In this accessible narrative, Louw effectively tells the story of 20th-century South Africa by examining three political periods: British Hegemony (1900-1948), the Afrikaner Nationalist Period (1948-1993), and the post-1994 Black Nationalist Period. He argues that apartheid was premised upon the notion of political partition and not white supremacy. Apartheid was a political strategy, constructed by the ethnic minority in order to prevent them from becoming politically powerless. Unfortunately the partition plan failed, causing an era of pain for South Africa.

With apartheid now formally over, Louw presents a comprehensive overview of this important 20th-century phenomenon. Topics covered include: the roots and causes of apartheid; what was apartheid; the struggle against apartheid; why did Afrikaner Nationalists negotiate their own demise in the 1990s; and the impact of apartheid in contemporary South Africa.