Product Description

Nelson Mandela--is it possible to say who or what he is? Yes, he was one of the world's longest-detained political prisoners. He is a universal symbol of social justice certainly; an exemplary figure connoting non-racialism and democracy; a moral giant. For years a man cut off from the world, Mandela became after his 1990 release an internationally recognizable icon. But why should his story be important to us in the world at large today? What do his achievements signify not only nationally in South Africa but also internationally? This book is about the different, interconnected stories, histories, values and symbols that Nelson Mandela embodies. Across his life Mandela has filled a rich range of roles: handsome city-slicker, dashing guerrilla, the millennial saviour figure. By examining these different roles as well as the principles which lie behind and motivate them, this Very Short Introduction presents an analytical portrait of a shape-shifting life. Set within a biographical frame, the book offers a more deeply personal analysis of Mandela than biographies centred on the towering public figure have been able provide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1015043 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Review

"An insightful and eminently engaging analysis from one of postcolonialism's leading scholars. This book sheds a fascinating new light on Mandela's compelling 'magic.'"--Naomi Wolf

About the Author

Elleke Boehmer is Professor in World Literatures in English at the University of Oxford. She is the author of the widely acclaimed Colonial and Postcolonial Literature: Migrant Metaphors (1995), Empire, the National and the Postcolonial (2002), Stories of Women: Gender and Narrative in the Postcolonial Nation (2005), as well as of three novels set in South Africa.