A Rainbow in the Night: The Tumultuous Birth of South Africa

It is not much use learning history if we do not also feel the sensation and emotions of the protagonists at the time they enter history. For this reason, it is never easy writing history. Detailed academic accounts tend to be cold and uninspiring. On the other hand, the ones that sensationalize are often inaccurate. Dominique Lapierre's account covers almost four centuries of the history of South Africa - from the time Van Riebeeck landed there to grow lettuce to the handing over of the reigns of power by de Klerk to Mandela. In a fast moving, yet seamless account he showed that man's oppressive nature can be contained and overcome only by the spirit of man. This book is probably the best for the reader who has heard about apartheid but does not know how it started or how it ended, and more importantly, what went on under its policies. This book is for the reader who has heard about Nelson Mandela but is not sure why this man is great. This book is for the reader who believes that the human spirit is strong but not am not quite sure how strong it can be.

Mr. Lapierre relates the history of South Africa from 1652 when Dutchman Jan van Riebeeck lands in the Cape to plant lettuce to 1994 when Nelson Mandela becomes South Africa's first black president. There are great hardships and great triumphs described and the perseverance of the African people is remarkable and commendable. Mr. Lapierre states in his bibliography that he "wanted to recount, as accurately as possible, a fabulous human epic" which I find he does very well. I admit that I didn't know much about South Africa's history and after reading Mr. Lapierre's historical account have been awakened to the devastation that apartheid had caused for the South African people. The book contains informative and moving images and the appendices contain a short summary of what each noted person is doing today, some excerpts of the seventeen hundred laws and measures instituted by apartheid legislators, a chronology, a glossary, a bibliography, an explanation and some information on charitable organizations, image credits, acknowledgments and a very thorough index. I commend Mr. Lapierre's hard work in researching and writing this book and his humanitarian efforts to help destitute children in India, Africa, and South America to where half of the royalties of this book are donated. Thank you to Mr. Lapierre and De Capo Press for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

I have to admit, I didn't know much about Africa's history. This book has made a huge impact on me and I ached for the people of Africa and what they had to endure the apartheid. There are a few pages of photos included in the book which I think was a great addition. Although the subject matter was at times very difficult to read, I'm glad I finished it. There was also a great deal of other information that I found very interesting. I loved reading about the day to day lives of the people. My favorite was Chris Barnard. I was amazed by his carreer and also loved reading about his family life. I thought this would read like a text book, but I was wrong. It's like reading fiction, and it's hard to put down. It's a book I think everyone needs to read this, especially those of us who really don't know much about the history of Africa.