Nelson Mandela

Now out in paperback, this book was first published soon after the 1994 elections in South Africa. It is aimed at younger readers, providing a straightforward account of Mandela's childhood and youth, his involvement with and eventual control of the ANC, his numerous arrests in the course of his struggles against the old order in South Africa, and his twenty-eight years of imprisonment and hard labour. The story ends with his release and his triumphant assumption of the presidency. The book is well illustrated with historical photographs and the illustrator's impressions of events. The writing, typography and layout are admirably clear, and the text is informative about the evils of apartheid and the long struggle that eventually destroyed it. If the conclusion seems poignantly over-optimistic, it is at least reassuring to find a book about a living politician whose life merits celebration. Am I being pernickety in finding the use of President Mandela's forename throughout the book somewhat patronising?