Knowing Mandela: A Personal Portrait

Journalist Carlin's (Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation) thoughtful blend of biography and personal encounters with the South African leader during a tumultuous historical period reveals a majestic human being as he builds his legacy as the world leader we know him today. Mandela's unfailing courtesy to everyone quickly eroded Carlin's cynicism, developed over 30 years of covering dictators. In an attempt to determine if Mandela's graciousness was innate or calculated, Carlin followed Mandela for the five years of his presidency and interviewed countless individuals who knew him in many capacities at the height of his power. What emerges is a portrait of a man well deserving of the admiration of his followers but whose political triumphs were "won at the cost of unhappiness, loneliness and disappointment," not the least of which was his inability to "reconcile political and family life." Carlin's interviews with Mandela's guard during his imprisonment, with his secretary, his valet and the elderly widow of one of apartheid's founding fathers all reveal a man who offered ordinary respect to everyone. A telling note was his friendship with Queen Elizabeth, so strong he called her by her first name. Carlin's journalistic skills and his effort to be objective present a lively picture of a personally disciplined man of great kindness as well as a clear view of the vast challenges facing South Africa. Agent: Anne Edelstein, Anne Edelstein Literary Agency. (Dec.)