A committed communist and anti-apartheid activist, Ruth First dedicated her life to African liberation struggles until her assas�sination by South Africa's Special Branch in 1982. The Barrel of a Gun establishes First's position in the canon of post-colonial revolutionary thought.

Ruth First held multiple roles during the struggles of her time as a communist militant,journalist, and leading intellectual in South Africa. She was born into a political family inJohannesburg in 1925 and, as a student in the 1940s, founded an important organisation, theFederation of Progressive Students with other anti-apartheid activists. Her cohort of fellowstudents and comrades included a broad swathe of activists, such as Nelson Mandela andEdua...