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ewangsharr 's review for:
Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
by John Carlin
I remember learning about South Africa and apartheid in High School, but like a lot of things I never really learned all of the details.
This book does a wonderful job of capturing the events and people that played a major role in the shaping of South Africa. (Though it was a little hard to keep all of the names straight...I attribute that to me just not being good with names). Starting in 1985 and ending in 1995 it is an interesting look at history that I've actually lived through and apparently knew little about.
Rugby and the World Cup finals game makes up a very small part of the book, but the build up starting with Mandela's militia roots to his imprisonment and the important lessons he learned there, to his release and historic presidential election, makes the game that much more important. We see the game and it's significance through the eyes of the people who helped the nation make such an important break through. (Enough to make the toughest rugby players cry).
We get to see Mandela's greatest strength--his power of persuasion and his uncanny ability to get people to like and agree with him--whether its to get a hotplate in prison or to stop a heavily armed coup.
Mostly, this book was a nice reminder that people can and do change.
This book does a wonderful job of capturing the events and people that played a major role in the shaping of South Africa. (Though it was a little hard to keep all of the names straight...I attribute that to me just not being good with names). Starting in 1985 and ending in 1995 it is an interesting look at history that I've actually lived through and apparently knew little about.
Rugby and the World Cup finals game makes up a very small part of the book, but the build up starting with Mandela's militia roots to his imprisonment and the important lessons he learned there, to his release and historic presidential election, makes the game that much more important. We see the game and it's significance through the eyes of the people who helped the nation make such an important break through. (Enough to make the toughest rugby players cry).
We get to see Mandela's greatest strength--his power of persuasion and his uncanny ability to get people to like and agree with him--whether its to get a hotplate in prison or to stop a heavily armed coup.
Mostly, this book was a nice reminder that people can and do change.