A History of South Africa

Frank Walsh has made South African history compelling, from the early colonial period to the present day. Dense, but readable, the narrative style contributes greatly to the flow of events. Particularly enlightening is Walsh's method of including "mini-psycho-biography" as an aspect of character analysis. The Boer colonials are more alive than in any history I have previously read. Their foibles and human weaknesses are shown with sometimes tragic-comic insight. My understanding of the tribal situation has grown greatly from reading this book, so the present day Zulu-Bantu power struggles gain new meaning. Kruger, Malan, DeKlerk, Mandela, Biko, Buthalezi...are all here, along with the ghostly spectre of the all but extinct KhoiKhoi (Hottentots). Walsh has made Africa's pariah a thing of flesh and bone, in which we can see all of our humanity too well. Read this history if you wish to understand today's South Africa.