BLACK like You is the story of entrepreneur Herman Mashaba, who takes the reader on a journey from his early years growing up in the GaRamotse township in Hammanskraal, through his wild youth to his recent business life.

Mashaba, against all odds, has excelled at business with, most famously, his cosmetics company Black Like Me.

He relates growing up with his siblings while his mother worked as a domestic worker - "the bleak fate of many talented black women during the apartheid era".

It might have been a tough childhood, but Mashaba looks back at his childhood with increasing affection as he ages. "The warmth and intimacy my family enjoyed casts a glow on my memories."

The story of his journey should be an inspiring read for both black and white young South Africans. But the book, by ghost writer Isabella Morris, feels distant and removed from the man himself. In person, he exudes a warmth, passion and enthusiasm not reflected in the writing.

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