From the Author

I was born in South Africa to a family that had both English speaking members and pro-apartheid Afrikaner members. I chose exile as a young man rather than be part of a truly vile political and social system. This book followed my decision to reconcile myself with family on the other side of the political fence to me and to find out what has happened to the losers in the great struggle that resulted in Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress coming to power. My travels started in Cape Town and took me to some of the bleakest places in the country where I found both hope and despair about the future. The size of the white underclass took me by surprise - these people had lived in what was a sheltered workshop which closed down when apartheid collapsed. I sought and found answers to my question on how people adjust from being masters of the universe one day and members of an unpopular minority the next. I hope my book will be read by visitors to South Africa who want to get an understanding of a wonderful and complex country and people who are simply interested in what has happened there since that wonderful day on which Mandela was sworn in as the country's first black president. James Saville