The inside story of South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, told through the experiences of one of its unsung heroes, with an introduction by Nelson Mandela

A South African of Indian descent, Mac Maharaj was a potent force in the Communist Party and African National Congress for nearly four decades. Tortured by South African security forces, he served twelve years in prison with Nelson Mandela and was able to smuggle out a painstakingly miniaturized copy of Mandela’s autobiography. He continued to play a key role in the movement and participated in the negotiations that ultimately led to a free South Africa in 1994. In Mandela’s new government, he served as minister of transport. Drawing on extensive interviews with Maharaj over the last eleven years, Padraig O’Malley vividly captures the experiences of this South African freedom fighter. By telling Maharaj’s story, O’Malley sheds new light on the decades-long battle against apartheid as well as the more recent struggle to build a free South Africa.

Padraig O’Malley is a scholar, author, and mediator. The author of Biting at the Grave, one of The New York Times Editors’ Choice Best Books of 1990, he was involved in negotiations to end the conflict in Northern Ireland. O’Malley is the founding editor of the New England Journal of Public Policy and is currently a visiting professor of political studies at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa.

Imprint: Viking Adult
Distributor: Penguin Group USA, Inc
Publication Date: 04-19-2007
Pages: 672
Measurements: 9.52in X 6.38in X 1.74in X 2.00lb