History of South Africa: From 1902 to the Present

by Thula Simpson

South Africa was born in war, its growth has been marked by crises and ruptures, and it once again stands on a precipice.

            History of South Africa explores the country’s tumultuous journey from the aftermath of the Second Anglo-Boer War to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on never-before-published documentary evidence – including diaries, letters, eyewitness testimony and diplomatic reports – the book follows the South African people through the battles, elections, repression, resistance, strikes, insurrections, massacres, economic crashes and health crises that have shaped the nation’s character.

            Tracking South Africa’s path from colony to Union and from apartheid to democracy, History of South Africa documents the influence of key figures including Pixley Seme, Jan Smuts, Lilian Ngoyi, H.F. Verwoerd, Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko, P.W. Botha, Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa. The book gives detailed accounts of definitive events such as the 1922 Rand Revolt, the Defiance Campaign, Sharpeville, the Soweto uprising and the Marikana massacre. Looking beyond the country’s borders, it sheds light on the role of people such as Mohandas Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Fidel Castro and Margaret Thatcher, and unpacks military conflicts such as the World Wars, the armed struggle and the Border War. The book explores the transition to democracy and traces the phases of ANC rule, from the Rainbow Nation to transformation, state capture to ‘New Dawn’. It examines the divisive and unifying role of sport, the ups and downs of the economy, and the impact of pandemics from the Spanish flu to AIDS and COVID-19.

            With South Africa currently facing a crisis as severe as any in its history, the book shows that these challenges are neither unprecedented nor insurmountable, and that there are principles to be found in history that may lead us safely into the future.

Genres: History, Africa, Nonfiction, South Africa, Historical

448 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2021

Reviews

[Khanya Cakata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simpson offers an altogether page turning account of the complicated recent history of South Africa with a simultaneous clinically academically referenced precision and a rich story telling narrative. Chapter after chapter he lays out the facts while painting useful anecdotes that challenges the reader to questions his/her own understanding for why South Africa is what and were it is. This is a deeply impressive piece of work, timely and should be in anyone’s personal library who purports to be interested in knowledge and history.

[Caitlin McGregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr Simpson was my history professor last year. He writes the same way he lectures - brilliantly.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent review of the history of South Africa from 1902 onwards, a topic that is neither easy or straightforward to discuss.

[Francesco · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to go through this brilliant scholarly work on the history of South Africa from the final moments of the Boer wars in 1902 to the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2022. Not because it is not engaging, rather because of its length and richness in details. But, motivated by a few visits to the country in the last months, I managed to get through. The focus is very much on politics and the contentious political environments that shaped South Africa until the present. Less is said about the economic and cultural history of the country. An emerging theme, among many, is the political brutality and fractious politics of the country, which has not found an end with the end of apartheid. Violence and brutality among competing political factions, labor strikes, corruption, failing governance persevere across the recent decades casting a heavy shadow on the future of the country.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite its title, this is largely a political history of South Africa. There’s little material on how the country’s economy, culture or demographics have changed, for instance.

I found the book interesting but heavy going. Simpson provides considerable detail on political developments, especially following the imposition of apartheid. This was useful, but often lacked context due to the limited discussion of other aspects of South African history. The book ends very abruptly halfway through a discussion of the Covid pandemic - a concluding chapter discussing trends in South African history would have been very helpful.

[Jbondandrews]

DNF
I had found this book on the Guardian and I wanted to enjoy it but I did not find it engaging. The author seemed to want to present the history of South Africa without any background information or to seriously delve into the personalities of the people in this book.