The de Villiers family have lived in South Africa since 1688 and this history of the family a way of giving a history of the Afrikaner people, how they came to be and who they are. For anyone who wants to make sense of the grim construction of apartheid under the Afrikaner dominated Nationalist government, it is essential that they have some idea of why they came to do what they did. This book provides many insights into the genesis of apartheid, and the author - writing from the perspective of a white liberal - discusses proposed solutions. Of course, the book has been overtaken by later events, and apartheid is history now. However it's legacy lives on, and any one who wishes to express an opinion on South Africa should read this to round out their knowledge. ( )