Historical Dictionary of South Africa

Third Edition

Christopher Saunders and Peter Limb

As the most influential and powerful country on the entire continent of Africa, an understanding of South Africa’s past and its present trends is crucial in appreciating where South Africans are going to, and from where they have come. South Africa changed dramatically in 1994 when apartheid was dismantled, and it became a democratic state. Since 2000, when the previous edition appeared, further big changes occurred, with the rise of new political leaders and of a new black middle class. There were also serious problems in governance, in public health, and the economy, but with a remarkable popular resilience too.

This third edition of Historical Dictionary of South Africa contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 600 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about South Africa.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 566 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-5381-3025-4 • Hardback • December 2020 • $145.00 • (£112.00)

978-1-5381-3026-1 • eBook • December 2020 • $137.50 • (£106.00)

Series: Historical Dictionaries of Africa

Subjects: History / Africa / South / General, History / Africa / General, Reference / Dictionaries

Historical Dictionary of South Africa

Third Edition

Hardback

eBook

Summary

As the most influential and powerful country on the entire continent of Africa, an understanding of South Africa’s past and its present trends is crucial in appreciating where South Africans are going to, and from where they have come. South Africa changed dramatically in 1994 when apartheid was dismantled, and it became a democratic state. Since 2000, when the previous edition appeared, further big changes occurred, with the rise of new political leaders and of a new black middle class. There were also serious problems in governance, in public health, and the economy, but with a remarkable popular resilience too.

This third edition of Historical Dictionary of South Africa contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 600 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about South Africa.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 566 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-5381-3025-4 • Hardback • December 2020 • $145.00 • (£112.00)

978-1-5381-3026-1 • eBook • December 2020 • $137.50 • (£106.00)

Series: Historical Dictionaries of Africa

Subjects: History / Africa / South / General, History / Africa / General, Reference / Dictionaries

Author

Christopher Saunders is emeritus professor, University of Cape Town, and an associate of the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa at UCT. He was the author of the first edition of this dictionary and co-author of the second edition.

Peter Limb is emeritus associate professor and Africana bibliographer, Michigan State University, and a research fellow at the Gender and Africa Studies Centre, University of the Free State, South Africa. He has published widely on South African history.

Table of Contents

Editor’s Foreword

Preface

Reader’s Note

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Maps

Chronology

Introduction

THE DICTIONARY

Bibliography

About the Authors

Reviews

Edited by Saunders and Limb, this third edition of the Historical Dictionary of South Africa—first published in 1983—has been expanded to include the many changes in South Africa’s post-apartheid development. The dictionary opens with a chronology of South Africa that spans the Stone Age to the present, including extensively detailed entries for the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.... The volume includes a bibliography that is divided into general subject areas, including culture, economy, history, politics, religion, and society. This extensive bibliography provides an entry point to the vast literature on which the dictionary is based, and will be especially useful for undergraduate and early career graduate students who are just beginning their research. Supplemental information includes maps and a list of relevant academic and general websites. Recommended.

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