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The History of South Africa
Roger B. Beck
ISBN: 0-313-36089-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-36089-3
280 pages
Greenwood Press
Publication: 10/30/2008
List Price: $25.00 (UK Sterling Price: £17.95)
Availability: Print on demand
Media Type: Paperback
Also Available: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • This concise narrative history of South Africa from the Stone Age to the present is nuanced, accessible, and clearly written....this book provides a solid overview of South African history and is recommended for undergraduate and general audiences.
    —CHOICE     00/00/00
  • [a] solid job of treading familiar territory, and offer excellent coverage of some of the political dynamics of the 1990s....[s]uccessfully narrates the key moments in the past and does a particularly fine job of the 1980s and 1990s....[w]ould also work well as an introductory text to South African history for students outside South Africa who would be unfamiliar with the larger narrative sketched here.
    —International Journal of African Historical Studies     00/00/00
  • Roger Beck has done a good job of an introductory text on South Africa....Professor Beck brings together a fair wealth of information and detail with ease and writes with fluency and authority, making his History of South Africa a clear and easy read.
    —H-Net Book Review     00/00/00
  • ...excellent overview of South African history for students who have little or no previous knowledge of the region....The History of South Africa will be a welcome addition to the reading lists of courses dealing with South Africa.
    —History Reviews of New Books     00/00/00
  • This work is recommended for most libraries, but especially school, college, and public libraries.
    —ARBA     4/1905
Description: To quote the title of Nelson Mandela's 1994 autobiography, it has been a long walk to freedom. The history of South Africa, one of the oldest inhabited places on earth, is also the story of one of the newest nations, made and remade over the last century. This compellingly written history of South Africa, from prehistoric times through 1999, is the only up-to-date history of the nation. Beginning with an overview of the modern nation, this narrative history traces South Africa from prehistory through the European invasions, the settlement by the Dutch, the imposition of British rule, the many internecine wars for control of the nation, the institution of apartheid, and, finally, freedom for all South Africans in 1994 and the Mandela years 1994-1999.

Twin themes of colonial rule and racism intertwine over the course of the last three hundred and fifty years. Beck, a specialist in the history of South Africa, illuminates the conflicts, personalities, and tragedies of South African history over this period, culminating in the end of apartheid in 1994, the release from prison of Nelson Mandela, and his formation of a new government. Brief sketches of key people in the history of South Africa, a glossary of terms, maps, and a bibliographic essay of suggested reading complete the work. Every library should update its resources on South Africa with this engagingly written and authoritative history.
Table of Contents:
  • Series Foreword by Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling
    Preface
    South Africa Today
    The First South Africans, 4 Million B.C.E.-1488 C.E.
    European Invasion, 1488-1795
    The British and the Cape Colony, 1795-1870
    African States, Afrikaner Republics, and British Imperialism, 1770-1870
    The British Imperial Age, 1870-1910
    White Union and Black Segregation: Preparing for Apartheid, 1910-1948
    The Apartheid Years, 1948-1973
    The Final Years of White Domination, 1973-1994
    The Mandela Years, 1994-1999
    Notable People in the History of South Africa
    Bibliographic Essay
    Index
About the Author: Roger B. Beck is Professor of African and World History at Eastern Illinois University. He has published widely on South African history and is coauthor of World History, Patterns of Interaction.
LCC Class: 968
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