Frontline Southern Africa: Destructive Engagement

This impressively researched collection of essays documents South African aggression against both its own people of color and bordering states that oppose apartheid, battles that the editors argue are inextricably linked. Several essays provide comprehensive historical accounts of events in beleaguered countries neighboring South Africa; the effects of economic sanctions and brute terrorism in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and elsewhere are graphically depicted. Other pieces address broader issues within South Africa, for example, apartheid's ``parasitic profile of white employment.'' Unfortunately, the chapter on Angola does not adequately address the complex implications for American policy-makers of Soviet and Cuban support of Angola. But the final essay effectively summarizes and analyzes America's contradictory policies on South Africa. Although the depth of detail will at times overwhelm the lay reader, this important collection provides a vivid picture of an entire region beset by a single racist regime. Johnson and Martin, both journalists, are directors of the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre in Zimbabwe. Illustrated. (Apr.)