Raised in a multiethnic farming community, Afrikaner Christo Brand was confused and saddened when he first confronted the realities of South African apartheid. Conscripted into the military at eighteen, Brand chose to serve as a prison guard rather than embrace the brutality and danger inherent in the work of soldiers and policemen. Assigned to the maximum security facility on remote Robben Island, Brand was given charge of the country's most infamous inmate: Nelson Mandela.
For twelve years Brand watched Mandela scrub floors, empty his toilet bucket, grieve over the deaths of family and friends, yet remain as strong as any freedom fighter in history. Won over by Madiba's charm and authentic concern for the well-being of others, Brand became Mandela's confidant and at times accomplice. Celebrating triumphs and suffering through many setbacks, the two men formed an unlikely bond, one that would endure until Mandela's death.
Told with candor and reverence, Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend is both a meditation on friendship and a moving testament to the dedication, determination, and, most of all, humanity exuded by one of the world's great leaders.
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“The prose is straightforward…[and] the lack of flowery language makes it refreshingly easy to focus on the story without distraction. This isn’t a full biography of Mandela, so those looking for more information about his politics, party, or background should seek out supplemental materials. The author quickly recounts Mandela’s general biography, including the Rivonia trial for sabotage that landed him in prison, but this is really a tale of two men and their shared humanity in an inhumane place. A worthy addition to the canon of Mandela literature that details a relationship that many knew about but few truly understood.”
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Kirkus Reviews