* It provides new perspective and insights into the man and his times...[Meredith] is particularly good in recounting the parallel rise and inevitable clash of white Afrikaner and black African nationalism in this century ...The Washington Post * Meredith paints an insiders canvas of recent South African history as well as an epic tale of a freedom fighter. San Francisco Chronicle * [R]evealing insights, particularly into the contrast between the disciplined Mandela who emerged from prison and the impetuous figure of the late 1940s and early 1950s. The New York Times Book Review * Meredith carefully avoids adulation while tracing the course of Mandelas remarkable career...[He] skillfully depicts Mandelas complex relationships with the close circle of white Communists who supported the African National Congress [and] writes vividly but unsentimentally about the tribulations and betrayals that racked Mandelas family. The Los Angeles Times