Asserting that crime and growing unemployment remain the Achilles' heel of today's South Africa, this book calls for a new identity for South Africans, deliberately cast in industrial rather than political language. Pointing out that Africa has enough mineral wealth to be the wealthiest continent on the planet, the book asks "Why then are South Africa and its neighbors still so poor?" The answer to this question goes beyond the usual diatribe about African leaders being corrupt and Western nations being greedy. Instead the discussion critically examines South Africa's journey from apartheid to political freedom--and argues that economic bondage will give way when more engineers and new industries appear on the scene.