Book Title: Long Walk to Freedom
Author: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Publisher: Abacus Book Publishers
Long Walk to Freedom is the international bestselling autobiography of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nelson Mandela. Madiba as he is affectively known is the first democratically elected president of the post-apartheid South Africa (1994 to 1999). He has spent more than 67 years of his life serving his community, his country, and the world at large. At least 27 of these years, he spent locked up in the South Africa's notorious prisons, including the Robben Island detention centre off the coast of Cape Town.
In a nutshell, the book is a tale of resistance, resilience and redemption. The first parts of the book were coded in Mandela's handwriting while incarcerated on the Robben Island. When authorities discovered the copy of his manuscripts - they confiscated and destroyed them. However, due to the ingenuity of Mandela's comrades, Mac Maharaj and Isu Chiba, the original manuscripts had been hidden away safely. Maharaj smuggled the manuscripts out of prison when he completed his 10 year sentence.
The other parts were ghost-written by Richard Stengel (world acclaimed journalist and editor) with assistance from a cohorts of African National Congress (ANC) leaders, esteemed authors and activists. Mandela pays a special tribute to Ahmed Kathrada (friend, fellow prisoner, and ANC comrade) for the long hours spent revising, correcting and giving accuracy to the story. Although, the book is the work of a collective and written over a period of 30 years, it still manages to reveal Mandela's humanity. The voice and style of Mandela shines through the 751 pages of the book.
Long Walk to Freedom is therefore a collection of riveting Mandela's prison notes, diary entries, stories, places and events that shaped him. It recreates the drama of the apartheid state incongruous political decisions, the resilience of the people, and the rise of the ANC Mission in Exile among others. However, the story is told in a splendid fashion with no hint of boastfulness. It tells of his birth, early political consciousness, education, activism, underground, prison and of course the ultimate victory - the 1994 democratic all race elections in South Africa.
This book is both a work of literature and an important historic document. It seeks to and succeeds in portraying Mandela's candour, vulnerabilities, fears, hopes, and his fine visionary mind. By tracing the path of Mandela's life (in his own words), it sheds new light into the making both of the man and the new South Africa founded in 1994. It captures vividly the dark period of South Africa's history and Mandela's stint on the apartheid notorious prison, the Robben Island. It also covers the teething problems of transition including the time when there was a surge in political violence following Mandela's 1990 release from prison. In an authentic Madiba's voice, it tells of the slippery road to and of negotiations. Finally, it illuminates the triumph of a people and ushering in of a democracy in South Africa.
While, the book's main focus remains Mandela, it also covers succinctly the history of the now South Africa's ruling party the ANC, the previous government relentless pursuit of the policy of apartheid (1948 to 1994) and the international community's pressure that was brought bear for his release.
Today, Mandela is an international icon for his exemplary leadership personified through his policy of reconciliation, humanitarian and HIV/Aids work. In recognition of his rare attributes, the United Nations General Assembly has declared (since 11 November, 2009) Mandela's birth date, 18 July, as the Nelson Mandela International Day. Pundits insist that it is more than a celebration of Nelson Mandela's life and legacy; but a global movement to take his life's work into a new century and change our world for the better.
Bhekisisa Mncube is a qualified journalist and member of the Book Review Panel at the New Agenda academic journal in South Africa. Mncube is the former senior reporter (politics) at the Witness newspaper. He is also a columnist (Witness/Echo), his column 'On the High Road' appears on Thursdays
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