‘I wanted South Africa to see that I loved even my enemies while I hated the system that turned us against one another’

- Nelson Mandela

Even today, South Africa is a troubled nation - less happy than is customary in that part of the world. But I think that without Mandela, it might now have been in a much worse state. He's partly a myth, but also a genuinely great man. Glowing stuff; but the book is very down-to-earth. Largely written in secrecy during his 27 years of imprisonment on Robben Island, it's a remarkable account of how he subverted racism in whites and vengefulness in blacks. The most vivid and moving part of the book describes those years in jail - exercising, thinking and writing in his cell, talking in the prison yard, and working in the lime quarry - from which he emerged surprisingly unembittered and strong.

So what sort of man is portrayed in this book? He has a fundamentally positive outlook: "all men have a core of decency" (I don't agree with him, but it's a typically positive sentiment). His opinion that "to be free you must respect and enhance the freedom of others" reflects his willingness to communicate even with the enemy, and to help oppressors realize what they're doing wrong. His lack of personal antagonism brought him respect from political opponents who met him, and was a crucially important factor in reducing the amount of interracial hatred and violence. Mandela also has a very strong code of honour which, while not always practical in the short term (for instance, when an arresting policeman knowingly gave him the opportunity to escape while trusting him not to do so, Nelson didn't break the trust), gained much respect from those who came into contact with him. He is also socially perceptive - for example, he notes that in order for negotiations to be productive, "it never helps to take a morally superior tone to one’s opponent".

Upon capture in 1962, he decided to be ‘the symbol of justice in the court of the oppressor’. Rather than defend himself against charges which carried the death penalty, he used the resultant trial (which took place in 1962) as a platform for the ANC’s beliefs. During the Rivonia trial (of most of the ANC leadership) in 1963, it was natural for Mandela to be the one to raise national and international awareness of the ANC’s aims of universal political rights and a decent standard of living for all. The trial resulted in sanctions being brought against South Africa for the first time. Thenceforth, it was Mandela’s name more than any other which was identified with, and gave impetus to, the struggle for liberation from apartheid in South Africa.

Policy contributions:

Mandela was a pragmatist; one of his major contributions was to convince the ANC leadership - which had hitherto been trenchantly pacifist - that its policy of non-violence was too inflexible and unproductive. He suggested the creation of a body which would use guerrilla tactics; this was called Umkhonto We Sizwe, or MK. It was wholly separate from the ANC in order for the liberation movement's main political organisation to avoid being associated with violence. MK became a successful organisation which survived Mandela’s imprisonment and had a major impact on the speed with which an end was brought to the system of apartheid.

Due to the pervasive bitterness and mistrust, there was a marked reluctance on both sides to engage in discussions with the enemy. Mandela decided in 1985 - a time of rising violence and hostility - that "someone from our side had to make the first move". He initiated talks in isolation from his own party, because he thought that they would have killed his proposals before they could bear fruit. As a result, he was able to bring the talks to a stage which was acceptable to the rest of the ANC leadership; this was a historic milestone on the road to the abolition of apartheid. Largely as a result of his actions, support for a negotiated settlement grew rapidly

South Africa was probably lucky in the accession to power in 1989 of F.W. de Klerk, who although not a liberal or even particularly altruistic, was a "pragmatist . . . [who] saw change as necessary and inevitable".

Moral leadership & conciliation:

Mandela had to, and did, pull off a difficult balancing act which entailed allaying the many fears of whites without giving so much ground that his colleagues and supporters would be alienated. He used his pre-eminence in the freedom movement constructively by giving the whites frequent assurances that there would be a place for them in a new South Africa.

Even at the Rivonia trial - in 1963 - Mandela stressed the need for reconciliation and the fact that he and his colleagues did not wish to ‘drive the whites into the sea’. He used all the means at his disposal - not least, reasonable discussion with anyone, even extremely racist jailers - to demonstrate the unjustifiability of the oppressors’ actions. He saw the proponents of apartheid as "prisoners of hatred [who] must be helped" (I have met some of these people in the post-apartheid era - their attitudes will be tough to change).

The existence of apartheid made the racism of whites obvious; it is less heralded but nonetheless true that the black, Indian and coloured communities all had exclusionist tendencies. Mandela’s statements that "no person who has abandoned apartheid will be excluded" and that the past should be forgotten were not empty; he often reproached those of his followers who harassed innocent whites.

One of the most dramatic illustrations of Mandela’s ability to prevent interracial violence came in April 1993, after Chris Hani, a leading figure in the ANC, was assassinated by a white extremist. Amid riots and fears of civil war, Mandela appeared on national television for 3 consecutive nights, appealing - successfully - for calm.

Perhaps his most remarkable act of conciliation occurred during the 1994 Rugby World Cup. In wearing the Springbok jersey, he did something that would have been unthinkable for other non-white South African politicians; donning what had until then been a symbol of Afrikaner triumphalism and repression was a superb way to bury the hatchet.

I find myself wondering whether the man is really as resplendent as the myth; whatever about that, this book is a rare thing - an engrossing autobiography written by a great leader.

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