This paper originates in a couple of questions that any fairly critical reader might have raised about a number of Time's choices. Calm, self-possessed, even benevolent : such is the picture the reader is induced to form of South Africa's new President. This impression is reinforced by the photographs which illustrate the excerpts. In spite of squalid conditions and degrading treatment, he never seems to behave rashly or lose his temper, and the reader is gently coaxed into seeing Mandela as wisdom incarnate. But at the same time, Mandela appears as a rather moderate and practically-minded prisoner. The famed freedom fighter emerges as a courageous and high- principled human being, always ready to stand up for his ideals and careful not to tolerate any patronizing attitude from his jailers. The passages selected cover extensive episodes of Mandela's long detention in the Robben Island high security prison, lively and gripping moments that allow the reader a direct, and sympathetic, look into the detainee's most intimate reflections and anxieties. In its 48th issue of 1994, Time International reproduced a number of excerpts from Nelson Mandela's recent autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom.
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