LONG WALK TO FREEDOM

A gripping and inspirational memoir, expertly repackaged

Author Nelson Mandela Publisher Folio Society Price £75 Released Out now

One of the first things that will strike you reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography is the familiar and collegial tone of his writing. For a 750-page book, this is a thoroughly engaging and inviting read that deftly carries the heavy weight of the historical events it builds up to, describes and then explains. But Mandela also doesn’t shy away from the harsh truths of his experience at the hands of South Africa’s apartheid government. The horrors and humiliations are all here.

Most importantly, Long Walk To Freedom allows you to look deeper into the life of one of the

20th century’s most impactful political figures. He covers his youth as the foster son of a Tembu chief, his increasing awareness of white control of his country and his unwavering determination to challenge apartheid. One of the most fascinating sections of his book covers the years he spent incarcerated on Robben Island. You might think that the routine and restrictions of prison life would lead these years to be uneventful, but they were anything but.

In fact, much of this memoir is based on writing Mandela did in secret while on Robben Island, smuggled out so that a copy of the manuscript survived even when his own was discovered and destroyed. Mandela carries himself in the book much as he did in life after his release: with dignity, compassion and no obvious sign of bitterness, which given the details laid out here is all the more remarkable. And in this Folio edition Long Walk To Freedom gets the premium presentation it thoroughly deserves.