Albert Campbell District Blog

(Credit: YouTube – Nelson Mandela Release 1990 – Uploaded on May 27, 2007 – Original content sourced from the BBC archive)

(Credit: YouTube – Nelson Mandela Released From Prison (1990) – British Pathe – Published on December 11, 2013) 

(Credit: YouTube – BBC News Nelson Mandela released from prison – Uploaded on June 28, 2008) 

(Credit: CBC Digital Archives – Nelson Mandela released – Medium: Television; Program: Sunday Report; Broadcast Date: Feb. 11, 1990; Guest(s): George Bush, Joe Clark, Hennie de Klerk, Art Eggleton, Nelson Mandela, Brian Mulroney; Host: Peter Mansbridge; Reporter: Gillian Findlay, Barbara Frum, Anna Maria Tremonti, Tony Weaver, Jean-François Lépine; Duration: 22:30 – URL: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Digital%2BArchives/Politics/International%2BPolitics/The%2BFight%2BAgainst%2BApartheid/ID/1408275142/ ) 

(Credit: CBC Digital Archives – Mandela Visits Canada – Medium: Television; Program: The National; Broadcast Date: June 18, 1990; Guest(s): Nelson Mandela; Host: Peter Mansbridge; Reporter: Gillian Findlay; Duration: 2:24 – URL: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Digital%2BArchives/Politics/International%2BPolitics/The%2BFight%2BAgainst%2BApartheid/ID/1736854197/ ) 

(Credit: CBC Digital Archives – In South Africa with Nelson Mandela – Medium: Television; Program: The Journal; Broadcast Date: Feb. 14, 1990; Guest(s): Nelson Mandela; Host: Barbara Frum; Duration: 13:28 – URL: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Digital%2BArchives/Politics/International%2BPolitics/ID/1667712053/ ) 

On February 11 and beyond, take a moment to remember lawyer and former South African President Nelson Mandela (Born: Rolihlahla Mandela on July 18, 1918 at Mveza, Eastern Cape, South Africa; Died: December 5, 2013 at Johannesburg, South Africa; his Xhosa clan name was Madiba) and his release from Victor Verster Prison near Paarl, South Africa on February 11, 1990, a key moment in his quest and that of similarly like-minded people to free South Africa from the racist apartheid regime, a moment realized with the election of Nelson Mandela to the presidency of South Africa following the victory of  the African National Congress (ANC) to a majority position in the national parliamentary elections on April 27, 1994. Mandela pursued a policy of reconciliation1999) after which he devoted himself to humanitarian and philanthropic endeavours. 

Consider the following titles for borrowing from Toronto Public Library collections (This list is by no means exhaustive nor is it intended to be): 

His day is done: a Nelson Mandela tribute / Maya Angelou, 2014. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. Poetry. 811.54 ANG

African-American poet Dr. Maya Angelou honours the amazing life and forgiving soul of Nelson Mandela.

Alternative format: eBook (Access Online) 

Madiba A to Z: the many faces of Nelson Mandela / Danny Schechter, 2013. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.06509 MAN SCH

American journalist and documentary filmmaker Danny Schechter worked with Nelson Mandela on several documentary films and was asked by the filmmakers of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom to make a documentary about the making of the motion picture. In the case of Madiba A to Z, each chapter of the book begins with a letter of the alphabet and a corresponding word that describes a theme present in Nelson Mandela’s life.

Alternative format: eBook (Access Online) 

Mandela: his life and legacy for South Africa and the world / Bob Crew, 2013. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.06509 MAN CRE

Author Bob Crew, a British journalist, offers the reader an interesting comparison between Nelson Mandela and a more recent South African president, Jacob Zuma, as well as comparing both South African leaders to other global leaders. 

Mandela: a film and historical companion: a major motion picture based on Nelson Mandela's bestselling autobiography Long walk to freedom / A. M. Kathrada, William Nicholson et al., 2013. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.06509 MAN MAN

Enjoy this companion book to the recent feature film Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom. Read accounts of producing, directing, and designing the movie. 

Long walk of Nelson Mandela [Frontline] [1 videodisc] / John Carlin and Clifford Bestall; PBS Home Video, 2011. DVD. Documentary. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.06509 MAN LON

Discern between Mandela the man and the myth. Learn about his character, leadership, and relationships with friends, family members, fellow inmates, and adversaries and jailers. Follow the changes in Nelson Mandela from a risk-taker in earlier years to a wise and mature leader.

Reconciliation: Mandela’s miracle [1 videodisc]  / Michael Henry Wilson, Carole J. Wilson, Murray Macdonald et al.; High Wire Productions; PBS Distribution, 2011. DVD. Documentary. Adult Non-Fiction.  324.26808 MAN REC

This documentary used interviews with various people to chart South Africa’s journey from apartheid to democracy and the impact of Nelson Mandela upon this process. 

Conversations with myself / Nelson Mandela; foreword by Barack Obama, 2010. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.06092 MAN MAN

This compilation from Nelson Mandela’s personal archives tapped into his letters written in prison, two major collections of recorded conversations, notebooks written before his incarceration on Robben Island, calendar, and an unfinished draft of a sequel to his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. Read Mandela whether it is the family man, whether he is debating the efficacy of passive resistance and guerrilla warfare or negotiating with his enemies, or whether he is treating his prison wardens and guards with courtesy and respect..  

Alternative formats: Large Print, eBook (Access Online), eBook (Access Online), Audiobook CD, and Talking Book (Restricted to Print Disabled patrons).

See also the French language version: Conversations avec moi-même : [lettres de prison, notes et carnets intimes] / Nelson Mandela ; traduit de l'anglais par Maxime Berrée ; ouvrage publié sous la direction de Jean-Louis Festjens ; [préface de Barack Obama], 2010. Book. French Adult Non-Fiction. 968.06092 MAN MAN 

Playing the enemy: Nelson Mandela and the game that made a nation / John Carlin, 2008. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 968.065 MAN CAR

This book is the basis of Clint Eastwood's film Invictus. South Africa hosted and won'the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Newly-elected President Mandela, striving to bring together racially-divided South Africa, uses sport as a means to unify the nation. He wears a Springbok outfit to present the Webb Ellis Cup to South African captain François Pienaar.

Alternative format: eAudiobook (Access Online) 

Long walk to freedom: the autobiography of Nelson Mandela / Nelson Mandela, 1994. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 323.1196 MANDELA / 921 MAN / 921 MANDELA

Read Nelson Mandela’s story in his own words which he began writing in 1975 during his 27 years of imprisonment. His refusal to neither succumb nor be embittered shines through in this account of his life up to his co-winning the Nobel Peace Prize (with F.W. DeKlerk) and becoming South Africa’s president.

Alternative formats: Paperback edition, eAudiobook (Access Online), and eBook (Access Online).

Please view the Nelson Mandela blog post on the Barbara Frum District Blog that reminds readers that Nelson Mandela was not solely responsible for transforming South Africa into a democratic state.