In these stories, Gordimer writes about the many faces of Africa in the 20th century, including the years of apartheid, the failures of the 1950s, the struggles of the 1960s and '70s, and the changed world that is Africa at the end of the century.

Contents

• From The Soft Voice of the Serpent
  • The Kindest Thing to Do
  • The Defeated
  • A Watcher of the Dead
  • Treasures of the Sea
  • The Prisoner
  • The Amateurs
  • A Present for a Good Girl
  • Le Vie Boheme
  • Another Part of the Sky
  • The Umbilical Cord
  • The Talisman
  • The End of the Tunnel
  • Monday is Better than Sunday
  • In the Beginning
• From Livingstone's Companions
  • A Third Presence
  • The Credibility Gap
  • Inkalamu's Place
  • The Bride of Christ
  • A Meeting in Space
  • Otherwise Birds Fly In
  • A Satisfactory Settlement
  • Why Haven't You Written?