James Ngculu was one of the mass of young people inspired by the 1976 Soweto Uprising to join Umkhonto we Sizwe in exile to fight against South Africa’s apartheid regime. They were not in search of a comfortable life, and they did not find one. But like many of his comrades, the young Ngculu found inspiration and education in more than equal measure with frustration and hardship.

The Honour to Serve is both his personal story and a fascinating, painstaking history of those aspects of the ANC’s struggle that formed its context. It is a memoir of his life in exile, accounts of his involvement in ANC's military wing, Umkhonto Wesizwe, recollections of various MK operations in Southern Africa, and military training in Europe and other parts of the world. Above all else, it is a gift of gratitude to his comrades and those organizations to which he gave his fealty: the ANC, the Communist Party, and Umkhonto we Sizwe itself. The Honour to Serve was one of five titles short-listed for the prestigious Sunday Times Alan Paton Award.

In this book the author captures vividly the events, the tribulations and success they gained while in exile, all in the name of a free and democratic South Africa.