Nelson Mandela and Apartheid in World History (In World History)

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Gr. 5-9. Part of the In World History series, this biography does a fine job of integrating Mandela's personal story with an overview of early South African history and the rise and fall of apartheid. The style is clear and direct, with spacious layout and occasional black-and-white photos. Gaines ignores the controversy about whether President de Klerk deserved to share the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela, but her sources are reliable (all fully documented in chapter notes at the back), and the facts are accurate (just one misspelling, Karrir War instead of Kaffir War). It's refreshing to get away from the idea of whites discovering South Africa; instead, the newcomers here are visitors and then settlers. While the focus is on the heroic leader, readers will come away with some sense of daily life under apartheid and the struggle to change it. They will also want to find out more about some of the other leaders Gaines mentions, including Steve Biko, Walter Sisulu, and Oliver Tambo, all of whom played crucial roles in the fight against racism. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


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Imagine being forbidden to vote in an election in your homeland until you are 76 years old—and being elected President of your country in that election! Nelson Mandela lived that miracle, in addition to earning India's Nehru prize for peace and the Nobel Peace Prize. His life sounds like it has the makings of a fairy tale, if you overlook the many hardships he endured in pursuit of equality for all South Africans. Gaines deftly sketches the history of South Africa: White South Africans relied on the native population to help them survive in their early settlements; reliance turned to coexistence, which became governance that supported slavery and then apartheid. Against this background, Nelson Mandela loses his father, is "adopted" by a chieftain, runs away from an arranged marriage, becomes a lawyer and takes an active part in the drive for equality. During his selfless struggle for his people, he is arrested numerous times, two marriages dissolve and he spends twenty-seven straight years in prison. This is a strong book for classroom use, with its timeline, index and references and its insights into history, culture, politics and personal courage. Other books in Enslow's "In World History" series cover Cortés/the Aztec Empire, Leonardo da Vinci/the Renaissance and Robespierre/the French Revolution. 2001, Enslow Publishers, $20.95. Ages 9 to 12. Reviewer: Chris Gill


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