Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #485260 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.10 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Amazon.com
How ironic that Nelson Mandela felt such empathy for former South African President P. W. Botha, one of the most repressive and brutal supporters of apartheid, while his relationship with F. W. de Klerk, the man who surrendered power to the black majority, was chilly from the first. Despite their different ages, outlooks, and politics, Mandela and de Klerk are the men primarily responsible for South Africa's relatively peaceful transformation, and their story is told in Patti Waldmeir illuminating book, Anatomy of a Miracle. The miracle, quite simply put, is that South Africa avoided the bloody destiny history seemed to have assigned it. Instead of holding on to the bitter end, white South Africans under de Klerk's leadership acquiesced gracefully to democratic principles; instead of seeking revenge by replacing white oppression with their own, black South Africans under Mandela's leadership magnanimously forgave and moved on.

Waldmeir, a journalist who was present in South Africa during almost every critical step of apartheid's dismantling, was also personally acquainted with the main players, Mandela, de Klerk, and Chief Buthelezi. Through interviews, she has managed to present multiple points of view of such diverse figures as South African presidents past and present, prison guards on Robben Island, and ordinary South Africans both black and white. By the time you reach the end of Anatomy, you may well believe in miracles, too.

Books in Canada
Anatomy of a Miracleis a very readable book. The author is Patti Waldmeir, an American who reported on South Africa for the Financial Times during the events in the book. Much of it is about the diplomacy that ended a conflict within one country, and so it is the richest of the five in characters-quite a few of whom are still important in South African politics. This is a realistic story of heroes. In a few, less realistic moments of rejoicing, Waldmeir proclaims the end of history, though she does not import the full baggage of Francis Fukuyama's argument that conflicts of principle ceased with the end of the Cold War.
It's true that the South African settlement was assisted by the end of the American-Soviet rivalry. It's also true that South Africa and Russia both show us how hard it is to move from policing for political and military purposes to the humdrum kind of policing we're used to. Waldmeir notes the troubles of the aftermath, but they're outside the scope of her book.
Gerald Owen (Books in Canada)

From Publishers Weekly
In the epic drama of South Africa's "negotiated revolution," the two prime opponents who came together to redesign the country, Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk, are seen here as heroic figures-the one imprisoned for nearly 20 years, studying the nature of the Afrikaners, becoming fluent in their hated language and planning how to peacefully transfer power from the white minority to the black majority; the other a fierce defender of white minority rule, but pressed by the international ostracism that threatened to destroy the country's economy, and looking for a way to salvage it. Waldmeir, a 15-year resident as a correspondent for the Financial Times, encapsulates the struggle and draws wonderful portraits not only of these two men but of the other leading figures on both sides, and of the political dilemmas as they moved toward difficult solutions. Although Mandela attributes greatness to de Klerk for his courage, it is Mandela's own character that dominates this history. Accustomed to power from a childhood in a household on close terms with the tribal chief, he embodies in his magisterial presence what Waldmeir characterizes as the Africans' generosity of spirit and lack of vengefulness, that have made it possible for the white population to accept black rule. She details the steps that moved de Klerk to free him: from the first halfhearted ones, which Mandela refused as compromises, to the five-year negotiations that brought about an agreement to share the power between them. Engrossing in its sweep, this account also describes the obstacles facing the regime: not only problems with unemployment, education and investment but also unresolved demands from powerful tribal chiefs and dissident Afrikaners. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.