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Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend: My Prisoner, My Friend

Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend: My Prisoner, My Friend

Current price: $26.99
Publication Date: November 18th, 2014
Publisher:
Thomas Dunne Books
ISBN:
9781250055262
Pages:
288

Description

Raised in a multi-ethnic farming community, Afrikaner Christo Brand was confused and saddened when he first confronted the realities of South African apartheid. Conscripted into the military at 18, Brand chose to serve as a prison guard rather than embrace the brutality and danger inherent in the work of soldiers and policemen. Assigned to the maximum security facility on remote Robben Island, Brand was given charge of the country's most infamous inmate: Nelson Mandela.

For 12 years Brand watched Mandela scrub floors, empty his toilet bucket, grieve over the deaths of family and friends yet remain as strong as any freedom fighter in history. Won over by Madiba's charm and authentic concern for the well-being of others, Brand became Mandela's confidant and at times accomplice. Celebrating triumphs and suffering through many setbacks, the two men formed an unlikely bond, one that would endure until Mandela's death.

Told with candor and reverence, Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend is both a meditation on friendship and a moving testament to the dedication, determination and—most of all—humanity exuded by one of the world's great leaders.

About the Author

Christo Brand was born the son of a farm foreman in South Africa's Western Cape.  He spent his early years playing with black and mixed-race children and knew little about the cruel Apartheid regime that prevailed elsewhere in the country.  Conscripted to the military at age 18, Brand elected not to join the notoriously brutal police or army.  He trained instead as a prison guard and was assigned to Robben Island to guard the most dangerous men in South Africa - Nelson Mandela and his fellow revolutionaries. Against all odds, Brand and Mandela formed a lasting friendship.  Brand helped Mandela bend the prison's rules and endure its hardships while Mandela took an active interest in the younger man's emerging family and career, continuing to act as mentor and friend long after his release. Today Christo Brand still works at Robben Island, now a World Heritage Site. There he manages the museum bookstore and patiently recounts his experiences to thousands of visitors each year.

Barbara Jones is the Africa Correspondent for the Mail on Sunday newspaper.  She lives in Cape Town, South Africa and has covered Nelson Mandela since 2000.

Praise for Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend: My Prisoner, My Friend

“A story of the most astonishing, unlikely friendship. A must-read.” —Mail on Sunday (UK)

“Brand paints a vivid picture of prison life in South Africa at the time.... [An] extraordinary book.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review, pick of the week)

“A tale of two men and their shared humanity in an inhumane place. A worthy addition to the canon of Mandela literature that details a relationship that many knew about but few truly understood.” —Kirkus Reviews

“[A]n honest and straightforward account of a significant relationship between two very different men in an impossibly difficult situation.... Brand...is owed more than a mite of national respect.” —Noseweek Magazine (South Africa)

“Warrant Officer Brand reinforced my belief in the essential humanity even of those who had kept me behind bars for the previous twenty-seven and a half years.” —Nelson Mandela, A Long Walk to Freedom

“[A] valuable addition to the writings about imprisoment during the apartheid era...written by a fine man.” —Ahmed Kathrada, former political advisor to Nelson Mandela

“A perfect example of how it is possible for love to triumph over everything, for respect to triumph over everything.” —Zindzi Mandela, daughter of Nelson Mandela.