Widely considered to be the most important biography of Nelson Mandela, Antony Sampson’s remarkable book has been updated with an afterword by acclaimed South African journalist, John Battersby.
Long after his presidency of South Africa, Nelson Mandela remained an inspirational figure to millions – both in his homeland and far beyond. He has been, without doubt, one of the most important figures in global history. His death, on 5 December 2013 at the age of 95, resonated around the world.
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 draws on a fifty year-long relationship to reveal the man who rocked a continent – and changed its future.
With unprecedented access to the former South African president – the letters he wrote in prison, his unpublished jail autobiography, extensive conversations, and interviews with hundreds of colleagues, friends, and family – Sampson depicts the realities of Mandela’s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. Updated after Sampson’s death with a new afterword by distinguished South African journalist John Battersby, this is the ultimate biography of one of the twentieth century’s greatest statesmen.
About the Author :
Anthony Sampson began his career as a journalist in South Africa after a brief post-war spell as a naval officer and a degree in English at Oxford University. He became editor of the new black magazine Drum in Johannesburg in 1951, where he remained for four years, establishing it as the leading black literary and political periodical in South Africa, and getting to know most of the prominent black leaders including Luthuli, Mandela, Sisulu and Tambo. He wrote his first book, Drum: An African Adventure, about his experiences.
He returned to London in 1955 to join the Observer newspaper as assistant to the editor, where he remained on the staff, with frequent assignements in South Africa, until 1961 when he wrote his landmark book Anatomy of Britain, which sold 200,000 copies in hardback in the UK alone. He followed this with The New Europeans which was translated in twelve languages, and became a full-time book-writer and broadcaster, travelling widely. He then wrote successive books about multinational corporations, including The Seven Sisters and Arms Bazaar (both translated into twenty languages), Black and Gold(an account of the relations between business and apartheid) and Company Man, followed by a much-acclaimed international TV series The Midas Touch about the global marketplace.
In 1985-6 he returned to South Africa to write Black and Gold: Tycoons, Revolutionaries and Apartheid. He was then banned from returning until January 1990, when his revisit coincided with Mandela’s release. Since then he has returned frequently, and is now on the international board of Independent Newspapers, the biggest newspaper group in South Africa.
Anthony Sampson has been chairman of the Society of Authors and a member of the Scott Trust which owns the Guardian and the Observer. He lives in London and Wiltshire with his wife Sally, a magistrate with whom he has two children.
Review :
‘A magisterial, detailed and invaluable account of one of this century’s greatest figures … it is hard to believe that a better biography will ever be written.’ Justin Cartwright, Sunday Telegraph
‘Warmly to be welcomed, not least because it is more substantial and revealing than Mandela’s bestselling autobiography…a great leap forward in our understanding of a man who is both enigmatic and private…Anthony Sampson has carried out his difficult commission with skill and sensitivity’ Independent
‘This will be the last word on Mandela for years to come…it will be hard to improve upon this crowning conclusion to Sampson’s long career as a loving and expert chronicler of South Africa’ Evening Standard
‘Measured, detailed without a moment of tedium, incisive in its perceptions and at times, profoundly moving’ Observer
