Mandela : His Essential Life - Peter Hain

Instant online reading.
Don't wait for delivery!
Go digital and save!

Mandela

His Essential Life

By: Peter Hain

Write A Review

Paperback | 18 July 2018

At a Glance

Paperback
232 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22 x 15 x 1.5

Paperback

RRP $30.99

$29.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $7.44 with

Aims to ship in 15 to 25 business days

Mandela: His Essential Life chronicles the life and legacy of one of the twentieth century's most influential and admired statesmen. Charting his development from remote rural roots to city lawyer, freedom fighter, and then political leader, Peter Hain takes an in-depth look at Mandela's rise through the ranks of the African National Congress (ANC) and subsequent 27 years imprisonment on Robben Island, as increasingly vocal protests against the injustices of Apartheid brought his struggle against overwhelming prejudice and oppression to the eyes of the world.

This book encompasses Mandela's inauguration as South Africa's first democratically elected president, his "retirement" campaigns for human rights, a solution to AIDS and poverty. It goes on to chronicle his later years and death. Throughout, the humanity and compassion of this extraordinary world leader shine through. The author concludes with a critical analysis of his and the ANC's achievements, its leadership's subsequent slide into corruption, and whether under new direction South Africa can reclaim the values and legacy of Mandela, and the 'rainbow nation' he created and led to such global acclaim.

Industry Reviews

Passionate and engaging. From a man whose tireless anti-apartheid activism supported the long struggle to free his friend and leader, Nelson Mandela.
â" Jon Snow, Broadcaster

Highly readable and inspirational.
â" Desmond Tutu

His life and times told succinctly and compellingly.
â" Sello Hatang, CEO, Nelson Mandela Foundation

Peter Hainâs excellent Mandela: His Essential Life, does not pretend to be anything more than, as he writes, a âshort, popular and accessible book that tells Mandelas entire and remarkable story in a nutshellâ. Actually, he does himself a disservice: it is much more than that, and is a serious analysis of Mandelaâs place in history, his failings as well as his virtues.

It also contains a powerful final chapter on the betrayal of the Mandela legacy. In recent years, Hain, a second-generation anti-apartheid activist, has exposed the corruption of the Zuma presidency, and played no small part in bringing down the PR firm Bell Pottinger. It is a sad sequel to Mandels life but a story of modern-day South Africa that needs to be told.
â" The Sunday Times, 15 July 2018

Borrowing extensively from works such as Anthony Sampsonâs Mandela (1999) and Nelson Mandelaâs own autobiography Long Walk to Freedom (CH, Apr95, 32-4642), Hain, a former anti-apartheid activist, offers a more condensed biography of the freedom fighter turned statesman, and combines it with personal observations of his encounters with the legendary South African. Hain tracks Mandelaâs rural roots, political awakening, trial and imprisonment, progressive estrangement from his wife, Winnie, and triumph in South Africaâs first democratic election in 1994. Despite several chronological issues (i.e., the Congress of the People took place in June 1955), Hainâs narrative of Mandelaâs long struggle for justice and reconciliation falls in line with other scholarly biographies, even if it does not break new ground. The most original material in Hainâs book comes in the later chapters, where he relates several encounters with the man known as Madiba. âIt was not just his towering moral stature, his courage and his capacity to inspire that endeared Nelson Mandela to so many,â Hain observes. âDespite being one of the worldâs most prominent statesmenâ"perhaps the most reveredâ"he retained his extraordinary humanity.â
Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels.
â" Choice Reviews

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.