Finalist for the Alan Paton Award
In his latest book, renowned historian Hermann Giliomee
challenges the conventional wisdom on the downfall of white rule
and the end of apartheid. Instead of impersonal forces, or the
resourcefulness of an indomitable resistance movement, he
emphasizes the role of Nationalist leaders and of their outspoken
critic Frederick van Zyl Slabbert. What motivated each of the last
Afrikaner leaders, from Verwoerd to de Klerk? How did each try to
reconcile economic growth, white privilege, and security with the
demands of an increasingly assertive black leadership and
unexpected population figures?
In exploring each leader's background, reasoning, and personal
foibles, Giliomee takes issue with the assumption that South Africa
was inexorably heading for an ANC victory in 1994. He argues that
historical accidents radically affected the course of politics.
Drawing on primary sources and personal interviews, Giliomee
offers a fresh and stimulating political history that attempts not
to condemn but to understand why the last Afrikaner leaders did
what they did, and why their own policies ultimately failed
them.
Reconsiderations in Southern African History
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