Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation » (Movie Tie-In)

John Carlin is senior international writer for El País, the world's leading Spanish language newspaper, and was previously the U.S. bureau chief for The Independent on Sunday. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, Wired, Spin, and Condé Nast Traveler.

In 1985, Nelson Mandela, then in prison for twenty-three years, set about winning over the fiercest proponents of apartheid before setting his sights on the nation's first free elections in 1994. But perhaps his greatest challenge was finding a cause that would unite the nation, fractured after fifty years of apartheid. His choice was one of the most far-fetched imaginable: the Springboks, their national rugby team, long an embodiment of white supremacist rule.

The Springboks' chances-both of victory and inspiring unity-seemed remote. But as their string of wins lengthened, South Africans of every color and political stripe began falling for the team, Soon, millions were gathered around their television sets watching as the Springboks ended their season with an incredible win-and capped Mandela's miraculous ten-year-long effort to unite all South Africans in an enduring bond.

Introduction 1

Chapter I Breakfast in Houghton 7

Chapter II The Minister of Justice 19

Chapter III Separate Amenities 37

Chapter IV Bagging the Croc 49

Chapter V Different planets 61

Chapter VI Ayatollah Mandela 75

Chapter VII The Tiger King 93

Chapter VIII The Mask 105

Chapter IX The Bitter-Enders 121

Chapter X Romancing the General 133

Chapter XI "Address Their Hearts" 145

Chapter XII The Captain and the President 159

Chapter XIII Springbok Serenade 171

Chapter XIV Silvermine 183

Chapter XV Doubting Thomases 191

Chapter XVI The Number Six Jersey 201

Chapter XVII "Nelson! Nelson!" 213

Chapter XVIII Blood in the Throat 227

Chapter XIX Love Thine Enemy 241

Epilogue 255

Where are They Now? 259

Acknowledgments 263

A Note on Sources 265

Index 267