Nelson Mandela: A Life in Photographs

With beautiful color photos and well-chosen text, including contributions from South African journalist Battersby and six of Nelson Mandela's seminal speeches, this enlightening coffee table tour covers all stages of Mandela's career: a young and passionate activist, an eloquent spokesman for his oppressed countrymen, a political prisoner of 27 years, a transformative president, a larger-than-life international figure of peace, and an eternally charming elder statesman (one of many memorable full-page photos shows Queen Elizabeth breaking into an uncharacteristically broad smile in Mandela's presence). Battersby quotes Mandela the outspoken (""The grave plight of the people compels them to resist to the death the stinking policies of the gangsters that rule our country"") and unafraid (""Democracy is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die""), and explains the man vividly on Mandela's own terms and the world's: ""As he was paraded on the rooftops of limousines, in pickups, and on podiums, Mandela walked the talk."" Editor Cohen has amassed a worthy, crowd-pleasing tribute to one of the world's living legends.