Nelson Mandela the life and times

Summary: Celebrated as an international hero upon his release from prison in 1990, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is one of the 20th century's towering leaders. Mandela rose from poverty, against overwhelming odds, to become president of the richest, most culturally diverse country in Africa. He endured more than 27 years in jail for trying to overthrow a white police state, becoming the world's most famous political prisoner. In 1994, he led vote-less black South Africans from the racist apartheid period into a democratic era. He is an educated man, a lawyer, a democrat, a shrewd observer of human behavior, a disciplined politician who led a military uprising against an inhuman system, a best-selling and wealthy author, and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.