This is a very important book that details the history of rural South Africa over the last 20 years. The book portrays 15 small towns in the Eastern, Western and Northern Cape. The portraits will be compiled from a combination of interviews, full-colour photographs and local artwork, making it attractive enough to be a coffee table book. The first part of the book is a description of a successful model for rural development. An iconic history of South Africa from 1980 to the present will run along the bottom of each page. The book is intended to give an insight into rural needs and to uncover parts of this country that are hidden from the experience of most of us. It is based on the premise that democracy is a chimera unless followed by development.