The Last Afrikaner Leaders

Reconsiderations in Southern African History

by Hermann Giliomee

Respected historian Hermann Giliomee (author of The Afrikaners) takes a fresh and incisive look at five of the most influential Afrikaner leaders – and how and why their best laid plans went tragically and horrifically wrong. From H F Verwoerd – who ironically undermined apartheid irrevocably with his schools plan – via the pompous and imperial John Vorster, and the finger-wagging PW Botha to FW de Klerk with a detour for F Van Zyl Slabbert: each leader’s policies, reasoning and foibles are explored to great effect.

Who knew that Verwoerd based his thinking on erroneous population data, that PW Botha had a first stroke which was never revealed to the public but greatly compromised his judgement, or that the Rubicon debacle depended on a misunderstanding? Giliomee offers a fresh and stimulating political history which attempts not to condemn but to understand why and how these last Afrikaner leaders did what they did, and why their own policies ultimately failed them.

Genres: South Africa, History, Politics

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Glen Retief · Rating 3 out of 5]

The political perspective of this author bothered me. He seems to disapprove equally of apartheid and of the African National Congress, which he sees as Stalinist, corrupt, and power-hungry. This is to morally equate one of the past century's greatest crimes against humanity with the flaws of a slightly above-average postcolonial liberation movement with its fair share of corruption, fundamentalism, and authoritarianism, but also a democracy, pragmatism, and progressivism. The problems here are not equivalent, no? And his wish that some sort of "apartheid lite" had been successfully negotiated in the early 90s, with ethnic minority (especially white) constitutional vetoes, is palpable. This is nothing less than outrageous. My own view is that we white South Africans got quite enough in the political transition, by hanging onto our mostly ill-gotten wealth and land. But OK! Despite these problems, the book provides a fascinating, well-researched, accessible, and detailed window into Afrikaner political history from 1960 to 1994.

[ErnstG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soms is daar 'n boek wat van die skrywer se hele professionele loopbaan getuig. Prof Giliomee het deur hierdie jare gelewe, die politieke geskiedenis was sy ambag, hy het baie van die belangrike mense geken en met baie van die res gepraat, hy het al die koerante en boeke gelees, daaroor nagedink, en toe hierdie wonderlike boek geskryf. Daar sal seker nie beter kom nie. 'n Verdere plesier is die keurige Afrikaans van Anne-Marie Mischke.

Die vergelykings de Gaulle / Verwoerd, Brezjnef / Vorster en de Klerk / Gorbatjof.

David Welsh en Steven Friedman p 425 oor die wittes wat die ekonomie behou en die ANC wat die politiek gekry het.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, highly readable history of South Africa's troubled history and the demise in the power of the Afrikaner. Giliomee is a good historian writing about difficult and controversial subject matter. Recommend this for anyone who wants to better understand.

[Cornelius Blignaut · Rating 1 out of 5]

Toooo much statistics in the Verwoerd chapter, where I abandoned it. I assume this is how the rest of the book will be. This is probably necessary to make it complete or credible from a historical perspective, but I was interested in the big picture conclusions only.