The rise and fall of apartheid – David Welsh

The Rise and Fall of Apartheid is a very balanced book about the era of apartheid in South Africa. What is very notable is that the book provides an overview of ‘both sides’, namely that of the African National Congress (ANC) as well as the National Party (NP). It also looks at the activities of political groups from all over the spectrum including the PAC, the PFP, the DA, the CP and the AWB. Most importantly, this is not another book about white politics. This is a book that leaves you with insights into the past of all the people of South Africa, and especially about their leaders.

There are many things that I liked about this book, but there are many things less enjoyable also. For me, the style of writing is quite boring. It is very academically written and not exactly Dickens or the like. But still the work is really very ‘informative’, as one observer described it.

To me the most annoying thing though, is the fact that it seems that the book gives you a lot as to the WHY, but less so as to the WHAT. And what I mean by that is that this work does not leave you with the feeling that you have experienced a great story. Rather it left me confused, much like the way South Africa as a country makes one feel in general.

But there are many details that the book do provide that I did not know, and for that I am happy. I would recommend this work, if only for the fact that it splendidly drives the point home that there were no ‘winners’ in South Africa. And that the policy apartheid failed because it was deemed to fail and because it was an artificial way of sorting a country. And more importantly, this book also showed once again that the supposed thick line between black and white in South Africa is not thick at all.