With a Preface reviewing some of the debates prompted by the earlier edition of this book.

Terence Ranger described ths book as a '...landmark in the historiography of southern Africa.' The book is an exercise in historical retrieval, focussed on a series of forgotten episodes in South Africa's history that were neglected in subsequent historical writing. North America: University of California Press

What have been the most significant developments-political, social, economic-in South Africa since 1994? How much has changed since the demise of apartheid, and how much remains stubbornly the same? Should one celebrate a robust democracy now two decades old, or lament the corrosive effects of factionalism, greed, and corruption on political life? Colin Bundy tries to answer such questions, while avoiding simplistic or one-sided assessments of life under Mandela, Mbeki, and Zuma. He recognizes real advances under ANC rule but also identifies the limits and contradictions of such progress....