Synopses & Reviews
From the makers of the major motion picture
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, a completely unique biography and thematic telling of the story of Nelson Mandela. This book, which provided key source material for the film, is an unexpurgated collection of the views and opinions of South Africa's first Black president, and it draws on Danny Schechter’s forty-year relationship with "Madiba," as Nelson Mandela is known in his native South Africa.
Each chapter of this unique portrait corresponds to a letter of the alphabet, and the letters cover major and minor, unexpected and fascinating themes in Mandela’s life and his impact on others: Athlete, Bully, Comrade, Forgiveness, Indigenous, Jailed, Militant, and President, to name a few. The book quotes liberally from Mandela himself, his ex-wives and other family members, global leaders, Mandela's cellmates and guards on Robben Island, the team behind Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, former president F. W. de Klerk, members of the South African Police, and his comrades including his successor Thabo Mbeki.
Madiba A to Z reveals sides of Nelson Mandela that are not often discussed and angles of the anti-apartheid movement that most choose to brush under the table in order to focus on the happy-ending version of the story. As Schechter reports in the book, according to Mandela's successor as president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, “the fundamental problems of South Africa, poverty, inequality, have remained unchanged since 1994.” This is partly because, as Schechter writes, “six months before the 1994 elections, when South Africa was being governed jointly by the ANC and the National Party under a Transitional Executive Council (TEC), there were secret negotiations about the economic future.”
There are many rarely spoken of revelations in Madiba A to Z, a book about Mandela’s brilliance, his courage, his tremendous impact in saving his country and its people of all races, but one that also shows how far South Africa still has to go.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Synopsis
"[...] Madiba A to Z: The Many Faces of Nelson Mandela, tells the story from personal experience and goes beyond the surface with a lively sense of humor and deep caring that even we South Africans can learn from." —Ronnie Kasrils, former commander in the armed struggle and South Africa's Minister of Intelligence in the post-apartheid government16 years went into the making of the forthcoming feature film LONG WALK TO FREEDOM, a fictionalized biopic based on Mandela's bestselling autobiography, coming out November 29, 2013. Danny Schechter, who has spent 40 years getting to know Mandela, was asked to make a non-fiction documentary about the biopic and this book is his companion to the feature, the documentary, and Mandela's life itself. In Schechter's words:
"What do we see when we see Nelson Mandela? Many of those who adore him projected on to him a god-like persona as political superman. Others projected on to him the qualities they wanted or feared. For many years, his government silenced him as a faceless terrorist and communist. Others saw him as a savior who single-handedly won freedom for South Africa. Many of us only saw the political mission, not the man behind it, and, when we did, what man was that? Was it the victim turned victor, prisoner turned President, the lone hero and political magician or the wise leader of a liberation movement? He was courted by kings and queens, the biggest names in show business and world leaders--who appealed to his often unseen vanity--but despite some compromises and co-optation, he largely stayed true to the values that shaped and guided him becoming, as he aged, even more reflective and self-aware."
From the Trade Paperback edition.
About the Author
DANNY SCHECHTER is an American journalist and a documentary filmmaker who made six nonfiction films with Mandela and who was asked personally by the filmmakers of
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom to make a five-hour television documentary about the making of the forthcoming film. Schechter has worked in South Africa since the 1960s, which has given him unprecedented access to insiders. Schechter wrote about the liberation struggle and produced a TV news magazine for three years in its most crucial years 1988–91. Having worked both in public television and for CNN and ABC News, Schechter has been part of the anti-apartheid movement globally, earning him the confidence of many activists and leaders. He continues to work around the world and lives in New York City.
ANANT SINGH is widely recognized as South Africa’s pre-eminent film producer, having produced sixty-five films since 1984, including Sarafina!, Red Dust, Captives and The Road to Mecca. Nelson Mandela called him “a producer I respect very much . . . a man of tremendous ability” when he granted him the film rights to his autobiography; Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom premiered in the US in November 2013.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Table of Contents
Athlete Physical discipline. Boxer, tennis player. His admiration for athletes.
Bully: “Wild Branches”
Early days and “wild branches”—conflicts with ANC leaders. Lessons learned.
Comrade
How “comradeship” helped him and his fellow prisoners cope with their long years of incarceration.
Diplomat
His role in fashioning a diplomatic compromise and avoiding a race war.
Eloquent
Life as a lawyer. Written statements, letters, and speeches that inspired millions.
Forgiveness
Empathy for Afrikaners, and faith in peace and reconciliation.
Global
An international outlook. Global travel and the ability to galvanize support worldwide.
Humble
Origins and an austere lifestyle. Making his own bed. Interest in the lives of ordinary people.
Indigenous
Xhosa traditions, and the abiding interest in and connection to people of all races and ethnic identities.
Jailed
Prison years. How he coped, how he led.
Kafkaesque
The treason and Rivonia Trials. Prison regulations and his responses to them.
How the law was used to legalize inhumanity.
Love and Loss
His search for love, his flirtatiousness, marriages, love of Winnie, love of children, of family. The measure of the price he paid with his years in prison away from them all.
Militant
From his days in the ANC Youth League to launching Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the ANC.
Negotiator
Dealings with internal conflicts and external threats. Outreach to whites and other minorities.
Onward
His philosophy and commitment to creating a new future for his country. His optimism and concern for peace in Africa and the world.
President
How he was elected and his term in office.
Questions
The questions people around the world ask most frequently about Nelson Mandela.
Recognition
The world recognizes and honors Madiba, but what does he think of this adulation? How does Madiba see and recognize himself?
Stalwart
Standing up for his beliefs. Fighting for the poor and those afflicted with AIDS.
Terrorist
He helped push a nonviolent movement into armed struggle. Was he a terrorist?
Unknown
There are many sides to Mandela that many do not know.
Voices Raised up in Song
The power of music and praise poetry in the Mandela story, seen through the eyes of two of his favorite artists.
Waiting
Millions waited years for Mandela’s release after twenty-seven and a half years of incarceration.
The wait continued, even on the day he left prison.
X Factor
The role of external pressure in winning South African’s liberation and the need, even now, for rebirth away from the old ways.
Youth
Youth made the revolution, and Mandela began as a youth leader.
Zuid-Afrika to .za
As it becomes clearer that enormous challenges remain, the country evolves from the Zuid-Afrika of Dutch origin to its Internet domain .za—and beyond.
From the Trade Paperback edition.