Expands our understanding of the nuances that moulded South Africa. It shows the complex processes that have influenced the vicissitudes that make up South African history ... Skinner has eloquently demonstrated the value of a transnational approach, and the global networks of connections that have moulded this history, which a nationalistic approach fails to appreciate.

Journal of Contemporary History

A valuable addition to the field. It enhances our understanding of South Africa, especially since the mid-nineteenth century, by viewing it through the lens of transnational and comparative history … [It] is the product of thorough research, is a pleasure to read, and it will be especially helpful for students who wish to understand the country through its interactions with the world.

The International Journal of African Historical Studies

Skinner (Univ. of Bristol, UK) tries to take the second half of his title-“in world history”-seriously, especially in the first half of this useful, very short synopsis of South Africa from the 19th century to about 2014. In that earlier part of his book, he situates South Africa within global commerce and global human movements, even when the internal history of South Africa might have been more formative. But as he moves his narrative into the segregationist and apartheid 20th century, the real South African story emerges. Skinner sketches as fully as his space allows the contours of emerging Afrikaner populism and racism and, in time, the rise of African nationalism. The clash between these two indigenous, post imperial impulses and the final triumph of the African National Congress led by Nelson Mandela might have been discussed in greater depth, but Skinner's narrative is nevertheless reasonably authoritative. More might have been said about the critical role of the United Democratic Front within the mobilized townships and about the forces that finally propelled Afrikanerdom to retreat. Skinner is weakest on the very modern period. Corruption, so decisive since 2001, is absent, even from the index. Summing Up: Recommended. Most levels/libraries.

CHOICE

Rob Skinner gives us a valuable short account of South Africa's development, from its colonial beginnings to Jacob Zuma. The transnational lens he uses throws new light on South Africa's history in a global context.

Chris Saunders, Emeritus Professor in Historical Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Rob Skinner's astute reading of two centuries of South African history rightly places the country in a much broader global context. His thoughtful and reliable guide draws on the latest historical scholarship and fully deserves the attention of students and specialists alike.

Saul Dubow, Smuts Professor of Commonwealth History, University of Cambridge, UK

A new overview of modern South African history, departing from ideas of isolation and exceptionalism and acknowledging the country's configuration within colonial, imperial, regional and global dynamics, is long overdue. All the more impressive is that Rob Skinner has managed to produce one which also teases out the ways in which its peoples have shaped a unique national society.

Alan Lester, Professor of Historical Geography, University of Sussex, UK