Mr. Gibbs’ book on South Africa is an interpretative history which purports to bring the elements of its present political and racial struggles into their true perspective.
No one can understand South African affairs without a thorough knowledge of the Afrikaans language and its very considerable literature, which includes some of the best poetry of modern times, and a speaking acquaintance with at least one of the native languages, of which Zulu is perhaps the most ornamental, useful, and widely spread. Train-window insight into South African affairs blurs what is nearest at hand, leaving the distance unobscured. Mr. Gibbs’ judgment improves, accordingly, as it recedes into the past, and deteriorates as it approaches recent, present, or future events.
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