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Jan Christian Smuts: The Conscience of a South African by Kenneth InghamReview by: Kenneth W. GrundyThe International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3 (1987), pp. 575-577Published by: Boston University African Studies CenterStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/219738 .

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BOOK REVIEWS 575 BOOK REVIEWS 575

Ogunmodede has taken pains to establish. Further, Ogunmodede seems totally to overlook a central problem in Awolowo: the assertion that his just society will have a perfectly equitable and efficient distribution of wealth and privilege supervised by the state, accomplished with no sacrifice of any individual's opportunities or fulfilment. This utopian position clearly makes sense more as political rhetoric than theory.

Indeed, the eagerness to construct instead of dissect gives this book a eulogistic quality which is only partially atoned for in a few pages of poorly integrated critical comment near the end. One welcomes Ogunmodede's quiet suggestion here that, having recently rejected the idea of nationalization, Awolowo should also discard the title of democratic socialist. However, a more critical treatment throughout would have led Ogunmodede to question this title long before, instead of accepting Awolowo's self-descriptions and party manifestos so readily.

Attributing the weaknesses in Awolowo's philosophy to his ontological premises seems to be the wrong way to understand Awolowo's writings. Recognition of the fact that Awolowo has always written as a politician might have helped Ogunmodede see that Awolowo is less concerned with posing complex solutions to difficult problems than he is with offering attractive remedies. Developing connections between the writings and their historical contexts would assist a proper appreciation of Awolowo - not as a leading African philosopher, but as a particular and reflective voice in the scramble of Nigerian politics.

Finally, awkward prose, a plethora of spelling and typographical errors, and some annoying misquotations of original text add to the already serious weaknesses of this book. Ogunmodede's assertion that, "Like Plato and Hegel, Awolowo was influenced by Marx" (p. 44) does little to advance the integration of African and Western philosophy.

PHILIP S. ZACHERNUK University of Toronto

JAN CHRISTIAN SMUTS: THE CONSCIENCE OF A SOUTH AFRICAN. By Kenneth Ingham. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986. Pp. xii, 284. $29.95.

Jan Smuts was a towering historical figure, a man of action and a man of intellect. His career in politics lasted more than half a century. Smuts is also a controversial, enigmatic personality, especially to older Afrikaners who regard him as embodying the best and the worst of the nation. He is even the implied villain in Joseph Lelyveld's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Move Your Shadow.

On the second floor of Jan Smuts House, the headquarters of the South African Institute of International Affairs, there is reconstructed and lovingly preserved the library from General Smuts's house at Irene. It is a large room, relaxed, even serene. He used it often. Smuts was an avid reader of philosophy, science and history. He began his formal education at the age of twelve and

Ogunmodede has taken pains to establish. Further, Ogunmodede seems totally to overlook a central problem in Awolowo: the assertion that his just society will have a perfectly equitable and efficient distribution of wealth and privilege supervised by the state, accomplished with no sacrifice of any individual's opportunities or fulfilment. This utopian position clearly makes sense more as political rhetoric than theory.

Indeed, the eagerness to construct instead of dissect gives this book a eulogistic quality which is only partially atoned for in a few pages of poorly integrated critical comment near the end. One welcomes Ogunmodede's quiet suggestion here that, having recently rejected the idea of nationalization, Awolowo should also discard the title of democratic socialist. However, a more critical treatment throughout would have led Ogunmodede to question this title long before, instead of accepting Awolowo's self-descriptions and party manifestos so readily.

Attributing the weaknesses in Awolowo's philosophy to his ontological premises seems to be the wrong way to understand Awolowo's writings. Recognition of the fact that Awolowo has always written as a politician might have helped Ogunmodede see that Awolowo is less concerned with posing complex solutions to difficult problems than he is with offering attractive remedies. Developing connections between the writings and their historical contexts would assist a proper appreciation of Awolowo - not as a leading African philosopher, but as a particular and reflective voice in the scramble of Nigerian politics.

Finally, awkward prose, a plethora of spelling and typographical errors, and some annoying misquotations of original text add to the already serious weaknesses of this book. Ogunmodede's assertion that, "Like Plato and Hegel, Awolowo was influenced by Marx" (p. 44) does little to advance the integration of African and Western philosophy.

PHILIP S. ZACHERNUK University of Toronto

JAN CHRISTIAN SMUTS: THE CONSCIENCE OF A SOUTH AFRICAN. By Kenneth Ingham. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986. Pp. xii, 284. $29.95.

Jan Smuts was a towering historical figure, a man of action and a man of intellect. His career in politics lasted more than half a century. Smuts is also a controversial, enigmatic personality, especially to older Afrikaners who regard him as embodying the best and the worst of the nation. He is even the implied villain in Joseph Lelyveld's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Move Your Shadow.

On the second floor of Jan Smuts House, the headquarters of the South African Institute of International Affairs, there is reconstructed and lovingly preserved the library from General Smuts's house at Irene. It is a large room, relaxed, even serene. He used it often. Smuts was an avid reader of philosophy, science and history. He began his formal education at the age of twelve and

This content downloaded from 169.229.32.137 on Thu, 8 May 2014 20:41:37 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

576 BOOK REVIEWS

ended as the chancellor of Cambridge University. He corresponded avidly. He authored volumes.

When was the last time we had a head of government who read and thought about books - not just memoranda or reports - but books? Kennedy? Churchill? Will we ever have another? Yes, Smuts was something quite unusual in politics - a man of letters, a visionary.

Strangely, Kenneth Ingham does not make much of this facet of Smuts. Throughout this biography there is a deprecating tone, as if Smuts's ideas were shallow, insincere, designed for self-promotion or ego-gratification. Ingham denigrates Smuts's fluctuations in opinion. He sees Smuts as a synthesist and a generalist, as if these were negative qualities in a politician. To be sure, this book is an improvement on much of the hagiography that goes before it. But though Smuts can be faulted, his weaknesses are not intellectual.

Complex he was and Ingham brings that out. Smuts as politician was a pragmatist. These qualities, his agile mind, his ability to go with the flow, whether the issue was Chinese labor, cooperation with other parties, religious- based schools or the franchise, for instance, led his critics and opponents to call him "Slim Jannie." Ingham says that means untrustworthy, which is not a fair translation or appraisal. In a fashion, Slim Jannie was a form of grudging admiration.

Like any good politician, Smuts was hard to pin down. His pragmatism had a larger purpose. Smuts held to a set of values seldom seen in men of action. He was ahead of his white countrymen, yet today he looks paternalistic and unsympathetic to black needs and aspirations. For a long while his political instincts were uncanny, especially in white politics. His desire to join the two white "races" into a single nation widened horizons. His was an enlightened defense of the status quo. Yet Smuts possessed no viable vision for the future for all of South Africa.

As Smuts earned respect, adulation, and even some power in Europe, his political touch at home faltered. He became aloof. He pontificated. Smuts seemed to prefer the affairs of the world to those of South Africa. He may have been prophetic, but that won few new followers among his Boer landsmen. It may not be fair to say that Smuts fiddled while Pretoria burned, but there is no question that his enthusiasm for trying to solve the world's problems exceeded his interest in equally pressing issues in South Africa. One gets the impression that Smuts retreated to Europe in order to recharge his political batteries. Meanwhile, the opportunities for finding long-lasting solutions at home were lost.

My problems with this book are many. In a biography of Smuts, interpretation is important. Ingham does not mention earlier biographies. Where does his fit in? I am not convinced that I gained a great deal from this reconsideration of a complex man. Ingham's account is based almost entirely on correspondence, mostly by Smuts, but also by those who wrote to him. Where are the views of his opponents? There is virtually no mention of secondary scholarly materials, except for the listing of a few in a "Select Bibliography." Otherwise, the voluminous analytical literature on Smuts and his era is missing.

By highlighting the letters and public statements, Ingham allows his subject to establish the parameters of the study. It is as if Ronald Reagan asked to be judged solely on his communications skills or Hitler on the economic performance of the Third Reich. Admittedly, it is important to understand the

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BOOK REVIEWS 577 BOOK REVIEWS 577

subject's thought processes, but to fasten on the ephemera of letters and speeches, and to neglect the scholarly literature is not acceptable. Furthermore, Ingham writes that "it would be wrong to overemphasize the racial question when writing about Jan Smuts" (p. xi). For South Africa, isn't that the question?

Finally, the prose is less than scintillating. The story is arranged chronologically, not topically. This results in a choppiness that lacks vitality. When an exciting and complex man is rendered in colorless and uninspiring tones, something is wrong.

KENNETH W. GRUNDY Case Western Reserve University

AFRICAN HISTORY: SELECTED READING LISTS AND COURSE OUTLINES FROM AMERICAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. Edited by Daniel Smith. New York: Markus Wiener Publishing, Inc., 1986. Pp. 264. Paper.

Whether one is a rookie or an old hand, teaching a first course in African history or sprucing up the standard fare, this little volume will be useful. The collection offers a whole range of ideas from alternative course structures and conceptualization of historical events and relationships to bibliography and themes for less familiar regions, eras or topics. Better yet, it offers voyeurs a peak into that sacred place: somebody else's classroom.

While oral tradition has it that being a good teacher doesn't get you beans in this racket, teaching is what many historians do for a good part of the year. Many would probably agree that it isn't as easy as it looks, and that teaching is most satisfactory when it goes well. A good deal of thought and effort usually goes into a good course, and editor Daniel Smith has collected the syllabi of some interesting courses put together by thoughtful teachers.

Smith divided the syllabi into two main sections. The first includes African history survey courses (both sub-Saharan and continental) which are subdivided by format: one semester, two semester sequence, trimester and quarter. The second section includes courses with a narrower regional, period, or topic focus. The first section includes thirty syllabi and the second fourteen. No effort was made to coordinate letter quality, spacing or format. The syllabi were simply reproduced from the originals with only the pagination superimposed. It may not have the tidiest visual impact, but it is functional, effective and basically all that is necessary.

Between the survey section and the special topics, both early and contemporary Africa are covered nicely. With regard to regional coverage, South and Southern Africa are over-represented (6 out of the 14), while East Africa is not singled out for special attention. North and West African History are both covered in individual courses. African women's history is not featured in this volume because it is part of a separate volume edited by Peg Strobel and Marion Miller (Women's History [European and Third World], 1986). The Marcus Wiener

subject's thought processes, but to fasten on the ephemera of letters and speeches, and to neglect the scholarly literature is not acceptable. Furthermore, Ingham writes that "it would be wrong to overemphasize the racial question when writing about Jan Smuts" (p. xi). For South Africa, isn't that the question?

Finally, the prose is less than scintillating. The story is arranged chronologically, not topically. This results in a choppiness that lacks vitality. When an exciting and complex man is rendered in colorless and uninspiring tones, something is wrong.

KENNETH W. GRUNDY Case Western Reserve University

AFRICAN HISTORY: SELECTED READING LISTS AND COURSE OUTLINES FROM AMERICAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. Edited by Daniel Smith. New York: Markus Wiener Publishing, Inc., 1986. Pp. 264. Paper.

Whether one is a rookie or an old hand, teaching a first course in African history or sprucing up the standard fare, this little volume will be useful. The collection offers a whole range of ideas from alternative course structures and conceptualization of historical events and relationships to bibliography and themes for less familiar regions, eras or topics. Better yet, it offers voyeurs a peak into that sacred place: somebody else's classroom.

While oral tradition has it that being a good teacher doesn't get you beans in this racket, teaching is what many historians do for a good part of the year. Many would probably agree that it isn't as easy as it looks, and that teaching is most satisfactory when it goes well. A good deal of thought and effort usually goes into a good course, and editor Daniel Smith has collected the syllabi of some interesting courses put together by thoughtful teachers.

Smith divided the syllabi into two main sections. The first includes African history survey courses (both sub-Saharan and continental) which are subdivided by format: one semester, two semester sequence, trimester and quarter. The second section includes courses with a narrower regional, period, or topic focus. The first section includes thirty syllabi and the second fourteen. No effort was made to coordinate letter quality, spacing or format. The syllabi were simply reproduced from the originals with only the pagination superimposed. It may not have the tidiest visual impact, but it is functional, effective and basically all that is necessary.

Between the survey section and the special topics, both early and contemporary Africa are covered nicely. With regard to regional coverage, South and Southern Africa are over-represented (6 out of the 14), while East Africa is not singled out for special attention. North and West African History are both covered in individual courses. African women's history is not featured in this volume because it is part of a separate volume edited by Peg Strobel and Marion Miller (Women's History [European and Third World], 1986). The Marcus Wiener

This content downloaded from 169.229.32.137 on Thu, 8 May 2014 20:41:37 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions