The South African transition, while widely billed as a miracle, has not yet received the same systematic treatment as political transitions elsewhere. The book serves as a primary text in the new South African politics, presenting for the first time the new country's view of its old self. It scans the key issues and debates of the transition. In addressing these issues, the book breaks new ground. It drives home the depth and strength of allegiance that the old regime commanded from its beneficiaries. It emphasises the long-standing ideals that held sway among those who resisted apartheid. And it makes clear that, in Nelson Mandela's words, a long walk remains, even now, en route to freedom. The authors compellingly demonstrate how the old system violated the world's basic human norms - and how the new country is raising and enhancing the status of the international norms on which apartheid trampled.