Apartheid, 1948-1994 (Oxford Histories) 1st Edition by Saul Dubow (Oxford University Press)

This book is an excellent survey of white domination and black resistance in Apartheid South Africa (1948-94). The book does a great job of balancing nuanced detail with "big picture" analysis (including international politics). Thankfully, the author avoids the trap of "ANC Triumphalism" -- the assumption that the ANC had a near-monopoly on liberation politics and was destined to lead South Africa to freedom -- by including long sections on the PAC, Black Consciousness. labor unions, white activists, liberation theology, and the UDF. The writing is crystal-clear; the overall tone is balanced and non-polemical. Bottom line: "Apartheid" is part of a growing scholarly trend to treat Apartheid as history rather than morality play. The book is a pleasure to read and definitely one to keep. I took off one star only because the book assumes a fair amount of knowledge of South African history, culture and geography. Readers coming to the subject for the very first time might be lost.

Apartheid 1948-1994 is relevant for a broad audience. * Melanie Boehi, H-Soz-Kult * Dubow's history emphasizes ideas and contexts, from global realities like the Cold War to philosophical, theological, and theoretical debates. It is a superb, easily readable, book that offers a comprehensive historical overview and nuanced analysis. * Fran Buntman, American Historical Review * As a lecturer on modern South African history, I will find this book extremely valuable. It provides a strong, textured historical narrative and simultaneously engages critically in key conceptual debates. It is impressively up-to-date and draws on an immensely wide range of literature, much of which is helpfully laid out in a bibliographical annexure ... the book stands in any context as an important work of synthesis with a coherent, and sometimes controversial, set of arguments. 

About the Author
Saul Dubow is a Professor of African History at Queen Mary, University of London. Dubow previously taught at the University of Sussex. Born and brought up in Cape Town, he has degrees from the universities of Cape Town and Oxford. He has published widely on the development of racial segregation and apartheid in all its aspects: political, ideological, and intellectual. He has special interests in the history of race, ethnicity, and national identity, as well as imperialism, colonial science, and global circuits of knowledge. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Southern African Studies.