents, shady arms deals and bloody massacres.
Extremely relevant to journalists in the investigative field, and also easily accessible and engrossing to those with an interest in South Africa's socio-political history and present, Schmidt has produced an important book that not only uncovers a lot of dirty linen, but places it within a fascinating context.
Drinking with Ghosts is available at all major bookstores.
