by Allen Drury
First published 1967
Allen Drury spent two months traveling through South Africa after extensive preparation to understand the republic during apartheid. The Pulitzer Prize winning novelist approached his investigation without predetermined judgments or ready solutions. He conducted hundreds of interviews with citizens across racial lines and political positions. Prime Minister Verwoerd, Prime Minister Vorster, Helen Suzman, Chief Albert Luthuli, Alan Paton, Anton Rupert, Nadine Gordimer, Ian Robertson, and Sir de Villiers Graaff all speak in their own words. Drury presents White, Black, Indian, and Coloured South Africans as they described their experiences and perspectives. The country emerges as economically prosperous yet socially troubled, filled with people of all backgrounds hoping for peaceful solutions to severe racial problems. Drury avoids both harsh condemnation and defensive justification. His balanced reporting reveals South Africa's contradictions and complexities during this critical period.
Genres: 20th-century, political-science, social-issues, non-fiction, africa, american-history
Vibes: balanced, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: balanced-perspective, investigative-reporting
Setting: South Africa
Period: Apartheid Era
465 pages · Hardcover · Trident Press