I found, on my father's bookshelf, a copy of The Oxford History of South Africa. Published in 1969, this two-volume work is a comprehensive study of the history of our country.

A rather formidable tome, the first volume covers the history from as far back as is known (that is the middle of the second millenium), until 1870.

The account is impressively unbiased (especially taking into consideration the era in which it was published), and gives the main stories and interests of all the different races and cultures.

Reading this has given me a much better appreciation of the depth and variety of different peoples in our beautiful land. I must still read the second volume (which extends up till 1966), but being a rather dry, historical work it isn't the easiest or fastest reading. Even so, I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in South African history.