Biographies
by Nelson Mandela
What does freedom cost?
Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison for fighting apartheid, then became South Africa's first democratically elected president. In Long Walk to Freedom he tells how a boy from a village in the Transkei became a lawyer, then an underground rebel, then the world's most famous prisoner.
Hear a sample · read by Laura
As a boy, Mandela watched the regent who raised him run tribal meetings. Everyone had their say while the regent listened, and he spoke only at the end. Mandela later compared a leader to a shepherd who stays behind the flock, letting the nimblest go ahead while guiding them all.
For years the ANC protested peacefully, through boycotts, strikes and the 1952 Defiance Campaign. In 1960 police killed 69 protesters at Sharpeville, and the ANC was banned. Mandela helped set up an armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, starting with sabotage planned to avoid taking lives.
Mandela spent 18 of his 27 prison years on Robben Island, working in a lime quarry and sleeping in a tiny cell. The prisoners taught each other and called the place their university. He learned Afrikaans and studied his jailers' history, so he could understand them.
Mandela left prison in 1990 without seeking revenge. He writes that the oppressor, locked behind prejudice, is no more free than the oppressed. To be free, he argues, is to live in a way that respects and adds to the freedom of others.
Anger
He didn't turn against apartheid in one flash. Daily unfairness piled up until he couldn't accept it.
Fighting back
When peaceful protest was met with gunfire, he decided the ANC had to fight back.
Prison
He spent 27 years in prison, 18 of them on Robben Island, breaking rocks in a lime quarry.
Dignity
In prison he refused to act beaten. Small fights, like the right to wear long trousers, mattered.
The enemy
He learned Afrikaans and studied his jailers, because you must understand your enemy to change him.
A story from the book
At the Rivonia Trial in 1964, facing a possible death sentence, Mandela spoke from the dock for hours. He ended by saying a free, democratic South Africa was an ideal he hoped to live for, and, if needed, one he was prepared to die for. He was sentenced to life.
Hot take · true or myth?
Mandela was born into a royal family.
True. He belonged to the royal house of the Thembu people, though not in line for the throne. After his father died, the Thembu regent raised him and groomed him to advise the king.
One thing to try
In your next group discussion, at school or at work, hold back your view until everyone else has spoken, as Mandela watched the regent do. Then sum up what you heard before you add your own.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. Long Walk to Freedom comes with a Hot Take round to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appWhat does freedom cost? Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison for fighting apartheid, then became South Africa's first democratically elected president. In Long Walk to Freedom he tells how a boy from a village in the Transkei became a lawyer, then an underground rebel, then the world's most famous prisoner.
Leading from behind; From protest to armed struggle; Eighteen years on Robben Island; Freeing the oppressor too.
In your next group discussion, at school or at work, hold back your view until everyone else has spoken, as Mandela watched the regent do. Then sum up what you heard before you add your own.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from Long Walk to Freedom in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Hot Take round to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
