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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Biased, but great, 11 Nov 2004
In this fascinating book, author and journalist Allister Sparks takes us inside South Africa, ten years after the miraculous end of Apartheid. Though many inside the African National Congress (ANC) expected that this would be the beginning of their "Happily Ever After," South Africa continues to face many challenges, many of which they did not expect. But, this is not a doom-and-gloom, pseudo-exposé of South Africa, instead it is a hopeful look at a country in transition - facing daunting problems, but moving towards a brighter tomorrow. Now, what can I say about this book? First of all, I was quite saddened that the author brought along a bag full of biases to his analysis. He has an orthodox Leftist viewpoint which he spills out all over the book. For example, in his view all of South Africa's problems are either holdovers from the Apartheid era, or are caused by outside factors over which the ANC has no control. But, if you bear in mind that the author is a journalist, rather than an objective sociologist, you can let yourself ignore his analysis, and get down to the real strength of the book - the author's penetrating report on the state of South Africa today. The author does an excellent job of looking at the political and social changes that are redefining South Africa, and explaining them in a clear and easy to read manner. It is hard to find resources that discuss modern, post-Apartheid South Africa, but this is one that is really great! So, if you want to know what South Africa is like today, ten years after Apartheid, then this is a great book to start with.
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