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

Russell, Alec

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0091926025 ISBN 13: 9780091926021

Publisher: Hutchinson, 2009

Synopsis

"A brisk, lively and vividly written portrait of post-apartheid South Africa" Peter Godwin, author of Mukiwa In the early 1990s, the African National Congress, led by Nelson Mandela, engaged in a historic and peaceful transition to power in South Africa. For some, the story of South Africa ended with that moment - the victory of the ANC over the bitter injustice of the apartheid regime, and Mandela's astonishing mission of reconciliation. Yet while the economy has grown steadily, as has a fledgling middle class, and black South Africans have attained positions of great wealth and power, rampant inequality still remains. Violence is endemic in the townships and in the major cities. Race relations are fraught as whites struggle to find their place in the new order. President Thabo Mbeki's denial of the AIDS epidemic has led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths and been morally and politically disastrous. Mbeki's failure to check the abuses of Robert Mugabe's dictatorship in Zimbabwe has tarnished South Africa's reputation abroad and baffled Mbeki's former friends. South Africa should be the continent's greatest hope, yet it stands at a crossroads as it faces its most serious test since the end of white rule. Uncertainty over its trajectory intensified with the election of Jacob Zuma, a charismatic populist who is embroiled in a corruption scandal, as Mandela's second successor as leader of the ANC, in 2007. This controversial choice unleashed turmoil within Africa's grandest liberation movement. Might it also signal the start of an unhappy new chapter in the post-apartheid story? The collapse of neighbouring Zimbabwe is a chilling example of how a revolutionary party can ossify in power and lose sight of its ideals. The journey from Mandela to Zuma is a political and moral epic, populated with extraordinary characters, and with the fate of South Africa at its core In this expertly researched and beautifully told account, award-winning journalist Alec Russell draws on his deep knowledge of South Africa and his relationships with its most important figures - Mbeki, Zuma, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and of course Mandela himself - to address the questions facing the nation. At a turbulent time for many African countries as they emerge into the second phase of the post-independence era, this book will have a wide appeal for Africa-watchers everywhere.

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.

From the Back Cover

South Africa is facing its most serious crisis since the end of white rule.

In the early 1990s, the African National Congress, led by Nelson Mandela, engaged in a historic and peaceful transition to power in South Africa. For some, the story of South Africa ended with that moment - the victory of the ANC over the bitter injustice of the apartheid regime, and Mandela's astonishing mission of reconciliation.

Yet while the economy has grown steadily, as has a fledgling middle class, and black South Africans have attained positions of great wealth and power, rampant inequality still remains. Violence is endemic in the townships and in the major cities. Race relations are fraught as whites struggle to find their place in the new order. President Thabo Mbeki's denial of the AIDS epidemic has led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths and been morally and politically disastrous. Mbeki's failure to check the abuses of Robert Mugabe's dictatorship in Zimbabwe has tarnished South Africa's reputation abroad and baffled Mbeki's former friends.

South Africa should be the continent's greatest hope, yet it stands at a crossroads as it faces its most serious test since the end of white rule. Uncertainty over its trajectory intensified with the election of Jacob Zuma, a charismatic populist who is embroiled in a corruption scandal, as Mandela's second successor as leader of the ANC, in 2007. This controversial choice unleashed turmoil within Africa's grandest liberation movement. Might it also signal the start of an unhappy new chapter in the post-apartheid story? The collapse of neighbouring Zimbabwe is a chilling example of how a revolutionary party can ossify in power and lose sight of its ideals. The journey from Mandela to Zuma is a political and moral epic, populated with extraordinary characters, and with the fate of South Africa at its core

In this expertly researched and beautifully told account, award-winning journalist Alec Russell draws on his deep knowledge of South Africa and his relationships with its most important figures - Mbeki, Zuma, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and of course Mandela himself - to address the questions facing the nation. At a turbulent time for many African countries as they emerge into the second phase of the post-independence era, this book will have a wide appeal for Africa-watchers everywhere.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hutchinson
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0091926025
• ISBN 13: 9780091926021
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336