An innovative examination of the forces - both destructive and dynamic - which have shaped twentieth-century South Africa. This book provides a stimulating introduction to the history of South Africa in the twentieth century. It draws on the rich and lively tradition of radical history writing on
that country and, to a greater extent than previous accounts, weaves economic and cultural history into the political narrative.
Apartheid and industrialization, especially mining, are central theme, as is the rise of nationalism in the Afrikaner and African communities. But the author also
emphasizes the neglected significance of rural experiences and local identities in shaping political consciousness.
The roles played by such key figure as Smuts, Verwoerd, de Klerk, Plaatje, and Mandela are explored, while recent historiographical trends are reflected in analyses of rural
protest, white cultural politics, the vitality of black urban life, and environmental decay.
The book assesses the analysis of black reactions to apartheid, the rise of the ANC. The concluding chapter brings this seminal history up-to-date, tackling the issues and events from 1994-1999 - in
particular the success of Mandela and the ANC in seeing through the end of apartheid rule. It also looks at the chances of a stable future for the new-found democracy in South Africa.
Part I: A State without a Nation
1. African Rural Life and Migrant Labour
2. Economic and Social Change on the Settler Farmlands
3. War, Reconstruction, and the State from the 1890s to 1920s
4. Black Responses and Black Resistance
5. The Settler State in Depression and
War, 1930-1948
Part II: Afrikaner Power and the Rise of Mass
6. Apartheid, 1948-1961
7. Economy and Society in the 1960s and 1970s
8. Farms, Homelands, and Displaced Urbanization 1960-1984
9. Black Political Struggles and the Reform Era of P.W. Botha 1973-1984
10.
Insurrection, Fragmentation, and Negotiations 1984-1992
Part III: TBC
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William Beinart is Professor of History, and Fellow of St Anthony's College, Oxford. He has taught at Bristol, and studied at the University of Cape Town and the School of Oriental and African Studies, Londond. and Has held reseach fellowships at Rhodes and Yale Universities. He was joint
editor of the Journal of Southern African Studies from 1982 to 1987, and has been chair of its editorial board since 1992.
Writing History - William Kelleher Storey and Towser Jones
