Nelson Mandela: The Man and the Movement

Mandela, imprisoned since the early '60s by the South African government, is the head of the African National Congress and would be head of state were free elections to be held in South Africa, many observers agree. Tutu calls him ""quite simply, a giant of a man with an enormous intellect.'' Benson, a white South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist who now lives in London, draws an inspiring portrait of Mandela, drawing principally on accounts by his wife, Winnie, statements from friends and colleagues, published interviews and, perhaps most striking, Mandela's court testimony, in which he expresses his political philosophy in ringing, stirring cadences. (``We . . . regard the struggle against colour discrimination and for the pursuit of freedom and happiness as the highest aspirations of all men.'') Benson also provides a history of the ANC. (April)