![]() In that moment I realized the tricks that apartheid plays on one, for the everyday travails that afflict Africans are accepted as a matter of course, while my heart immediately went out to this bedraggled white woman. “While I did not normally give to African beggars, I felt the urge to give this woman money. Mandela at one point mentions being struck by the sight of a young beggar-girl by the side of the road in a township, and reacting completely differently because she was white: What I found particularly valuable were the insights into how deeply apartheid ingrained racism not just on to the white minority, but on to the attitudes and assumptions throughout the whole of South African society. Perusing through the book, I’m left with a much more nuanced view of Mandela and what he stood for, and a much clearer idea of the man behind the symbol. Which after a google search pointed down to Mandela’s (uncredited) American ghostwriter, Richard Stengel. ![]() ![]() Like the thinking which informs it, the writing is clear, measured and straightforward, albeit unexpectedly scattered with bits of Harvard English. Actually though, it doesn’t feel like a heavy book at all. ![]() ![]() At over 700 pages, Nelson Mandela’s autobiography might look like a serious commitment. ![]()
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