Mandela: The Authorized Biography »

Anthony Sampson is a British journalist and author of nearly twenty books.

Nelson Mandela, who emerged from twenty-six years of political imprisonment to lead South Africa out of apartheid and into democracy, is perhaps the world's most admired leader, a man whose life has been led with exemplary courage and inspired conviction.

Now Anthony Sampson, who has known Mandela since 1951 and has been a close observer of South Africa's political life for the last fifty years, has produced the first authorized biography, the most informed and comprehensive portrait to date of a man whose dazzling image has been difficult to penetrate. With unprecedented access to Mandela's private papers (including his prison memoir, long thought to have been lost), meticulous research, and hundreds of interviews--from Mandela himself to prison warders on Robben Island, from Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo to Winnie Mandela and F. W. de Klerk, and many others intimately connected to Mandela's story--Sampson has composed an enlightening and necessary story of the man behind the myth.

KLIATT

The subtitle is key to why one would recommend this book. Sampson, a journalist, had been a friend of Mandela's for many years and Mandela was pleased to cooperate. He provided many unpublished letters, memoirs written while in jail, and the like, while assuring Sampson that he would leave the judgments to him, the author. This is a long, detailed account and few young people will plod through it. However, Mandela is a true hero to many and even a cursory reading of this work could well show others why he is so adored and respected. His 27 years in prison are described at length. During this time he grew, became more thoughtful, and had a quiet authority over the other prisoners. "My current circumstances give me advantages my compatriots outside jail rarely have.... One is able to stand back and look at the entire movement from a distance, and the bitter lessons of prison life force one to go all out to win the cooperation of all fellow-prisoners...." (p.268). The beginnings of the Soweto riots are discussed, his struggle with the younger, more radical blacks and his leadership of the ANC, his relationship with other factions such as the Zulus and their chief, Buthelezi, the roles of the Americans and the British, and so much more are covered. This is a densely packed work that can be read through by the truly dedicated reader, but with its excellent index it could be read also as reference or for information on one aspect or another of South Africa, its recent history and Mandela's struggle. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 1999, Random House/Vintage, 672p, illus, notes, bibliog, index, 21cm, 99-18498, $17.00. Ages16 to adult. Reviewer: Doris Hiatt; January 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 1)