Book Description

This collection of Nelson Mandela's articles, speeches, letters from underground, and transcripts from the trials in which he was accused vividly illustrates his magnetic attraction as Africa's foremost campaigner for freedom. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

"¿An Ideal For Which I'm Prepared To Die."
What a bottomless well of encouragement and inspiration one gets from its reading! Nelson Mandela, basing himself on the mass of Black, Colored and Indian, workers, peasants and other democrats of South Africa, was unbreakable at the hands of the horrific, murderous and terrorist system of aparthied. Akin to Nazis Germany, the Jim Crow USA South and Zionist Israel, South Africa enjoyed the backing of the US and British and Israeli governments until it was overthrown.

Joining the African National Congress in 1944 at age 26, he and other youth would lead its transformation from and organization of " gentlemen with clean hands" to the mass revolutionary democratic movement that would lead the revolution over apartheid. Doing so even while in prison for nearly 30 years. He was finally released in 1990 at age 72 and was soon after elected South Africa's president.

Mandela in his own words
For decades, a popular demand in South Africa and around the world was: Free Nelson Mandela! This book does an excellent job of showing just why Mandela was so popular among the masses in his country and so feared and hated by apartheid's rulers. He was a first-class revolutionary who fought for decades for his country's freedom and always believed in the power of the masses of people to make change. This book is so inspiring because you read Mandela in his own words, starting as a student leader in the 1940s to a leader of the African National Congress's armed wing in the 1960s to an internationally known political prisoner in the 1980s. He never gave up and he outlasted the vicious apartheid system. The photos in the book also do a great job of showing what the struggle against apartheid was like.

Freedom struggle against apartheid -- Mandela's own words!
What a wonderful experience-- reading and studying speeches and documents prepared by Nelson Mandela during five decades of struggle against the apartheid regime in South Africa! Here are key documents of the African National Congress, including the Freedom Charter that became the central document of the mass movement that brought down apartheid. Also Mandela's speeches at different stages of the struggle, including historic courtroom addresses when he was on trial for his life; documents Mandela prepared as the apartheid regime was forced to negotiate with him and the ANC in the late 1980s; and his first speeches after he was released from prison in 1990.
These speeches give a vivid reminder of the brutal, racist regime that was apartheid (and we should never forget that the South African regime was a pillar of U.S. domination in Africa from the 1940s on.) Mandela gives us a real feel for the determined, difficult, and courageous struggle of millions of people who never accepted submission to apartheid and the world-wide importance of the fight for a democratic, nonracial South Africa. And you see truly inspiring leadership in the persons of Mandela and his fellow leaders in the ANC.
Don't miss the 32-pages of photos that really help bring this rich struggle to life as well! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Mandatory reading for leaders, including public officials!
Thanks to Steyn we get a closer look at one of the most fascinating persons in modern history. Nelson Mandela demonstrates most convincingly that integrity and respect for fellow human beings of all levels is not a sign of weakness but rather the ultimate demonstration of greatness. This book ought to be mandatory reading for every person in a leading position, be it in the political or any other field. Thus, let us hope that it becomes more readily available outside of South Africa!

One Step Behind Mandela
An excellent book! This book was very well written and contained in depth information about executive and personal protection that few people have the intimate knowledge to find out about. I was especially drawn to the special relationship that formed between Mr. Steyn & his protectee, President Nelson Mandela. This book also contained some very humerous passages, such as the incident where the driver for Mr. Mandala's principal car accidently locked the keys in the car, with the president's helicopter inbound a due to land in a few minutes! I would recommend this book to any protection specialist in the field and others alike. ... Read more

Book Description

A biography of the South African leader, discussing his childhood, family life, career, imprisonment, and election as president. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A storybook biography of Nelson Mandela, written and illustrated by Cooper. The pictures convey Mandela's character as he progresses from childhood--he is the son of an African chief--through the struggle to get a good education in apartheid-ridden South Africa, to his days as an activist for the African National Congress, and then as the most famous prisoner in the world, ending with his election as the first president of the new South Africa. Small children will not understand some of the historical references in the text, so help from teacher or parent will be required to add context for the child. The book offers an ideal story for such interaction. ... Read more

Book Description

Rolihlahla Mandela was born in 1918 in South Africa's Transkei territory. His first name could be interpreted as "trouble-maker." The name Nelson was added later by a primary school teacher. Following a boyhood filled with rural pursuits, Mandela prepared for a legal career. He received a law degree in 1942. He and a friend opened the first black law partnership in South Africa that same year. During his time at college, Mandela first became involved in student protest against white colonial rule and set out on the long walk toward personal and national liberation. Despite years of daily exposure to the inhumanities of apartheid, Mandela opted for nonviolence as a strategy. He joined the Youth League of the African National Congress and became involved in programs of passive resistance against the laws that forced blacks to carry passes and kept them in a position of permanent servility. In 1956, Mandela, along with other leaders of the ANC, was tried for treason, but he was acquitted in 1961. At around that same time, the ANC was banned. Mandela went underground for about a year but was arrested in 1962, convicted of sabotage and conspiracy, and was sentenced to life in prison. While in prison, Mandela assumed his full responsibility as a leader in the fight for a democratic and free society for all people. After two decades as the most famous prisoner in the world, Mandela began secretly negotiating not only his own release, but also South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy. After his release from prison in 1990, Mandela began the hard work of uniting a divided people. He urged conciliation, not violence, and was elected president of South Africa in 1994, in the first truly open national election in which all races could vote. He retired as president in 1999. Named TIME Man of the Year in 1993, and one of Time's 100 Most Important People of the Century, Mandela himself has said "I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances." ... Read more

Book Description

This text is an ideal way to integrate discussion of diversity into the student success course, while demonstrating to students how ordinary people can transform obstacles into opportunity and accomplish extraordinary things. The subjects profiled in African American Master Student Profiles represent a wide range of fields, including politics, business, academics, sports, and the arts.

Reviews (2)

Nelson Mandela's fight for freedom
I read this book in seventh grade. For me it was a saddening story of one man's fight for freedom from Communist South Africa. He was jailed for treason on June 13, 1964. Finally in 1990 he was freed from prison, he wasno longer South Africa's silent voice of protest.

Nelson Mandela's fight for freedom
I read this book in seventh grade. For me it was a saddening story of one man's fight for freedom from Communist South Africa. He was jailed for treason on June 13, 1964. Finally in 1990 he was freed from prison, he wasno longer South Africa's silent voice of protest. ... Read more

Book Description

Discover the 20th century's most dynamic and fascinating history makers. These inspiring life stories pay tribute to the character, determination, and personal courage of heroes who have made a difference in all our lives.

Nelson Mandela

Hero for Democracy

The son of a tribal chief, Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to fighting against apartheid for his people's freedom -- despite the fact he spent twenty-seven years behind bars. But on a bright afternoon in February 1990, Mandela walked through the gates of prison and stepped onto the world stage, committed to lead South Africans of all races from tyranny to real democracy.

This is the moving story of Mandela's life, as well as a gripping portrait of South Africa and its remarkable transformation. Yet democracy did not happen overnight, and this volume chronicles Mandela's grueling negotiations with then-president de Klerk as they worked to hammer out the country's constitution, the vehement resistance by the right-wing Boers, the historic election as the world held its breath, a look at South Africa's new position in the global community -- and the challenge President Nelson Mandela faces for the future. ... Read more