The Daily Insider: Spirit of adventure is deeply embedded in our national DNA

Ever since self-promoters discovered the leverage of being published, our world has been flooded with a flood of appallingly written, poorly produced and unreadably dull books. As a "beneficiary" of the promotional funnel, after a quick scan many volumes received for review are rapidly dispatched to the trash can.

But occasionally there's a diamond in the muck. One arrived on Friday courtesy of global group TCL which is celebrating the launch of its SA television assembly plant. It's a 2014 book by SA adventurer Peter van Kets called The Eighth Summit. Shamefully, I'd previously not heard about either the man or the book.

That's changed. Peter had me hooked from almost the first page, primarily because of his good sense to ask Prof Tim Noakes to pen the Foreword. It's a riveting read full of the best possible lessons – learnings shared by those who personally experienced the extraordinary. It's superbly written and major league uplifting.

Mostly, however, this book reminds me of the incredible spirit of adventure deeply embedded in our national DNA. South Africa, blessed by its people…..Indeed.

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