After Mandela: The Battle for the Soul of South Africa

South Africa is facing the most serious threat to its stability since the end of apartheid.

For some, the story of South Africa ended when Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress declared victory over the bitter injustice of the apartheid regime. But despite Mandela’s mission of reconciliation and the progress he and others have made, rampant inequality remains; violence is endemic in the townships and race relations are fraught as whites struggle to find their place in the new order. With the election of Jacob Zuma, a charismatic populist embroiled in a corruption scandal, in 2007, uncertainty over the trajectory of the nation has only intensified. South Africa now stands at a crossroads, and award-winning journalist Alec Russell draws on his deep knowledge of the country to tell us how it got there, and give us a compelling account of the journey from Mandela to Zuma.