Robert Ross (2) (1949–)

Read this short book prior to my first trip to South Africa. While dense, the author covers a lot of ground. The book heavily emphasizes the last one hundred years, which takes up about half of the book. The author is at his best in covering traditional political history - the creation of laws, state actions, elections, etc. There was some coverage of economic history (e.g. land/agricultural matters, the impact of mining etc) and a touch of cultural history. The further reading section at show more the end of the book is quite extensive with a strong focus on non-fiction. show less

I read this book in its Dutch translation. it gives a good overview of the history of South Africa and helps to understand the present of the rainbow nation. Robert Ross is a scholar and historian and he analyses in a very thorough way the hypocrisie of the racism in the Apartheid system that ruled South Africa till the nineties.

A sound introduction to twentieth century South African history but lacks depth on the early colonial period and is sketchy about pre-colonial culture.

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