After Mandela

March 19, 2012
Drawn “to investigate what happened in the aftermath of great social convulsions,” journalist Foster is “hooked on the postliberation story of the Republic of South Africa.” In this thoroughly engrossing account based on his travels there between 2004 and 2012, Foster offers a richly detailed account, both personal and professional, of “the only place on the globe where advanced capitalism, AIDS, and political freedom rushed through the door together.” Foster utilizes interviews with three “insiders” from divergent political perspectives (Mandela’s grandson, President Jacob Zuma’s daughter, opposition leader Zille’s son), three “outsiders” (a homeless orphan in Cape Town, a teenager with HIV living outside Johannesburg, an “unabashedly hopeful” boy from the northern-most province), and President Zuma himself. Besides an array of other political figures, he speaks with doctors, journalists, even Condoleezza Rice. Rendering places as vividly as a travel book, Foster tucks in enough South African history for the reader to understand the backstory of his speakers. However engrossing as Foster’s account is, the thicket of political intrigue surrounding Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa 1999–2008, and Zuma, and assorted internal ANC conflicts and controversies, remains impenetrable. Agent: David Black, David Black Agency.

July 1, 2012
A first draft of the history of Jacob Zuma's South Africa. The publicity machine for Foster's (Journalism/Northwestern Univ.) extensive tome on contemporary South Africa would have you believe that the author presents "a long-awaited revisionist account of a country whose recent history has not just been neglected but largely ignored by the west." (Readers might rightly wonder how one can write revisionism of a history that has been largely ignored.) Foster has been traveling to South Africa regularly since 2004, and the extent of his legwork is unquestionable. He organizes his chapters loosely around various themes and individuals that allow him to explore the nature of South Africa's democracy. In 2007, the African National Congress chose to remove Thabo Mbeki from the party presidency, replacing him with Zuma. While Foster tells this important story well, there is extensive literature about South Africa in the post-apartheid period, as Foster's own far-from-complete bibliography makes clear. A good deal of the writing on the country has either come from Western academics and journalists or has otherwise been readily available in the United States and Europe. Furthermore, Foster's subtitle is misleading, as he provides less a complete overview and assessment of post-apartheid South Africa than he does of the period since 2004. While the book's promise and originality might be overstated, Foster's journalistic chops are not. The author was obviously fantastic at cultivating contacts, and he draws insightful observations from the hundreds of people he interviewed and those he encountered in passing. He proved to be especially good at connecting with young people and drawing on their astute observations about the country they have inherited. Unfortunately, the author inserts himself on nearly every page, constantly reminding us that he was there. A mostly trenchant book that oversells its contribution.

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May 1, 2012
Beyond what he calls the usual miracle and cataclysm narrative about the end of apartheid, Chicago journalism professor Foster presents a nonidealized but never cynical portrait of South Africa now, based on the long periods he has spent there since 2004, interviewing the country's top leaders and also many ordinary people across generations. He attends the official meetings and speaks often and at length with Mandela's successors, presidents Mbeki and Zuma, and confronts the controversies surrounding public policy and corruption. Just as important are his ongoing personal connections with today's young, including Mandela's grandson, Ndaba (an AIDS orphan, like millions of others); Zuma's daughter, Thuthu, about clashes over culture and the role of women; and also many kids in rough classrooms or living on the street. For the son of the white mayor of Cape Town, there is a sense of limitless opportunity. Contrast that with those still waiting for electricity, running water, even shelter. Foster was there for the wild celebration of the World Cup but asks, What now? Essential reading for anyone interested in South African affairs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)