Author Douglas Foster. In the mid-1990s, South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy inspired millions of people around the world. In his new book, Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism Professor Douglas Foster checks in with South Africa--from the largest cities to its most troubled townships and smallest villages and across lines of gender, race, ethnicity, and culture--to explore how the successes and failures of this remarkable experiment in social change have repercussions in the broader global community.