The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela

April 2, 2018
The value of this epistolary trove isn’t limited to scholars of the decades-long struggle against apartheid, though Venter’s diligent collection and annotation is certainly tailored for research purposes. Drawn from Mandela’s letters to family, friends, comrades, admirers, and even his own jailers, this dense and vivid archive goes from his 1962 incarceration on the infamous Robben Island to his 1990 release from Victor Verster Prison, paving the way for his election in 1994 as South Africa’s first black president. Throughout, his insistence on correct legal procedure and unflinching advocacy for his beliefs demonstrates the conviction that marked Mandela as a leading statesman, even while behind bars. More personal correspondence, such as those mourning the death of his oldest son in his absence, reveal the high price the South African government exacted from him. Always thoughtful, Mandela is particularly eloquent when engaging his oppressors directly, as in a 1971 letter (originally in Afrikaans) to the commander of Robben Island: “Only a person armed with love for his fellow human beings, and who cares about others, will succeed where force and power will be applied in vain.” Anyone seeking to understand one of the guiding lights of the antiapartheid fight will find these letters a vital resource.

April 15, 2018
An epistolary memoir of Nelson Mandela's prison years.From August 1962 to February 1990, Mandela (1918-2013) was imprisoned by the apartheid state of South Africa. During his more than 27 years in prison, the bulk of which he served on the notorious Robben Island prison off the shores of Cape Town, he wrote thousands of letters to family and friends, lawyers and fellow African National Congress members, prison officials, and members of the government. Heavily censored for both content and length, letters from Robben Island and South Africa's other political prisons did not always reach their intended targets; when they did, the censorship could make them virtually unintelligible. To assemble this vitally important collection, Venter (A Free Mind: Ahmed Kathrada's Notebook from Robben Island, 2006, etc.), a longtime Johannesburg-based editor and journalist, pored through these letters in various public and private archives across South Africa and beyond as well as Mandela's own notebooks, in which he transcribed versions of these letters. The result is a necessary, intimate portrait of the great leader. The man who emerges is warm and intelligent and a savvy, persuasive, and strategic thinker. During his life, Mandela was a loving husband and father, a devotee of the ANC's struggle, and capable of interacting with prominent statesmen and the ANC's rank and file. He was not above flattery or hard-nosed steeliness toward his captors as suited his needs, and he was always yearning for freedom, not only--or even primarily--for himself, but rather for his people, a goal that is the constant theme of this collection and was the consuming vision of his entire time as a prisoner. Venter adds tremendous value with his annotations and introductions to the work as a whole and to the book's various sections.A valuable contribution to our understanding of one of history's most vital figures.

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June 15, 2018

Compiled from various collections over ten years and edited by Venter (491 Days), this collection of 255 prison letters written by the late revolutionary and former president of South Africa provides a unique glimpse of Mandela during his 27-year incarceration, which he served at four different prisons. Context regarding the significance of these letters is provided throughout, including how prison authorities censored and regulated prisoner correspondence by controlling what words could be used and limiting the number of words written. Many of the letters found within this work never made it to the intended recipient owing to their being lost or thrown away, but Mandela made a point to record each letter, many word for word. Both intimate and diplomatic, these writings showcase Mandela's various roles as a husband, father, friend, and lawyer. Photographs, scans of letters, footnotes, and a glossary referencing individuals and events are found within the letters. VERDICT An important work for library collections and voracious readers of history.--David Miller, Farmville P.L., NC

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2018
In 1962, when he was arrested, Nelson Mandela, who would become the first black and democratically elected president of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, was a 44-year-old husband, father of five young children, and prominent anti-apartheid activist. He was incarcerated for 27 years, primarily in the Robben Island Maximum Security Prison, where he labored in a quarry by day and studied at night for his law degree. A man of indomitable spirit and conviction, Mandela wrote hundreds of letters, 255 of which are gathered here to resounding effect. With editor Venter's succinct contextual information, Mandela's reasoned and diligent letters tell the inside story of a freedom fighter who refused to betray his principles and comrades, no matter how much anguish he endured in isolation from his loved ones, who also suffered terribly. Mandela's extensive correspondence to prison officials regarding prisoners' rights and his needs for everything from eyeglasses to school materials are as precise and formally argued as legal briefs, while loving letters to his family, including his wife, Winnie, who, at times, was also imprisoned, deliver reassurance, advice, and encouragement. A landmark historical source and a dramatic read, this collection of Mandela's letters illuminates with stunning immediacy the genius, sacrifice, discipline, courage, and commitment of a world-changing civil rights hero.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)