Winnie Mandela A Life

Few people have courted as much controversy or evoked such strong and divergent emotions as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Adored by some, abhorred by others, she bears a name famous throughout the world, yet not many people know the woman behind the headlines, myths and controversies, or the details of the fascinating story that is her life. This intimate, in-depth and unbiased biography reveals the enigma that is Winnie Mandela, by exploring both her personal and political life. The reader is given a rare glimpse into Winnie’s strict yet happy rural upbringing, where the foundations were laid for her faith, compassion and indomitable resolve. As a young social worker in 1950s Johannesburg, her beauty, style and character captivated the political activist and Tembu prince, Nelson Mandela. Together, they personified the rising aspirations and political awakening of their people, and, in so doing, inspired a nation. Through her fierce determination and dauntless courage, she survived her husband’s imprisonment, continuous harassment by the security police, banishment to a small Free State town, betrayal by friends and allies, and more than a year in solitary confinement – all the while keeping the struggle flame alight and the name of Nelson Mandela alive. A sensitive and balanced portrayal, the book nevertheless thoroughly investigates and honestly examines the controversies that have dogged Winnie Mandela in recent years: the allegations of kidnapping and murder, her divorce from Mandela, and the charges of fraud. Winnie Mandela: A Life takes the reader on a remarkable journey of understanding, painting a rich, warm and vivid portrait of one of the world’s most charismatic, yet enigmatic, women.

This biography is of the most popular and dangerous woman in South Africa, Winnie Mandela. She was born on September 26 1934, the fourth daughter of a prosperous family in the Transkei. Theirs was not a penniless childhood. Gilbey traces her growing political involvement and her marriage to Nelson Mandela in 1959.

An elegant and challenging portrait of the extraordinary, glamorous, complex and brutal revolutionary, Winnie Mandela

Winnie Mandela, wife of South African leader Nelson Mandela, shares the story of her life through interviews and letters in which she discusses the development of her political beliefs, and her forced separation from her husband.

Presents the life of the South African woman who has struggled for reform despite arrests, bannings, detentions, and the imprisonment of her husband.

Follows the life of the woman who married a prominent leader for racial equality in South Africa and then became an activist in that field herself.

With an emphasis on her early years, covers the life of the South African woman who married a prominent fighter for racial equality in South Africa and later became a leader in her own right.