Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom [Hardcover]

Chris (EDT)/ Bouma, Paddy (ILT) Van Wyk (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co; abridged edition edition (2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405091886
• ISBN-13: 978-1405091886
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,826,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa, on July 18, 1918. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies after 1948. He was incarcerated at Robben Island prison from 1964 to 1982 and then moved to Pollsmoor Prison, during which time his reputation as a potent symbol of resistance to apartheid grew steadily. Released from prison in 1990, Mandela received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994. He is the author of the international bestseller LONG WALK TO FREEDOM.



Author photograph by Andrew Zuckerman © Nelson Mandela Foundation

Customer Reviews

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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children, November 17, 2009

By 

Yana V. Rodgers "econkids.rutgers.edu" (New Brunswick, NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (Hardcover)

Nelson Mandela, born into South Africa's Thembu tribe to a chief who taught him bravery and a wise mother who taught him kindness, learned at an early age that white people ruled the country and controlled virtually all the wealth. Named Rolihlahla, or "troublemaker", Mandela grew up in an extended family that believed in the power of education, and he ultimately completed a bachelor's degree and studied law. True to his moniker, Mandela did stir up plenty of trouble in his decades-long struggle to end South Africa's oppressive system of racial apartheid.

Angry that the country's institutionalized form of discrimination left most black people living in poverty while whites enjoyed a comfortable standard of living, Mandela and his collaborators formed the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League, and they organized numerous non-violent protests. When the government responded with violence in 1960, the ANC's strategy became more drastic, leading just a few years later to the arrest of several ANC leaders, including Mandela. Mandela spent 27 years in prison, more than half of which he served at Robben Island under very basic conditions that involved hard labor and virtually no contact with the outside world.

Following growing international pressure, the South African government finally released Mandela from prison in 1990. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, and a year later became South Africa's President in the country's first multiracial election. As an abridged version of Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom makes these incredible events accessible to younger readers in an engaging and interesting way. The book's publication coincides nicely with the United Nation's announcement of Mandela Day and the movie industry's release of a major motion picture about Mandela.