A Very Strange Society

A Very Strange Society: A Journey to the Heart of South Africa is a 1967 non-fiction book by Allen Drury. It explores the then-evolving government and culture of the Republic of South Africa.

Overview
Combining newspaper articles, interviews and government edicts, Drury presents the "achievements and failures" of the new republic, which was founded in 1961.

Critical reception
In November 1967, Kirkus Reviews wrote: "Utilizing a pro and con format, Drury presents a rather convincing case why a minority of whites should be in a position to totally dominate and manipulate a vastly larger non-white population. Although he scores Afrikaan provincialism, police-state methods, and obduracy, it is done in a manner that suggests redemption will come from the purging of traits rather than ideology. In a sense, this book derives its lethality from what it most certainly isn't — crackpot and extremist. On the other hand, it most certainly fails as a dispassionate and objective handling of the South African dilemma."