| Beyond the Miracle: Inside the New South Africa Contributor(s): Sparks, Allister (Author) |
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ISBN: 0226768597 ISBN-13: 9780226768595 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $19.80 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2009 Annotation: In "Beyond the Miracle," a distinguished South African journalist provides a wide-ranging and unflinching account of the first nine years of democratic government in South Africa. Covering both the new regime's proud achievements and its disappointing failures, Allister Sparks looks to South Africa's future, asking whether it can overcome its history and current global trends to create a truly nonracial, multicultural, and multiparty democracy. Sparks sees South Africa as facing many of the same challenges as the rest of the world, especially a widening gap between rich and poor, exacerbated by the forces of globalization. While the transition government has done much to establish democracy and racial equality in a short time, as well as bring basic services such as clean water to millions who did not have them before, many blacks feel it has not done enough to redress the continuing imbalance of wealth in the country. Many whites, meanwhile, feel disempowered and confused about what role they have to play as a racial minority in a country they used to rule and regard as theirs by divine right. Sparks also covers other burning issues, such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, high crime rates, the diamond wars, the Congo conflict, and the Zimbabwean land crisis. Writing vividly and often quite movingly, Sparks draws on his decades of journalistic experience and his recent insider access to key figures in the liberation government to take stock of where South Africa has been, where it's going, and why the rest of the world should not turn away from this country where the First and Third Worlds meet. As Sparks persuasively argues, the success of Mandela's vision of a peaceful "rainbownation" is crucial not just for the salvation of Africa, but also for the world. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Africa - South - Republic Of South Africa |
| Dewey: 968.065 |
| Physical Information: 1" H x 6" W x 8.9" (1.20 lbs) 408 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Southern Africa - Chronological Period - 1990's - Chronological Period - 21st Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In Beyond the Miracle, a distinguished South African journalist provides a wide-ranging and unflinching account of the first nine years of democratic government in South Africa. Covering both the new regime's proud achievements and its disappointing failures, Allister Sparks looks to South Africa's future, asking whether it can overcome its history and current global trends to create a truly nonracial, multicultural, and multiparty democracy. Sparks sees South Africa as facing many of the same challenges as the rest of the world, especially a widening gap between rich and poor, exacerbated by the forces of globalization. While the transition government has done much to establish democracy and racial equality in a short time, as well as bring basic services such as clean water to millions who did not have them before, many blacks feel it has not done enough to redress the continuing imbalance of wealth in the country. Many whites, meanwhile, feel disempowered and confused about what role they have to play as a racial minority in a country they used to rule and regard as theirs by divine right. Sparks also covers other burning issues, such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, high crime rates, the diamond wars, the Congo conflict, and the Zimbabwean land crisis. Writing vividly and often quite movingly, Sparks draws on his decades of journalistic experience and his recent insider access to key figures in the liberation government to take stock of where South Africa has been, where it's going, and why the rest of the world should not turn away from this country where the First and Third Worlds meet. As Sparks persuasively argues, the success of Mandela's vision of a peaceful rainbow nation is crucial not just for the salvation of Africa, but also for the world. "Sparks, a grandfather of South African journalism, has fired one of the first volleys in the 10-year assessment. . . . It is an even-handed work, almost encyclopedic in its breadth. Sparks traverses all the important political terrain."--Mail & Guardian "It is as good a guide to the new South Africa as any."--Economist |
Contributor Bio(s): Sparks, Allister: - Allister Sparks(1933-2016) was a prominent South African journalist who, over the course of fifty years, challenged the system ofapartheid and criticized the South African government. In 1977 he reported that Steve Biko had been beaten to death by the police. He wasthe editor of the Sunday Express and the Rand Daily Mail, as well as South Africa correspondent for the Washington Post, Observer, Economist, and Holland s NRC Handelsblad. In 1996 the Media Institute of Southern Africa presented Allister Sparks with its Press Freedom Award. |