cover image Apartheid in Cris-V455

Apartheid in Cris-V455

Mark Uhlig. Vintage Books USA, $5.95 (334pp) ISBN 978-0-394-74455-1

Uhlig, a New York Times Magazine associate editor, has collected work from an unusually broad spectrum of observers and participants in the agony that is South Africa. Zulu chief Buthelezi argues against foreign disinvestment and attacks the African National Congress. Novelist J. M. Coetzee interviews fellow Afrikaners to gauge their changing attitudes toward apartheid. British lord Nicholas Bethell meets with imprisoned ANC leader Nelson Mandela, who eloquently explains why he has not accepted a government offer of clemency that would require him to cease political activity. President P. W. Botha twists logic in an effort to justify apartheid. Other material includes essays on the strengths and weaknesses of the South African economy, Reagan policy toward South Africa, and South African policy toward its neighboring black states. This is valuable for anyone wanting to know more about the issues and personalities involved in the struggle over apartheid. (August)