A fresh and penetrating exploration of South Africa's history, from the earliest known human inhabitation of the region to the present "I did not think it was possible for a white person to write a history of South Africa which a black South African would find to be a fair and accurate account of a beautiful land and its people. Leonard Thompson has disabused me of that notion. His is a history that is both accurate and authentic, written in a delightful literary style."--Archbishop Desmond Tutu The Fourth Edition of this classic text brings South Africa's history up to date with a new chapter chronicling the first presidential term of Mbeki and ending with the funeral of Nelson Mandela. "An admirably objective history of South Africa . . . [that] will be most useful in contemplating the country's future."--Lorna Hahn, New York Times Book Review "This is a work of insight and durability that is certain to assist South Africa's coming generation of nation-builders to reach a more objective understanding of their past."--Foreign Affairs "Concentrating on southern Africa's black inhabitants, rather than on its white minority, this work has received universal praise from scholars and activists alike."--Washington Post Book World "The text is basic for any reader who wishes to comprehend the historical patterns that preface the struggles that seethe and boil in this country. A careful, reliable book for student research."--School Library Journal