Reviews

Gr 5 Up Benson provides an interesting, readable account of Mandela's life based on sound factual information . She has carefully selected events from his life and passages from his speeches that show his charisma as a leader of South Africans of all races interested in freedom and racial equality. In tracing Mandela's life, Benson emphasizes the development of and continuity in Mandela's political philosophy and his consistent, steadfast determination to obtain racial equality and political freedom for all South Africans regardless of the personal consequences. This complements Milton Meltzer's Winnie Mandela (Viking, 1986), although Benson's biography is more effective in depicting Mandela's personality. Realistic black-and-white drawings show Mandela at different stages in his life along with important colleagues in his political struggles, including his wife, Winnie; Oliver Tambo; and Walter Sisulu. Nancy J. Schmidt, Indiana University Library, Bloomington