5.0 out of 5 based on 1 reviews. – Customer review on 07/11/2011

I have previously read A Long Walk to Freedom: The autobiography of Nelson Mandela so the first half of this book was familiar to me.

The first half of the book covered the history of Nelson Mandela’s political life as a young freedom fighter and the 27 years he spent in prison. I will admit I found it a little hard to read, it really takes all of your concentration to stay focused.

But the second half of the book was amazing. This was the part of the book about the interaction Mandela had with the Springboks, the South African Rugby team.

Nelson Mandela had to find a way to unite the white South Africans and the black South Africans and figured that the sporting team that represented South Africa would be the best way.

He went about this by boosting the teams spirits, changing the national flag and incorporating 2 National Anthems so that both groups would be spoken for. In doing so, slowly uniting the people of South Africa.

Although already knowing the outcome of the Rugby match (World Cup 1995), it was wonderful to read the background history of this event and how Mandela came about doing it.

I have always admired Nelson Mandela for his work and as it is said in the book, he seems to have an air of magic around him, making people stop and take notice of him.