Baruch Hirson (1921-1999) was a lifelong activist who spent nine-and-a-half years in South African prisons as a result of his opposition to the apartheid regime. Following his release in 1973 he left for England, where he lectured in history at several universities and produced eight finely written, passionately argued books on the history of the left in South Africa. These include Yours for the Union (1989), The Cape Town Intellectuals (2000) and his autobiography, Revolutions in my Life (1995). He also founded the controversial critical journal Searchlight South Africa. Year of Fire, Year of Ash, originally banned in South Africa, remains the most widely read of all his books.