Father Patrick Noonan's book is a meticulously written and moving account of the events in and around the Vaal Triangle, leading up to the downfall of apartheid. Noonan's clear and unbiased historical record clarifies many misconceptions regarding these important events. They're Burning the Churches elucidates the Sharpeville Six Trial, the Delmas Treason Trial, the 1984 uprising that led to international sanctions against South Africa, the first-ever army invasions of the townships, as well as the Boipatong massacre.