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Apartheid: The History of Apartheid: Race vs. Reason - South Africa from 1948 - 1994
The one thing that looms largest in South Africa's future is South Africa's past – most especially the nearly five decades of division and conflict at the heart of one of the twentieth century's most infamous social experiments.
Apartheid, An Illustrated History is a portrait of the defining experience of modern South Africa's transition from colonial state to democracy. What began in May 1948 as a vague, grimly ambitious project to interrupt history and engineer white supremacy at the expense of the country's black majority spawned forty-six years of repressive authoritarianism and bitter resistance which claimed the lives of thousands and pushed the country to the brink of civil conflict.
A provocative postscript examines apartheid's stubborn afterlife in the years since 1994, suggesting that the optimism and democratic vitality of the constitutional state hinge on South Africans avoiding simplistic views of the past that might lend themselves to demagoguery. For all its catastrophic and lingering effects, the book concludes, apartheid was disarmed, ultimately, by the society's much longer history of inseparability.
Apartheid, An Illustrated History is a portrait of the defining experience of modern South Africa's transition from colonial state to democracy. What began in May 1948 as a vague, grimly ambitious project to interrupt history and engineer white supremacy at the expense of the country's black majority spawned forty-six years of repressive authoritarianism and bitter resistance which claimed the lives of thousands and pushed the country to the brink of civil conflict.
A provocative postscript examines apartheid's stubborn afterlife in the years since 1994, suggesting that the optimism and democratic vitality of the constitutional state hinge on South Africans avoiding simplistic views of the past that might lend themselves to demagoguery. For all its catastrophic and lingering effects, the book concludes, apartheid was disarmed, ultimately, by the society's much longer history of inseparability.
- GenresHistory
210 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 1, 2025
This really helped me develop a decent foundation of knowledge on apartheid, especially coming from knowing so little.
I gave it 4 stars because its literally just scoped to the apartheid years, and it just drops you in there, I had to read a couple articles to catch myself up on the Boer Wars for example.
But still, its a great book, good pacing, and engrossing. Like I was really hooked on a book about apartheid for a good couple weeks.
Some things that Im marinating on:
• Before reading the book, I had assumed that Apartheid had always been the governing system in SA. I learned that although not technically, I wasnt far off. They had already been oppressing black people, this was just an intensifying of that.
• The nationalist party made the African national congress accept PRIVATE PROPERTY and FREE MARKET ECONOMY in exchange for their HUMANITY. That absolutely stinks of the US meddling
• The Nationalist Party kept winning elections as long as the economy was good. That tracks.
• Obviously dismantling the apartheid system didnt really make a dent in wealth inequality because the wealthy Afrikaners gof to keep their money smh.
• I gotta read Mandelas autobiography ASAP
I gave it 4 stars because its literally just scoped to the apartheid years, and it just drops you in there, I had to read a couple articles to catch myself up on the Boer Wars for example.
But still, its a great book, good pacing, and engrossing. Like I was really hooked on a book about apartheid for a good couple weeks.
Some things that Im marinating on:
• Before reading the book, I had assumed that Apartheid had always been the governing system in SA. I learned that although not technically, I wasnt far off. They had already been oppressing black people, this was just an intensifying of that.
• The nationalist party made the African national congress accept PRIVATE PROPERTY and FREE MARKET ECONOMY in exchange for their HUMANITY. That absolutely stinks of the US meddling
• The Nationalist Party kept winning elections as long as the economy was good. That tracks.
• Obviously dismantling the apartheid system didnt really make a dent in wealth inequality because the wealthy Afrikaners gof to keep their money smh.
• I gotta read Mandelas autobiography ASAP
April 12, 2026
You need to have been there to really understand what the author is talking about but very good
August 31, 2012
A clearly written, illuminating account of the apartheid years, richly illustrated with wonderful photos.
June 27, 2013
its tough to pick this up and read it without knowing anything else about this period of time
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews