Mandela
Nelson Mandela stands out as one of the most admired political figures of the twentieth century. It was his leadership and moral courage above all that helped to deliver a peaceful end to apartheid in South Africa after years of racial division and violence and to establish a fledgling democracy there.\ Martin Meredith’s vivid portrayal of this towering leader was originally acclaimed as “an exemplary work of biography: instructive, illuminating, as well as felicitously written” (Kirkus...
Search in google:
Written with Mandela's cooperation and unique access to his inner circle, this biography is a sympathetic yet balanced look at the complex leader. Includes 16 pages of photos. 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.)
List of IllustrationsMap1 The Mission School Ladder 12 Johannesburg 233 Friends and Comrades 524 The Apartheid Machine 685 The 'M' Plan 956 The Freedom Charter 1237 'The Fabulous Decade' 1438 A Trial of Endurance 1609 Spear of the Nation 19210 Capture 21311 Operation Mayibuye 23312 The Rivonia Trial 24513 Prisoner 466/64 27914 A Double Ordeal 30315 Soweto 31916 Free Mandela! 33717 Talking with the Enemy 35318 The Football Club 37119 Botha's Tea Party 38420 A Step to Freedom 38921 The Third Man 41422 Winnie's Trial 42923 Codesa 43924 Winnie's Downfall 45325 The Sunset Clause 46126 The Loneliest Man 48027 The Election Roller-Coaster 49528 Reinventing South Africa 51729 The Bitter End 53330 The Gravy Train 54331 Dealing with the Past 55132 Passing the Baton 56533 L'Envoi 574Notes on Sources 601Select Bibliography 613Index 627
\ Publishers Weekly - Publisher's 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 JournalMeredith'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 Beach\ \
