History of South Africa

From Publishers Weekly
This magisterial history throws a floodlight on South Africa's current crisis by examining the past. The absurdity of the apartheid philosophy of racial separatism is underscored by the author's argument (backed with convincing research material) that the genes of the nation's first hunter-gatherers are inextricably mixed with those of modern blacks and whites. The Dutch colonial invaders felt no sense of kinship with the original inhabitants, however: their arrival brought slavery and disease, pulverizing chiefdoms and pastoral communities. From the outset, white settler society was dependent on the labor of slaves and indigenous peoples. Thompson, a specialist in South African history, expertly relates how the Afrikaners--still poor, scattered and disunited in 1854--threw off Dutch and British hegemony to forge their own national identity, forcibly uprooting and relocating millions of blacks. Although the author deems president Frederik W. de Klerk ``like his predecessors . . . wedded to fixed racial categories,'' he sees signs of hope in blacks' increasing economic power and the student revolt against pedagogical brainwashing in the state-controlled schools. Copyright 1990 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA-- A penetrative probe into South Africa's memorable history. Beginning with the earliest aborigines of the area and concluding with the up-to-date happenings, Thompson examines primarily the encounters of blacks. The text is basic for any reader who wishes to comprehend the historical patterns that preface the struggles that seethe and boil in this country. A careful, reliable book for student research. --Mike Printz, Topeka West High School, KSCopyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Thompson has produced an excellent overview of South African history which reflects the most current trends in scholarship. Written for the general reader, it emphasizes political history, especially as related to the development of race relations. Unlike Illustrated History of South Africa, edited by Dougie Oakes ( LJ 4/15/89), which includes social and cultural aspects and is formatted like a textbook, Thompson's succinct book reads more like an interpretive essay designed to highlight those themes most important for an understanding of the problems facing South Africa. Given Thompson's importance in the field (he is director of Yale's Southern African Research Program), this work is recommended for most libraries. Paul H. Thomas, Hoover Inst. Lib., Stanford, Cal.Copyright 1990 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Lorna Hahn, New York Times Book Review
"An admirably objective history of South Africa . . . [that] will be most useful in contemplating the country's future."


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Leonard Thompson is Charles J. Still￯﾿ﾽ Professor of History Emeritus at Yale University and director of the former Yale Southern African Research Program. He has written and edited many books, including The Political Mythology of Apartheid, The Frontier in History (with Howard Lamar), and South African Politics (with Andrew Prior), all published by Yale University Press.


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