A broad overview of South Africa's evolving historical geography in the light of the dramatic political, social and economic changes of the 1990's. It covers a broad sweep of the country's development from the pre- to the post-apartheid eras. The authors explain how identifying the links between the country's history and the successes and failings of its current policies are critical in any attempt to comprehend the "new" South Africa.

1. Introduction; Economic and Social Boundaries; Space and Power; The State; Transformations; Organisation of the Book 2. Setting the Scene; South Africa's Location; Environment and Natural Resources; Climate; "Human Resources"; Mineral Resources and Mining; Economic Performance; Tourism 3. Pre-Industrial South Africa 1652-1900; Precolonial Society; The Creation of Colonial Categories; The Transition of Liberalism; British Settlers, Capitalist Expansion and Segregation; The Mineral Revolution 4. Industrialising South Africa 1900-1948; Reconstruction, Union and the Reformulating of Racial Boundaries; Segregation and Modernity in the 1920's and1930's; The Successes and Failures of Segregation c. 1920 - 48 5. Apartheid South Africa 1948-1994; Apartheid and the Fixing of Racial Boundaries; Reformulating Apartheid - Globalisation, Colonisation and the Apartheid Boom; The Official Substitution of Class for Race 1970's-1980's; The Opening of Citizenship 6. Inequality and "Development" in South Africa: A Snapshot of; The Limitations of Political Transition; Race and Class; Gender; Space; Service Provision; Employment and the Economy; The Way Forward? 7. Post-Apartheid "Development" - Redistribution With Growth?; Reconciliation and Compromise After 1994; The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), 1994-96; The Growth, Employment and Redistribution Strategy - A Shift of Economic Orthodoxy; The Economy and Job Creation; Addressing Inequalities;The African Renaissance; Post-Apartheid Politics; Race and Class in Post-Apartheid South Africa; The Post-Apartheid Government Record; South Africa's Post-Apartheid Difficulties. 8. Beyond the Limpopo - South Africa in Africa in the Wider World; Africa - Decline and Rebirth?; South Africa - Economic Powerhouse of Africa; Perceptions of South Africa in Africa; Relationships with the International Community; South Africa and the Southern Africa Region; South Africn Capital and the Wider Region; South Africa and Africa - What Future Within the Global Political Economy? 9. South Africa's Current Transition in Temporal and Spatial Context; The Argument; The Transition to Liberal Capitalism and the Abolition of Slavery on the Early Nineteenth Century; The Transition to Industrial Capitalism and Segregation in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries; Late Capitalism and the Abolition of Apartheid in the Late Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Centuries. Glossary Bibliography Index

Tony Binns, Alan Lester (St Mary's University College), Nel Etienne (Rhodes University, Grahamstown, S.A.)