After Mandela: The Battle for the Soul of South Africa - Softcover

Russell, Alec

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099534029 ISBN 13: 9780099534020

Publisher: Windmill Books, 2010

Synopsis

The definitive book on post-apartheid South Africa from an award-winning journalist

When Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress declared victory over the bitter injustice of apartheid, some thought South Africa's future was assured. But despite Mandela's mission of reconciliation, rampant inequality remains; race relations are uneasy, violence is endemic and many in the ANC appear to have lost sight of the liberation ideals. With the election in 2009 of Jacob Zuma, a charismatic populist embroiled in scandal, uncertainty over the trajectory of the nation has only intensified.

South Africa now stands at a crossroads, and award-winning journalist Alec Russell draws on his deep knowledge of the country to tell us how it got there and to give us a compelling account, revised and updated for this edition, of the journey from Mandela to Zuma.

About this title

About the Author

Alec Russell is World News Editor of the Financial Times and was formerly their Johannesburg bureau chief. He has been a foreign correspondent since arriving in Romania aged 23, ten days after the 1989 Christmas Revolution, to start his career in journalism. He previously covered the wars in the former Yugoslavia and the end of apartheid for the Daily Telegraph, where he was Foreign Editor from 2001 to 2003. He has won several prizes and commendations in the annual British Press Awards. His writing from southern Africa earned him a prestigious award for the best published feature on Africa in 2007. He is the author of two previous books, and lives in London.

Review

"This is the book we have all been waiting for - the book that takes us beyond the easy assumptions and lazy comfort of the Mandela era and into what Alec Russell calls the second struggle. Eloquently he shows how transforming the magic of freedom into a nuts-and-bolts change in the lives of ordinary people is turning out to be far more difficult than anyone could have imagined. The strength and power of Russell's book lies not just in the big - and often disturbing - conclusions he has reached but in the little details that have got him to that point. This is not a book written from afar...After Mandela could only have been written by a man who actually cares about what happens to the people he has met on his journey through South Africa's recent history." -- George Alagiah "Exciting contemporary history, a must for anyone concerned with what is happening now. Scathing in his criticism of newly rich magnates, he also exposes the two-faced liberals" * Booklist * "Gripping, lively and immensely readable" -- David Blair * Daily Telegraph * "An informative, nuanced, and provocative end-of-era report ... Layered with anecdote, historical background and close scrutiny of recent events ... After Mandela is a valuable contribution to the debate about the future of the rainbow nation. Alec Russell has looked at the country with a sympathetic and knowledgeable eye and he leaves his reader with a deep understanding of the challenges to come." -- Gillian Slovo * Financial Times * "Russell does not pull punches in describing the widespread disillusionment ... but he does seek to put the ruling party's shortcomings in context" * Observer *

Edition details

• Publisher: Windmill Books
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0099534029
• ISBN 13: 9780099534020
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352