
Ragged glory
The rainbow nation in black and white
Ray Hartley(Author)
Jonathan Ball Publishers SA
Published on 13. August 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
300 pages
978-1-86842-556-3 (ISBN)
Description
On a cold Highveld morning in May 1994, Nelson Mandela took the oath of office to become South Africas first democratically elected president. A new era had begun. The promise of those heady days of political transition soon gave way to a more sober view on the magnitude of the challenges facing the new government. Under Mandela and his successor, Thabo Mbeki, the country grappled with the restructuring of the state, massive inequality and poverty, rising crime, battles over economic policy, the arms deal, the HIV/AIDS crisis, the BEE era, the cancer of political corruption and the rise of a new and predatory political elite. With the removal of Mbeki, followed by the interregnum of Kgalema Motlanthe, the stage was set for the coming to power of the controversial Jacob Zuma. These are all key threads in Ray Hartleys rich and complex narrative history of the democratic era. As a leading political journalist and newspaper editor, Hartley had the best seat in the house for the unfolding drama of the new South Africa, as well as privileged access to many key players, including Nelson Mandela himself.
Admirably concise but rich in detail, drawing on a wide spectrum of interviews, documents and experiences, this book offers a bracingly critical look back at the achievements and the failures of two turbulent decades, during which South Africa took its place at the table of free nations but lost something of its moral authority.
Admirably concise but rich in detail, drawing on a wide spectrum of interviews, documents and experiences, this book offers a bracingly critical look back at the achievements and the failures of two turbulent decades, during which South Africa took its place at the table of free nations but lost something of its moral authority.
Reviews / Votes
"Ray Hartley provides a clear-eyed, richly detailed account of the story so far." -- David Smith, The Guardian "Refreshingly different from the spate of me-books on SAs transition to democracy. Hartley, the journalist and storyteller, weaves the power-play, the politics, the blunders and the intrigue of SAs 20 Wonder Years into a readable, fluent tale." -- Tim Du Plessis, Former Editor of Rapport & BeeldMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Johannesburg
South Africa
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
455 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-86842-556-3 (9781868425563)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
08/2014
Jonathan Ball
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Ray Hartley worked as an administrator at the constitutional negotiations, which ended apartheid. He has covered the unfolding drama of the new South Africa as a political correspondent who travelled extensively with Mandela and Mbeki and as the editor of South Africas largest newspaper, The Sunday Times during the Zuma era.