The inner history of the amnesty negotiations during the South African transition, and the origins of the TRC’s amnesty process. *** Andre du Toit cuts through the forest of myths that surrounds the commission, and clears away the hagiographic brush that continues to smother one of South Africa’s boldest political experiments to reveal essential truths about the high moral and political cost of South Africa’s transition to democracy. Meticulous in his research, rigorous in his engagement with sources, both human and textual, and sophisticated in his analysis of what this all means, du Toit has given us a magisterial chronicle of how amnesty came to be such a vexed and divisive issue in post-apartheid South Africa. A fine achievement from one of South Africa’s finest thinkers. ~ Jacob Dlamini, Associate Professor of History, Princeton University