Summary
Born in obscurity and relative poverty, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela became the first president of South Africa elected by a fully representative democratic vote. One of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, the man affectionately known as “Madiba” (an honorary title bestowed by elders of his clan), is a leader whose trail is marked by humor, suffering, and the gift of forgiveness—rather than a thirst for revenge. Imprisoned for 27 years during his struggle to end the apartheid state in South Africa, he nevertheless continued his mission, emerging victorious to help establish a new South Africa. Nelson Mandela focuses on his efforts to end the segregation that paralyzed his country, efforts that resulted in his being awarded the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, along with South Africa’s previous president, Frederik Willem de Klerk, “for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.”
Specifications
Full-color photographs. Sidebars and special textboxes. Chronology. Bibliography. Further reading. Index.
About the Author(s)
Samuel Willard Crompton is a historian and biographer who lives in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. Crompton has written many books for Chelsea House, including Emanuel Swedenborg and Desmond Tutu. He has twice served as a Writing Fellow for Oxford University Press in its production of the 24-volume American National Biography. Crompton teaches history at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts.