Long Walk to Freedom

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela tells the life story of South Africa’s first post-apartheid president. Mandela rose to the leadership of the antiapartheid struggle to become one of the 20th century’s most iconic world leaders. He began writing the book in prison in 1975, and it was published in 2004.

Mandela was born in rural South African in 1918. As a child, he was destined to become a royal advisor, but the allure of the big city, Johannesburg, drew him to a life of political activism. In Johannesburg, Mandela trained to be a lawyer. His experience with apartheid, the collection of racist laws by which South Africa’s white minority dominated its black majority, led him to join the African National Congress, the leading organization opposing apartheid.

Mandela’s prominent role in resisting apartheid brought the full force of the government down upon him, and he was tried for treason. He and his codefendants were acquitted in 1961, but the trial and subsequent crackdowns convinced Mandela that apartheid could not be defeated solely through nonviolent means. He helped establish the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a paramilitary force dedicated to overthrowing the apartheid regime.