Sylvester Stein (25 December 1920 – 28 December 2015) was a South African writer, publisher and athlete.

Biography

Stein was born in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and grew up in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, son of a mathematics professor Philip Stein and Lily Rolnick. His sister and brother are both

life scientists This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...

. After completing his education as an electrical engineer, Stein volunteered for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He served mainly on

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

, and later moved to the UK to work on the

degaussing Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not possible to redu ...

of ships, a defensive measure against

magnetic mines A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ve ...

. Demobbed and married to Jenny Hutt, a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

er, he returned to South Africa in 1947, where his four children were born. He worked on the Johannesburg ''

Rand Daily Mail ''The Rand Daily Mail'' was a South African newspaper published from 1902 until it was controversially closed in 1985 after adopting an outspoken anti-apartheid stance in the midst of a massive clampdown on activists by the security forces. The ...

'' as a reporter, and later became editor of ''

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

'' magazine. At this time Stein was a friend and associate of many leading figures in the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

. By 1957, the South African government was beginning to prosecute and imprison political dissenters and Stein, like many others, took the decision to emigrate. Nonetheless, he maintained contact with ANC exiles and helped rejuvenate the party's finances prior to its assumption of power in 1994. He resumed journalistic work in London, including stints on ''

Reynolds News ''Reynold's News'' was a Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom, founded as ''Reynolds's Weekly Newspaper''Joanne Shattock, ''The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', p.2908 by George W. M. Reynolds in 1850, who became its first editor ...

'' and the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...

'', but soon grew dissatisfied and formed his own publishing company. This company, Stonehart Publications, introduced many innovative newsletters and marketing concepts to the somewhat staid British publishing environment. Reflecting his interest in athletics, in October 1990 he founded the sports performance periodical Peak Performance, and later Sports Injury Bulletin. Both publications continue under the ownership of Green Star Media. Apart from his business interests, Stein published several books, both fiction and non-fiction. His 1958 novel, ''Second Class Taxi'', was banned in South Africa for more than 20 years. Stein's book about his time as editor of ''Drum'' magazine, ''Who Killed Mr Drum?'', was turned into a play, co-written with Fraser Grace. It opened at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment in ...

in September 2005, directed by Paul Robinson, with Sello Maake Ka-Ncube as

Can Themba Daniel Canodoise "Can" Themba (21 June 1924 – 8 September 1967) was a South African short-story writer. Early life Themba was born in Marabastad, near Pretoria, but wrote most of his work in Sophiatown, Johannesburg, South Africa. The town was ...

. The title is a reference to the 1957 murder of investigative journalist Henry "Mr Drum" Nxumalo. In 2006 a play co-written with his late colleague, Robert Troop, entitled ''This is your Captain Speaking'', was produced at the

Pentameters Theatre The Pentameters Theatre was founded in 1968 and is still run by artistic director Leonie Scott-Matthews, a well known Hampstead resident. It is a 60-seat venue and is a fringe theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located above the Three Horse ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

. Stein's other achievements were in the athletic stadium, where he won numerous medals in

masters athletics Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for athletes of over 35 years of age. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. Competitors are bracketed into five-year age groups (which promotes fair comp ...

events worldwide. At the age of 60 he won a gold medal in the 200m at the World Masters Athletics championships in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand. He competed against, among others,

US Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Alan Cranston Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 – December 31, 2000) was an American politician and journalist who served as a United States Senator from California from 1969 to 1993, and as a President of the World Federalist Association from 1949 to 1 ...

. In 2003, at the age of 82, he won two gold medals in the British Masters Championships.Steve Barnett, "Sylvester proves that old’uns can be gold’uns", ''Camden New Journal'', 12 June 2003.
/ref> Stein was President of the British Masters Federation for a number of years. At the age of 89 he had a

pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...

rate of 52, which is 20 points below the national average.

Bibliography

Non-fiction

* ''The Running Guide to Keeping Fit'' (

Corgi The Welsh Corgi ( or Corgi, plural Corgis, or occasionally the etymologically consistent Corgwn; ) is a small type of herding dog that originated in Wales. The name ''corgi'' is derived from the Welsh words and (which is mutated to ), meani ...

, 1986) * ''99 Ways to Reach 100'' (

Century Hutchinson Hutchinson was a British publishing firm which operated from 1887 until 1985, when it underwent several mergers. It is currently an imprint which is ultimately owned by Bertelsmann, the German publishing conglomerate. History Hutchinson began ...

, 1987) * ''Who Killed Mr Drum?'' (Corvo, 1999)

Novels

* ''Second Class Taxi'' ( Faber, 1958) * ''Old Letch'' ( Faber, 1959) * ''What the World Owes Me by Mary Bowes'' ( Faber, 1960 * ''The Bewilderness'' (House, 1976)

References

External links