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Nelson Mandela: South African Revolutionary
Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it takes to change the world in this comprehensive biography that tells the complete life story of internationally renowned peacemaker Nelson Mandela.
Civil rights activist. World leader. Writer. Throughout his life, Nelson Mandela took on many roles, all in the pursuit of peace. Born in 1918 in South Africa, he grew up in a culture of government-enforced racism and became involved in the anti-apartheid movement at a young age. Deeply committed to nonviolent activism, Mandela directed a peaceful campaign against the racist policies of his South African government, and spent twenty-seven years in prison as a result. In the years following his emergence as a free man, he continued his efforts to dismantle the country’s apartheid system and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside South African President F.W. de Klerk. In 1994 he was inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president and served until his retirement from active politics in 1999 at the age of eighty-one. He continued to promote global peace until his death in 2013, and his legacy lives on.
From Nelson Mandela’s childhood to his monumental impact on race relations and nonviolent activism, this comprehensive biography shares the truth about the man behind the iconic his struggles, his triumphs, and the sacrifices along the way.
Civil rights activist. World leader. Writer. Throughout his life, Nelson Mandela took on many roles, all in the pursuit of peace. Born in 1918 in South Africa, he grew up in a culture of government-enforced racism and became involved in the anti-apartheid movement at a young age. Deeply committed to nonviolent activism, Mandela directed a peaceful campaign against the racist policies of his South African government, and spent twenty-seven years in prison as a result. In the years following his emergence as a free man, he continued his efforts to dismantle the country’s apartheid system and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside South African President F.W. de Klerk. In 1994 he was inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president and served until his retirement from active politics in 1999 at the age of eighty-one. He continued to promote global peace until his death in 2013, and his legacy lives on.
From Nelson Mandela’s childhood to his monumental impact on race relations and nonviolent activism, this comprehensive biography shares the truth about the man behind the iconic his struggles, his triumphs, and the sacrifices along the way.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 2015
8 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Beatrice Gormley
47 books29 followers Born in Glendale, California, Beatrice grew up in Southern California. After graduating from Pomona College, she worked in publishing near San Francisco. There she met and married Robert Gormley, and they moved to Massachusetts. They have two daughters.
Since age 9 Beatrice had wanted to become a writer. But it wasn't until after her children were born that she really focused on her writing. In 1981 her first book, Mail Order Wings,was published. Since then she's written many popular novels and biographies for young people. Her most recent books are Second Lives, a novel of humans and other animals, and the biography Joe Biden: Our 46th President.
Since age 9 Beatrice had wanted to become a writer. But it wasn't until after her children were born that she really focused on her writing. In 1981 her first book, Mail Order Wings,was published. Since then she's written many popular novels and biographies for young people. Her most recent books are Second Lives, a novel of humans and other animals, and the biography Joe Biden: Our 46th President.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 22, 2019
Three stars in Goodreads is, “I liked it,” and that’s how I feel about it. It wasn’t a very exciting book or particularly well written, but it was a succinct overview of Nelson Mandela’s life. I didn’t know much about him at all, so I grabbed this book at the library hoping to expand my knowledge about Mandela and South African politics.
The book was written chronologically and very matter-of-factly. The trade off for the somewhat boring writing style was the speed at which I finished it. I’m sure I only read for 4-6 hours to finish this book; it’s short. I came away from the book learning the broad overview of Mandela’s life and about how he helped end apartheid. And even though the writing style was bland, it moved so quickly that I never got bored with the story. I wanted to keep reading.
I admit that the book left me feeling a bit frustrated with him. He wasn’t a perfect character. He left his wives alone for long stretches of time and lived off their salaries while he worked at the ANC (the political party working to end apartheid). He was also mostly absent from his children’s lives. I don’t think he attended any of their births; in one instance, he dropped his wife off at the hospital and then left. He was close to his adult daughters for a time when he was in prison and they seemed to support him and his efforts when they could, and the book revealed that one of his daughters criticized him for being so absent once he got released. She said she saw him more when he was imprisoned than when he was not. To me, this shows his true priorities were not with his family. Yes, he certainly and unequivocally made sacrifices to end apartheid, but so did his children, and that wasn’t something they could choose for themselves.
I recommend this book if you want to learn more about apartheid, about Nelson Mandela, or about what South African politics was like from the 1940s through the early 2000s.
The book was written chronologically and very matter-of-factly. The trade off for the somewhat boring writing style was the speed at which I finished it. I’m sure I only read for 4-6 hours to finish this book; it’s short. I came away from the book learning the broad overview of Mandela’s life and about how he helped end apartheid. And even though the writing style was bland, it moved so quickly that I never got bored with the story. I wanted to keep reading.
I admit that the book left me feeling a bit frustrated with him. He wasn’t a perfect character. He left his wives alone for long stretches of time and lived off their salaries while he worked at the ANC (the political party working to end apartheid). He was also mostly absent from his children’s lives. I don’t think he attended any of their births; in one instance, he dropped his wife off at the hospital and then left. He was close to his adult daughters for a time when he was in prison and they seemed to support him and his efforts when they could, and the book revealed that one of his daughters criticized him for being so absent once he got released. She said she saw him more when he was imprisoned than when he was not. To me, this shows his true priorities were not with his family. Yes, he certainly and unequivocally made sacrifices to end apartheid, but so did his children, and that wasn’t something they could choose for themselves.
I recommend this book if you want to learn more about apartheid, about Nelson Mandela, or about what South African politics was like from the 1940s through the early 2000s.
December 8, 2020
Little did I know about him before this book. I started this book in the March of 2020, when Corona pandemic hit the world. This book was very quick read but again I was fighting the odds in my life (in the same way the world was fighting) ... It took me 2.5 months to finish this.
This is well written book but narratives are really plain.
The biggest problem with this book was, there was lot of written about Nelson Mandela (like he did what with whom etc.) but not much shown about his personality in detail. I got bored at a lot of moments, perhaps at the wrong time I picked this up. Still, something is better than nothing. I know much more about him now.
Last 40-50 pages were good.
This is well written book but narratives are really plain.
The biggest problem with this book was, there was lot of written about Nelson Mandela (like he did what with whom etc.) but not much shown about his personality in detail. I got bored at a lot of moments, perhaps at the wrong time I picked this up. Still, something is better than nothing. I know much more about him now.
Last 40-50 pages were good.
October 14, 2022
This biography is a great introduction for young people to apartheid and black Africans' struggle for political freedom. It's written in an approachable narrative style. I appreciated the author's intentional inclusion of the women close to Mandela in this story, but I was surprised that there was no mention at all of the American civil rights movement and the parallels with the South African civil rights movement.
May 27, 2017
I definitely enjoyed this book immensely. It encompasses many aspects of Nelson Mandela's life with reader-friendly text. It is the right amount vehement so that the reader can add their own opinion to the story, but will probably lean towards one that the author suggests. Although the story is a bit slow, I ate this book and all the facts in it up.
March 29, 2019
It thought this book was great. Although it talked about lots of violence, it gave a true story about Nelson Mandela. While he was in prison, he started writing his book, "The Long Walk To Freedom." This book explained his entire life story, along with how he became well known for helping make equal rights in South Africa. As said, this book was incredible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 9, 2022
It was wonderful to learn about Mandela’s life. This book is written for younger readers and I’m pretty sure it’s a summary of his much longer biography, Long Walk to Freedom, which is great. But even so it feels a bit disjointed and the writing is a little inconsistent (dry and fact driven, then a little passive aggressive at times). Still though it’s a good summary of his life.
May 3, 2020
I learned a lot from this book and wish I would have read it sooner. There were some phrases that made it obvious the author wrote from an American perspective, but overall it gave a helpful overview of Mandela’s life.
December 19, 2017
A good book for the basics of South African history and Mr. Mandela's life. Doesn't dwelve into a lot of depth, and good as a beginner's book.
January 11, 2018
Wow. Mr. Mandela went through so much in his life. What an incredible man!
July 29, 2025
I really loved this book and how much detail it gave me but I’m just not a biography person. I still do recommend reading this book for all ages.
April 4, 2018
This is well written and includes a ton of information about Mandela. He's an important figure for students to read about for sure, but I doubt this book will do a good job of enticing readers who aren't already into history and/or biographies. It's packed with so much detail, which is a good thing, but it also feels a bit like so much detail squeezed out any chance of this having a narrative feel. Not that non-fiction always needs to be narrative in style, but I do think it helps to pull in a younger audience. So if you're looking for some non-fiction to hook a younger reader, maybe don't start with this one.
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November 13, 2016
Gormley, Beatrice Nelson Mandela: South African Revolutionary, 237 pgs. Aladdin (Simon), 2015. $17.99. Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG. Nonfiction.
Nelson Mandela was the symbol for antiapartheid in South Africa. This simple biography follows him from his childhood, through his growing activism, his years imprisoned on Robben Island, his eventual election as president of South Africa, and finally his death at age 95.
The book includes a timeline and a glossary at the back. I thought the author did a wonderful job of telling one man’s incredibly complex story in a concise manner that will be easy for a young adult reader to understand. The book is exactly what it claims to be—the story of Nelson Mandela—and it relates his story without becoming overly political or biased in any way. It is written in a style more appropriate for a middle school audience, but the book would be acceptable for a high school audience as well. The book earns its PG rating for the mention of some of the violence and ugliness surrounding apartheid.
MS—ESSENTIAL; HS—ADVISABLE. Reviewer: TC
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2016/...
Nelson Mandela was the symbol for antiapartheid in South Africa. This simple biography follows him from his childhood, through his growing activism, his years imprisoned on Robben Island, his eventual election as president of South Africa, and finally his death at age 95.
The book includes a timeline and a glossary at the back. I thought the author did a wonderful job of telling one man’s incredibly complex story in a concise manner that will be easy for a young adult reader to understand. The book is exactly what it claims to be—the story of Nelson Mandela—and it relates his story without becoming overly political or biased in any way. It is written in a style more appropriate for a middle school audience, but the book would be acceptable for a high school audience as well. The book earns its PG rating for the mention of some of the violence and ugliness surrounding apartheid.
MS—ESSENTIAL; HS—ADVISABLE. Reviewer: TC
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2016/...
January 2, 2015
Reviewed for professional publication.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews