Tomorrow Is Another Country: The Inside Story of South Africa's Road to Change (Paperback)

~ Allister Sparks (Author) "WHEN FREDERIK WILLEM DE KLERK strode to the podium in South Africa's wood-panelled Chamber of Parliament at 11.15 on the morning of February 2, 1990,..." (more)
Key Phrases: evolutionary conversion, energy affairs, South Africa, National Party, Communist Party (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Between 1985 and 1988, Nelson Mandela, then a political prisoner, had secret meetings with South Africa's minister of justice, Hendrik Coetsee, to prepare for Mandela's eventual release. This is one of many revelations in South African journalist Sparks's momentous chronicle. He also details clandestine talks, from 1987 to 1990, between members of Mandela's African National Congress (ANC) and top leaders of the Broederbond, the primary think tank of the Afrikaner nationalist movement and an architect of apartheid. At these meetings, plans for a national coalition government were hammered out, as the Broederbond sought to come to terms with the country's black majority without losing political control. The author documents former president F.W. de Klerk's efforts to undermine Mandela after his release from prison in 1990 by building an anti-ANC alliance around Zulu leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Inkatha party. He presents compelling evidence that the government secretly funded Inkatha and sowed violence aimed at derailing the transition. Sparks remains optimistic that a multiracial, multiparty democracy will emerge and predicts that South Africa will become an engine of salvation for the whole continent.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This vivid description of South Africa's political transformation from the mid-1980s to the elections of April 1994 is a sequel to Sparks's earlier book, The Mind of South Africa (LJ 3/15/90), which chronicled the history of the rise of apartheid. Much of this readable and informative work is devoted to the details of the secret negotiations that went on for five years before the 1990 release of Nelson Mandela from prison; Sparks corroborates Mandela's autobiographical account, Long Walk to Freedom (LJ 12/94). In addition, our understanding of the white South African government is enlarged, with the author stressing the intelligence, patience, and humanity of many of those involved in the negotiations. Sparks also describes the violence of the period following Mandela's release and preceding the election. While not taking lightly the incredible problems facing South Africa, he lists in the final chapter ten reasons why he believes the country will not slide into disaster as many other African nations have done. This book is recommended for all readers interested in understanding the complexity and the uniqueness of the South African situation.?Maidel Cason, Univ. of Delaware Lib., Newark
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 261 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (July 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226768554
• ISBN-13: 978-0226768557
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #244,348 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why did the apartheid regime keep Mandela alive?, March 28, 1999

By	A. Biesemeyer, Director Living Textbook Tours... (Lewisburg, WV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tomorrow Is Another Country: The Inside Story of South Africa's Road to Change (Hardcover)

An excellent read if you know at least a little about South African History. It's a "who's who" of the inside story of Africa's "Negotiated Revolution" and could count as a "cliff hanger" if we all didn't already know the outcome of the story. But for anyone who would like to know how the worlds most remarkable political transition was pulled off without a bloody coup, who all of the players were, and why one the worlds most brutal and racist governments kept the world's most enigmatic man alive; then this is the read for you.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars all sides, November 10, 2001

By	S. Shewmake - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Tomorrow is Another Country is the sequel to the Mind of South Africa. It described the transition from apartheid state to the Rainbow Nation. Allister Sparks is a South African journalist (and is currently teaching at Duke University) who sought to get "the real story" before the actors started to forget. He found collaboration from all sides so everyone would know the sacrifices made by both sides to form the new South Africa.

An excellent balance between being comprehensive and being readable, Tomorrow is Another Country is not a difficult read but not nearly as inspiring as Nelson Mandela's book, Long Walk to Freedom. It does however capture more of the Afrikaaner experience, something Long Walk to Freedom often fails on doing.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The story of South Africa's transition., August 17, 2001

By	Book Buff (USA.) - See all my reviews

This is an outstanding book with many original and personal accounts of what brought South Africa to a negotiated abandonment of minority rule. Objective and beautifully written.