The second volume in the series, like the first, makes no excuses for being a highly academic history. That is its strength as a reference work for the future. But it is also a vibrant, emotive and highly personalised story about the people involved, many of them ordinary people whose voices have until now not been heard. Volume 2 covers the tumultuous decade from 1970 to 1980 and includes, among other important highlights, the growing influence of Black Consciousness ideology on the minds of the oppressed; the widespread workers' strikes in Durban in 1973; the horror of Soweto in 1976; the intensification of the armed struggle and the strengthening of underground structures. It is a fascinating read.