The nation that will insist upon drawing a broad line of distinction between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking by cowards.
-- Sir William Francis Butler
South Africa is one of the most complex and troubled nations on earth. It is the only country whose divisions are legally endorsed, whose isolation is deliberate and whose internal biases are so pointedly lopsided. The Mind of South Africa is a unique survey which encompasses the history, culture and the warped mythology of apartheid by which the country is still held hostage. Allister Sparks, distinguished former editor of the Rand Daily Mail, recounts the full story of South Africa's agonizing drama - and, amazingly, remains an optimist about its future.