In 1976 Max du Preez witnessed the first stones thrown and the first shots fired in Soweto on June 16 as a young newspaper reporter. Having grown up in the heart of Afrikaner nationalism, it was the end of his normal.

It was also the end of normal for white South Africans, most of whom were living in blissful
ignorance. The events of 1976 set in motion a continuous series of developments that led to the ruling National Party and the main liberation movement reaching a settlement in 1994 that brought democracy to South Africa for the first time.

In The End of Normal he explores how otherwise decent people came to implement and support an evil system like apartheid. He examines the long-term impact of June 16 and takes a hard look at white and black attitudes today, in particular the resurrection of Afrikaner nationalism.