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How ironic that Nelson Mandela felt such empathy for former South African President P. W. Botha, one of the most repressive and brutal supporters of apartheid, while his relationship with F. W. de Klerk, the man who surrendered power to the black majority, was chilly from the first. Despite their different ages, outlooks, and politics, Mandela and de Klerk are the men primarily responsible for South Africa's relatively peaceful transformation, and their story is told in Patti Waldmeir illuminating book, Anatomy of a Miracle. The miracle, quite simply put, is that South Africa avoided the bloody destiny history seemed to have assigned it. Instead of holding on to the bitter end, white South Africans under de Klerk's leadership acquiesced gracefully to democratic principles; instead of seeking revenge by replacing white oppression with their own, black South Africans under Mandela's leadership magnanimously forgave and moved on. Waldmeir, a journalist who was present in South Africa during almost every critical step of apartheid's dismantling, was also personally acquainted with the main players, Mandela, de Klerk, and Chief Buthelezi. Through interviews, she has managed to present multiple points of view of such diverse figures as South African presidents past and present, prison guards on Robben Island, and ordinary South Africans both black and white. By the time you reach the end of Anatomy, you may well believe in miracles, too.
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