In 1994 democratic elections were held for the first time in South Africa. These elections were historic because they marked the end of apartheid-the system of legally-sanctioned racial separation that ruled South Africa for almost fifty years. These elections did not end racial discrimination-elections, on their own could not accomplish as much. But they did inaugurate formal democratic government and marked the beginning of a new era in South African political history. Without strong political leadership, this moment would not have arrived when it did. While countless individuals and organizations were involved in the country's transition to democracy (thousands lost their lives to create a "new" South Africa), perhaps the two single most influential figures were Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress (ANC) and F.W. de Clerk (National Party leader).         From 1989 when F.W. de Clerk assumed power as the head of the National Party, tentative and very preliminary negotiations between de Clerk and Mandela took place. After Mandela was released from prison on February 11, 1990, a more formal negotiation process commenced. It was not easy, but by 1993 all major parties in the country agreed to an interim constitution, which called for elections in which all South Africans could vote for the first time. Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) won in a landslide election. After these historic elections, one of the first questions the new government had to confront was the political violence of the apartheid regime. Some called for trials, which would focus on doing justice to the perpetrators. Others, arguing that the victims deserved compensation for their losses, suggested reparations. A compromise was eventually reached when the new government called for the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which would be presided over by Archbishop Desmond Tutu of the South African Anglican Church, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and man of prodigious moral stature.         For three years (1995-1998), the TRC held hearings around the country in which victims and perpetrators alike told their stories. The perpetrators, in hopes of gaining amnesty for their crimes, were encouraged to come forward and tell the truth about what they had done. The victims, it was hoped, would be able to come to some kind of closure by hearing the truth (and sometimes apologies) about what had been done to them and to their loved ones. It was a risky proposition and one that came under criticism by whites-some of whom claimed that they weren't responsible for decisions made by "the system"-and blacks-some of whom felt that the truth (even when the truth was told, which was not always the case) was not enough. Books: Adam, Heribert. The opening of the Apartheid mind: options for the new South Africa. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. Cochrane, James et al. Facing the Truth: South African faith communities and the Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Cape Town: David Phyilip Publishers; Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1999. De Klerk, F.W. The last trek-a new beginning: the autobiography. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. Eades, Lindsay Michie. The end of apartheid in South Africa. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1999. Ebrahim, Hassen. The soul of a nation: constitution-building in South Africa. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 1998. Gastrow, Peter. Bargaining for peace: South Africa and the National Peace Accord. Washington D.C.: United States Institute for Peace, 1995. Gordimer, Nadine. None to Accompany Me: a novel. New York: Penguin Books, 1995. Mallaby, Sebastian. After apartheid: the future of South Africa. New York: Times Books, 1992. Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom: the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Boston: Little, Brown, 1994. Mandela, Nelson. Nelson Mandela speaks: forging a democratic, nonracial South Africa (edited by Steve Clark). New York: London: Pathfinder Press, 1993. Rotberg, Robert I and Dennis Thompson. Truth v. justice: the morality of truth commissions. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000. Sampson, Anthony. Mandela: the authorized biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf: Distributed by Random House, 1999. South Africa. Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report/Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Cape Town: TheCommission; London: Distributed in the United States of America and Canada by Grove's Dictionaries, 1999. [5 volume series of transcripts; CD-Rom available at Circulation desk.] Sparks, Allister Haddon. Tomorrow is another country: the inside story of South Africa's road to change. New York: Hill and Wang, 1995. Waldmeir, Patti. Anatomy of a miracle: the end of apartheid and the birth of the new South Africa. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997. Film and Video: Facing the truth [videorecording] / with Bill Moyers ; produced by Public Affairs Television, Inc. Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 1999.