Until now there has been no single text that brings together the material that reveals the unfolding geography of Johannesburg, South Africa. This books describes the history of the city from its days as a mining camp to its position of premier metropolis in Africa. The present geography of Johannesburg, and the problems and dysfunctions that is hat exhibited at various stages in its history since 1886, cannot be understood without a firm grasp of what has evolved of the past 120 years.

A powerful critique of urban development in greater Johannesburg since the end of apartheid in 1994.

In less than a century, the jumble of shabby tents and lean-tos that constituted Johannesburg’s first settlement has grown into a modern metropolis of towering office buildings, high-rise apartments and sprawling suburbs. Its rapid development has been in no small measure the result of the fabulous wealth that lay in the goldrich deposits of the now-famous Witwatersrand basin. The story of gold is also the story of Johannesburg, and in a fascinating series of photographic juxtapositions, Johannesburg Then and Now chronicles the city’s expansion from dusty mining camp to economic powerhouse. Rare archival photographs, dating from the 1880s to the 1940s, are contrasted with vivid scenes of the modern city, providing a hitherto untold portrait of the Place of Gold. Where possible, the modern-day photographs have been shot from the same locations as the originals. Detailed captions provide fascinating comparisons between the old and the new, while also illuminating features that have remained the same. Johannesburg Then and Now is a superb collection of images and text that will delight both local residents and visitors. Sales points: Fascinating portrait of early and modern Johannesburg; Rare archival photographs (1880–1950), many never published before; Informative and well-researched text; Beautiful and elegantly designed coffee-table book; Excellent gift and keepsake; Companion volume to the successful Cape Town Then and Now.

For more than 300 years Chinese have been part of the fascinating mix of people who make up the inhabitants of the southern tip of Africa. One of the smallest and most identifiable minority groups in arguably the most race-conscious country in the world, they have not up to now been the focus of serious historical attention. This detailed and descriptive chronological account aims to fill a gap in available histories by providing a comprehensive record of the Chinese in South Africa from the earliest times to the mid-1990s.

This book traces the personal and intellectual histories of six remarkable women anthropologists, using a rich cocktail of archival sources.

This book combines an innovative approach to the investigation of state-society relations with a rich account of Johannesburg’s contested governance. Its depth and insight will be valued by scholars of Urban Studies, Politics, and Planning. Glyn Williams, University of Sheffield Writing with both intellectual and practical conviction, Li Pernegger’s insights into the deeply political and at times violent struggles over services in post-apartheid Johannesburg is sensitive and nuanced, not least because of her command of how government works at the city scale. Susan Parnell, University of Bristol

While Webb examines the progress of the first colonial bank in the Eastern Cape and Chapman the wider international context, most of the book focuses on capitalist enterprise in the 20th century and the way in which South African development has mirrored that in other capitalist economies.