The Power of One

author
Bryce Courtenay

cheesy, yet frighteningly accurate, book blurb
"Set in a world torn apart, where man enslaves his fellow man and freedom remains elusive, THE POWER OF ONE is the moving story of one young man's search for the love that binds friends, the passion that binds lovers, and the realization that it takes only one to change the world. A weak and friendless boy growing up in South Africa during World War II, Peekay turns to two older men, one black and one white, to show him how to find the courage to dream, to succeed, to triumph over a world when all seems lost, and to inspire him to summon up the most irresistible force of all: the Power of One."

dun, dun, dun
Despite the melodrama, this book is a must read—in part because it's fantastic and in part because you sound like an ass if you have to tell someone you haven't read it.

book makes you want to
Blast the 80's song Eye of the Tiger and sprint around your house, pumping your fists in the air above your head. (Go ahead, no one's watching.)

some of the hype
"Unabashedly uplifting....Asserts forcefully what all of us would like to believe: that the individual, armed with the spirit of independence — 'the power of one' — can prevail."
—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Totally engrossing."
—Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Marvelous."
—The Washington Post Book World

some other things this author has written
Tandia
Jessica
Tommo & Hawk
The Potato Factory
Solomon's Song
April Fool's Day
Brother Fish
Four Fires
The Night Country
White Thorn
The Family Frying Pan
Smoky Joe's Cafe