Fatima Meer (1928–2010)

This book was published in 1988 before Mandela was released from Pollsmore Prison . He was still incarcerated by the apartheid state in South Africa and before Mandela's own autobiography , A Long Walk to Freedom appeared ; the release Mandela campaign was in full voice. the book was meant to be an affectionate tribute to Mandela for his 70th birthday . Msndela was still married to Winnie Mandela . The focus is on the personal and is effectively a family history . It quotes extensively from show more family correspondence and has an intimacy that is almost too personal . One feels like a voyeur . it also contains a section called Memorabilia ., which presents a factual milestone in the life of Mandela , newspaper cuttings and photographs , but a section labelled Mandela Family Tress is blank but followed by 2 important now iconic photographs of Sam Nzima of Hector Petersen the 1976 martyr of youth resistance in Soweto . I had not realized that Nzima kept clicking his camera and that there were several versions of the photograph . there is no index, no footnotes , no references , no source notes . clearly though Fatima Meer had access to family correspondence and this is the core of the book

My copy of this book is a first edition and was published by Skotsville publishers in Johannesburg , in the dying years of apartheid . it is a very poorly produced book and in fact almost has the feel of a political tract . the author would have been better served by more careful editing and proof reading . Nonetheless the book marked a particular moment in time and makes one remember that Mandela was not a saint, he was human and that Winnie Mandela suffered greatly for his and her beliefs and political stance The pity was her own betrayal of her husband (not covered in this book) and ultimate very public divorce from Nelson Mandela . The title Higher than Hope came from a poem by Sipho Sepamla .. " his clenched fist hoisted higher than Hope for all to see and follow ". . Fatima Meer was a political activist and sociologist but this book lacks any sort of critical perspective or historical depth .

this is a book that should be read alongside the other Mandela biographies ... Such as Sampson and Benson and the impressive autobiography . It is worth remembering that so many books on Mandela have followed that it is a virtual Industry. However the Meer book with all it's shortcomings In this first edition , is an important addition to a South African library and presents an important perspective on the man and his family prior to 1990. show less