The State vs. Nelson Mandela: The Trial That Changed South Africa [Hardcover]

Lord Joel Joffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2007

On 11 July 1963, police raided Lilisleaf farm at Rivonia near Johannesburg, arresting alleged members of the high command of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). Together with the already imprisoned Nelson Mandela, they were put on trial and charged with conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government by violent revolution. Their expected punishment was death. In The State vs. Nelson Mandela their defence attorney, Joel Joffe, gives a blow-by-blow account of the most important trial in South Africa's history, vividly portraying the characters of those involved, and exposing the astonishing bigotry and rampant discrimination faced by the accused, as well as showing their courage under fire.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1963, Nelson Mandela, along with nine other leaders and friends of the African National Congress, were tried on multiple charges that included sabotage and conspiracy. When his boss was swept up in the charges, attorney Joffe put his plans to escape South Africa on hold to manage the defense. In his play-by-play, Joffe recounts tremendous obstacles, among them a parade of witnesses slapped with 90-day prison stints in order to drive them to the prosecution's side, and a judge who harbored no doubts about the legitimacy of white supremacy. Another difficulty: most of his clients were indeed guilty as charged and weren't going to deny it. Joffe, who wrote this book in 1964, draws heavily on the original transcripts and his own experience. Unfortunately, he has little to say about Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Arthur Goldreich as people, and assumes readers already know the trial's implications for South Africa; he doesn't offer any big-picture conclusions beyond the verdict and sentencing (one acquitted, all others spared the death penalty). Anyone hoping for an inside look at the personalities of the ANC leadership will come away disappointed, but Joffe devotes considerable care to his account of the trial and those who conducted it, crafting a dramatic indictment of apartheid justice.
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Review

"A hard-hitting and compulsively readable account of one of the great state trials of the 20th century." -- Sir Sydney Kentridge QC - former acting judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and recipient of the "Lifetime Achievement" award at the UK Chambers Bar Awards 2006.

"An authentic, detailed and moving account of the trial of Nelson Mandela and his colleagues by the apartheid state. Everyone interested in Nelson Mandela's life and South Africa's transition to democracy should read this book." -- Arthur Chaskalson - Chief Justice of South Africa, 2001-2005

"The State vs. Nelson Mandela is a remarkable piece of contemporary historical writing that will serve as one of the most reliable sources for understanding what happened at that trial and how we came to live to see democracy triumph in South Africa." -- Nelson Mandela - Nobel Prize winner and former president of South Africa

An authentic, detailed and moving account of the trial of Nelson Mandela and his colleagues by the apartheid state. Everyone interested in Nelson Mandela's life and South Africa's transition to democracy should read this book. -- Arthur Chaskalson - Chief Justice of South Africa, 2001-2005

The State vs. Nelson Mandela is a remarkable piece of contemporary historical writing that will serve as one of the most reliable sources for understanding what happened at that trial and how we came to live to see democracy triumph in South Africa. -- Nelson Mandela - Nobel Prize winner and former president of South Africa

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oneworld (July 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1851685006
• ISBN-13: 978-1851685004
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,520,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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