Peoples & Cultures - General & Miscellaneous - Biography
Log in to track your reading progress.
Overview
In this, the first full-scale biography of Nelson Mandela, Martin Meredith vividly captures the epic arc of a life defined by struggle against the brutality of apartheid and its eventual defeat. He provides fascinating insights into the enduring friendships Mandela forged among whites and blacks alike, into the influential role played by his communist colleagues, and into his turbulent personal life. Meredith casts light upon the dark years of Mandela's imprisonment, when, mostly forgotten by the outside world, he was banished to Robben Island, South Africa's most notorious political prison. Yet Mandela survived years of hard labor and mistreatment to emerge as a powerful symbol of national reconciliation, and his ultimate triumph was honored and acclaimed around the world. As a champion of peace and a father of a new nation, Nelson Mandela is a hero in a world where heroes are few in number.Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
Meredith (In the Name of Apartheid) can't match the inimitable voice of Mandela's 1994 autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. But this book is a welcome complement to that work, as the author capably synthesizes a broad range of written sources and interviews, providing a more judiciousif less heartfeltportrait of Mandela's rich life. All the eventstrials, protests, prison negotiationsare here. But Meredith's broader mission allows him to provide more perspective and background on Mandela's comrades in the African National Congress (ANC). He also gives a greater glimpse of the personal Mandela; a harsh disciplinarian toward his children who has nevertheless been indulgent toward his second wife, Winnie, whose imperiousness and suspected criminal behavior he refused to criticize after his release from prison in 1990. Moreover, on the weakest area in Mandela's own book (the time since his release from prison), Meredith has the advantage. He can portray President Mandela's mix of stately wisdom, indecisiveness, indulgence toward comrades and stirring symbolic leadership. This biography may prove to be less interpretive than future ones, but Meredith rightly praises Mandela for laying the foundations for a new society in a land riven by poverty. Photos. (Feb.)Library Journal
Meredith's (In the Name of Apartheid, 1988) excellent analysis of Mandela's life within the context of 20th-century South African history results in a skillfully drawn portrait of an intense thinker and a tough-minded political activist. Despite the segregated and racist realities in South Africa during the 1940s, Mandela, a law student and an intern, mentioned to a white colleague, "One day I'm going to be prime minister of South Africa." On May 9, 1994, after spending 27 years in jail, Mandela was elected president of the Republic of South Africa. The author draws on deep and wide-ranging research in this biography, important because Meredith illuminates the dynamics and controversy of Mandela's relationships with South Africans of different and competing political strategies. The book also provides previously unpublished direct testimonies, court statements, speeches, and interviews from Mandela, revealing an unusually sane, courageous, and sincere man. This biography, written with Mandela's cooperation, is an invaluable resource for Mandela scholars and other readers interested in South African history.Edward G. McCormack, Univ. of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Lib., Long BeachBook Details
Published
February 1, 1999
Publisher
Griffin
Pages
608
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780312199920