Download or read book The Rough Guide to Nelson Mandela written by Max du Preez and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-04-26 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Rough Guide to Nelson Mandela is a fresh, honest overview of the life story and the impact of one of the world's greatest modern icons. It assesses the influence of his rural, traditional childhood on his later personality, and it tells the stories of his early years as a revolutionary leader and master strategist like no book has done before; including deeply personal stories of his private life and troubled marriages. It explores his 27 years in an apartheid jail and reveals the inside stories of the white government's first secretive contacts with him and how he encouraged their intelligence chiefs to advise their political masters to abandon apartheid and negotiate a political settlement. This book attempts to explain Mandela's remarkable lack of bitterness and his commitment to reconciliation with the white minority after his release. Readers get a rare insight into Mandela's role during the crucial negotiations period and his term as South Africa's first black president. It critically examines his iconic status and impact on the world stage. This is not just another Mandela book.