Long Walk to Freedom

Outline

Long Walk to Freedom (1994) is the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, who led the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. He describes his childhood, his education and work as a lawyer, his political activism, and his twenty-seven years in prison, followed by his release and election as the country’s first democratically elected president. The book is an inspiring story of courage, perseverance, and reconciliation.

• Mandela led the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and the book tells that fight from the inside.
• His early years, education and work as a lawyer shaped the activist he later became.
• He spent twenty-seven years in prison, and the book shows how he endured that time.
• After his release he was elected South Africa's first democratically elected president.
• Courage, perseverance and reconciliation run through his story from childhood to the presidency.

Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) was a South African anti-apartheid leader and statesman who served as the country’s first Black president from 1994 to 1999. He spent twenty-seven years in prison for his opposition to racial segregation and became a global symbol of justice and reconciliation. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.