Mandela: The Authorised Biography, Anthony Sampson

Widely considered to be the most important biography of Nelson Mandela, Antony Sampson's remarkable book has now been updated by acclaimed South African journalist, John Battersby. Over a decade after his presidency of South Africa, Nelson Mandela remains an inspirational figure to millions of people -- both in his homeland and far beyond her borders. He is, without doubt, one of the most important figures in global history. Mandela's opposition to apartheid and his 27 year incarceration at the hands of South Africa's all-white regime are familiar to most. In this utterly compelling book, eminent biographer Anthony Sampson, who knew his subject since 1951, reveals the man behind the events that rocked a continent -- and changed the world. With unprecedented access to the former South African president -- the letters he wrote in prison, his unpublished jail autobiography, extensive conversations, and interviews with hundreds of colleagues, friends, and family -- Sampson depicts the realities of Mandela's private and public life, and the tragic tension between them. Newly updated by distinguished South African journalist John Battersby, Mandela is the ultimate biography of one of the twentieth century's greatest statesmen.