A History of South Africa, Third Edition
by Leonard Thompson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Leonard ThompsonEdition: Paperback
Published: 2001-03-01
ISBN: 0300087764
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Yale University Press
Book Reviews of A History of South Africa, Third Edition
Book Review: Excellent Summary of SA History
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book just before my month long tour of S. Africa. For what it is, which is a quick summary of the entire history of the region that is now called South Africa, this book excelled. Nearly everything I saw around me on my trip had meaning and history because I read this book. When people talked about Bantu people or Xhosa or Zulu, I knew what people they were talking about and a little about them because of this book. When I visited Robben Island or Soweto, it meant more to me. When I saw a huge pile of gold colored dirt in Johannesburg, I knew what it was. And a million more examples, all because of this book.
However, the reviewer "Book Nut" who gave it only two (2!) stars does have some valid points: there are some details that were not mentioned that were worth mentioning, and sometimes this can be construed as a lack of objectivity. One the other hand, how could it be done any other way? It was, after all, written by a human, not a robot, and there is, after all, a limit as to how many words you can fit into 384 pages. I'm also in partial agreement with Book Nut about the last chapter, which is about the post-apartheid gov't since 1994: it is not pessimistic nor is it racist to say that the gov't since 1994 has had some serious shortcomings, and in some areas has been truly awful. However, I'd take the operational shortcomings of the current government over the oppression of the previous one any day, even if the shortcomings were much worse than they are. Besides, you try forming a gov't from scratch! They have done very well with what they had to work with. ...I'd bet lots of money that Book Nut is a white South African who is old enough that he or she remembers how life was for him or her SELF under apartheid, and thus we should take what he or she says about this book with a grain of salt (we all need a bit more balance).
The history of South Africa is very exciting and emotional; even more so because it is so recent and "on-going." If you don't really know much of anything about South Africa, I highly suggest reading this book. I don't know of a better first book on the subject. For an excellent source of current information about South Africa, read The Mail & Guardian, a famous weekly newspaper (they also have a website) that engages in real investigative journalism.
Summary of A History of South Africa, Third Edition
A leading scholar of South Africa provides a fresh and penetrating exploration of that country's history, from the earliest known human inhabitation of the region to the present, focusing primarily on the experiences of its black inhabitants. For this third edition, Leonard Thompson adds two new chapters that describe the transfer of power and the new South Africa under the presidencies of Nelson Mandela and Thabo MbekiGeneral Books
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