3 Review(s)

Photographers played an important role in the documentation of apartheid as they stepped in to capture how the system penetrated even the most mundane aspects of life in South Africa, from housing, public amenities, and transportation to education, tourism, religion, and businesses. Included in this vivid and compelling volume are works by such photographers as Eli Weinberg, Alf Khumalo, David Goldblatt, Peter Magubane, Ian Berry, and many others. Organized chronologically, it interweaves images and thoughtful essays to explore vital issues, including the institutionalization of apartheid through the country's legal apparatus; the growing resistance in the 1950s; and the radicalization of the anti-apartheid movement within South Africa and, later, throughout the world. Finally, the book investigates the fall of apartheid, including Mandela's return from exile. Far-reaching and exhaustively researched, this important book features more than 60 years of powerful photographic material that forms part of the historical record of South Africa.