Mandela's Children ― Growing Up in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Nelson Mandela's release after 28 years of imprisonment gave hope to millions of blacks in South Africa and set in motion waves of political and social change. With the Birth-to-Ten study, investigators decided to track children born in the Johannesburg-Soweto metropolitan area across the decade that followed Mandela's freedom and the shattering of apartheid. The unusual study looks at the children's survival, health, growth, and psychosocial development; its intent is to open a window on how urban children and families deal with the strains and opportunities of change and adjust in ways that help them develop normally. The study touchingly presents the contrasting conditions of hope and peril that continue to characterize the families' lives. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)