From Protest to Challenge, Volume 6: A Documentary History of African Politics in South Africa, 1882–1990, Challenge and Victory, 1980–1990

From Protest to Challenge is a multi-volume chronicle of the struggle to achieve democracy and end racial discrimination in South Africa. Beginning in 1882 during the heyday of European imperialism, these volumes document the history of race conflict, protest, and political mobilization by South Africa's black majority. Volume 6 takes up the story in 1980 and examines the crucial decade that preceded the collapse of the apartheid system. As with earlier volumes in the series, it combines narrative with a wealth of primary source materials that record the words of the men and women who shaped South Africa's complex history.

Table of Contents:
Preface Part 1. Challenge and Victory, 1980–1990 1. Reform and Repression in the Era of P. W. Botha 2. Internal Opposition: The Battle Joined 4. Exile and Underground Politics, 1980–1988 5. Breaking the Deadlock, 1988–1990 Epilogue Part 2. Documents Index

About the Author :
Gail M. Gerhart is Adjunct Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. She is author of Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology and author (with Thomas G. Karis) of volumes 3–5 of From Protest to Challenge. Clive L. Glaser teaches in the History Department at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is author of Bo-Tsotsi: The Youth Gangs of Soweto, 1935–1976 and editor of the journal African Studies.

Review :
"An invaluable and matchless source of evidence for scholars analyzing South Africa's sociopolitical history." Choice , reviewing a previous volume "The overthrow of apartheid in South Africa permits an interpretive change in the thrust of African resistance politics by the editors and authors of this invaluable documentary history." Foreign Affairs , reviewing a previous volume "An enduring resource for historians of South Africa, scholars interested in revolutionary thought and practice, and students concerned with the interplay between violent and nonviolent strategies for social change." Africa Today , reviewing a previous volume "A book that helps us forge a common national story." Sunday Independent (Johannesburg) , reviewing a previous volume "An invaluable reference work, hard to equal." African Studies Review , reviewing a previous volume "For those familiar with the academic history of contemporary South Africa, the multi-volume set of books 'From Protest to Challenge' are an institution in themselves and will be instantly recognizable. For those new to the series, each book offers a range of introductory essays on the history of the struggle against racial discrimination in South Africa since 1882, supported by an impressive array of documentary evidence. The latest contribution written and compiled by Gail Gerhart and Clive Glaser is Volume 6: Challenge and Victory, 1980-1990, which chronicles the key events and decisions in the final decade before the end of apartheid rule in February 1990. The authors claim that the 'focus here... is on the essential remaining source of causal explanations: the actions taken by Africans and their allies in the struggle for political change'. It is an aim that is more than achieved. [...]What makes this book unique is the detailed collection of primary sources it brings together... Importantly, the documents illustrate the diverse nature of the struggle, since the activities of opposition groups other than the African National Congress have been increasingly airbrushed from history. Vitally, this book clearly demonstrates the important and sometimes forgotten roles of a host of organisations and individuals, both at home and abroad. Challenge and Victory is a timely book offering a distinctive mix of insightful analysis and supporting primary documents, ensuring that it is a crucial read for anyone interested in the intriguing events of apartheids's demise." - Matthew Graham, Politics Studies Review, January 2013