recommended list of five books on Mandela and South Africa for the Washington Post. One title on the list:Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela (1994).Read about the other books on the list.
A reader should have even more skepticism about any politician’s autobiography, especially one published on the eve of an election. In 1994, when South Africans of all colors were able to go to the polls for the first time, Mandela was eager, in this book, to reassure the white population that his presidency would not be one of hatred and revenge. But he was deeply sincere in this, and despite its predictable bows to political allies, this memoir of an extraordinary man’s life, in the way he wanted to tell it, is an important historical document.
Long Walk to Freedom is on Casey Lee's list of the five best books by Nelson Mandela, Don Mullan's top ten list of books on heroes, and Sammy Perlmutter's five best list of books from Nobel winners who didn't win their medal for literature.
--Marshal Zeringue
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