In 1652 a small group of Dutch farmers landed on the southernmost tip of Africa. Sent by the powerful Dutch India Company, their mission was simply to grow vegetables and supply ships rounding the cape. The colonists, however, were convinced by their strict Calvinist faith that they were among God s Elect, chosen to rule over the continent. Their saga bloody, ferocious, and fervent would culminate three centuries later in one of the greatest tragedies of history: the establishment of a racist regime in which a white minority would subjugate and victimize millions of blacks. Called apartheid, it was a poisonous system that would only end with the liberation from prison of one of the moral giants of our time, Nelson Mandela.
A Rainbow in the Night is Dominique Lapierre s epic account of South Africa s tragic history and the heroic men and women famous and obscure, white and black, European and African who have, with their blood and tears, brought to life the country that is today known as the Rainbow Nation.
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Author and philanthropist Lapierre (A Thousand Suns, The City of Joy) offers a harrowing overview of South African history, from Jan Van Riebeeck's first Dutch farming settlement to the presidential election of Nelson Mandela, including the founding of The Orange Free State and the Transvaal, the Boer war, the rise and fall of Apartheid, and more. Beginning with the arrival of Europeons in the late 17th century, Lapierre charts their subsequent Great Trek into the veld, their conviction that God had ordained them to found a new nation; and the martial clashes with Zulus that cemented their belief in white supremacy. Lapierre also recalls the heroes who triumphed over Apartheid: Helen Lieberman, who risked her life to establish health services and education in black ghettos; Christiaan Barnard, the surgeon who dared implant a "colored heart" in a white patient; and the residents of integrated neighborhoods like District Six, "an oasis of tolerance." Lapierre's biases and some suspect framing ("in a few rare instances, I have taken some liberty with the chronology") can render him untrustworthy: for instance, does "white oppression" really account for the Zulus' massacre of 60 unarmed, outnumbered Boers? Ultimately, this dramatic read, based on "extensive personal research," is absorbing but agenda-driven history. 60 b&w photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
For those new to the history of South Africa, this is a highly readable, detailed overview. Beginning with the Europeans’ “discovery” of the Cape, their displacement of the native population, and the establishment of the vicious apartheid law in the name of Christianity, Lapierre then goes on to talk about the rise of the African National Congress and the resistance, leading finally to the release of Nelson Mandela after 27 years in prison and the democratic election that made him president of a multiracial country. Originally published in France, the clear, exciting narrative reads like fiction, even including thoughts and feelings of various leaders; unfortunately, though, except for Mandela’s autobiography, there are few source notes (even for direct quotes), only a long bibliography. And there’s little about the continuing inequality in South Africa. But even for those who know the history, Lapierre’s presentation of the horrific facts of official racism is riveting, especially relating to the breakup of families by the laws of a police state in which blacks were regarded as foreigners in their own land. --Hazel Rochman
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rainbow in the Night,
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This review is from: A Rainbow in the Night: The Tumultuous Birth of South Africa (Hardcover)
This is a wonderful book, chronicling apartheid from its start in the 1800's when a group of Dutch zealots seized the area as their "right" thru modern times and the demise of apartheid in the 1990's. It covers the early wars between the blacks and the Dutch, the different tribes of blacks against each other, and the conflict between the later-arriving British and the Dutch. It then builds up the segregation of the blacks building up to apartheid. It covers: The abhorrent treatment of the blacks, the labeling of various types as to race, their segregation into their own townships, the segregation of blacks from "coloreds" (people of mixed race, or Indians) including separation of families because of black vs colored; the declaration that Afrikaans is the official language; the building of a resistance and the various resistance groups; the imprisonment of Mandela and others; the student protest in 1976 and violent reaction by the whites; finally with the freeing of Mandela and the end of apartheid.
The book is quite thorough and writing is excellent. There is one thing that threw me off for a while and that is that it is not written linearly with respect to time, so you have to pay attention to the years that you are reading about. None the less, it's a hard book to put down.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
History of South Africa,
By
This review is from: A Rainbow in the Night: The Tumultuous Birth of South Africa (Hardcover)
Mr. Lapierre relates the history of South Africa from 1652 when Dutchman Jan van Riebeeck lands in the Cape to plant lettuce to 1994 when Nelson Mandela becomes South Africa's first black president. There are great hardships and great triumphs described and the perseverance of the African people is remarkable and commendable. Mr. Lapierre states in his bibliography that he "wanted to recount, as accurately as possible, a fabulous human epic" which I find he does very well. I admit that I didn't know much about South Africa's history and after reading Mr. Lapierre's historical account have been awakened to the devastation that apartheid had caused for the South African people.
The book contains informative and moving images and the appendices contain a short summary of what each noted person is doing today, some excerpts of the seventeen hundred laws and measures instituted by apartheid legislators, a chronology, a glossary, a bibliography, an explanation and some information on charitable organizations, image credits, acknowledgments and a very thorough index. I commend Mr. Lapierre's hard work in researching and writing this book and his humanitarian efforts to help destitute children in India, Africa, and South America to where half of the royalties of this book are donated. Thank you to Mr. Lapierre and De Capo Press for giving me the opportunity to review this book.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Colours everywhere,
By Hande Z (Singapore) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Rainbow in the Night: The Tumultuous Birth of South Africa (Hardcover)
It is not much use learning history if we do not also feel the sensation and emotions of the protagonists at the time they enter history. For this reason, it is never easy writing history. Detailed academic accounts tend to be cold and uninspiring. On the other hand, the ones that sensationalize are often inaccurate. Dominique Lapierre's account covers almost four centuries of the history of South Africa - from the time Van Riebeeck landed there to grow lettuce to the handing over of the reigns of power by de Klerk to Mandela. In a fast moving, yet seamless account he showed that man's oppressive nature can be contained and overcome only by the spirit of man. This book is probably the best for the reader who has heard about apartheid but does not know how it started or how it ended, and more importantly, what went on under its policies. This book is for the reader who has heard about Nelson Mandela but is not sure why this man is great. This book is for the reader who believes that the human spirit is strong but not am not quite sure how strong it can be.
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