Nelson Mandela Book

Boehmer's keen eye sets the Mandela story running, but it's to give it exercise and for no sinister, hatchet-job reason. She's more than willing to concede him his victories but, counter to hagiographic tradition, demands a clearer vision of his failings, idiosyncrasies, and---refreshingly---his contexts. Perhaps Boehmer stretches the whole thing for a chapter or so more than is strictly necessary, and her prose plods rather than shines on occasion. Nevertheless, this is a strong book and a needed introduction to a man who is as much a legend as he ever was a machine made of flesh and blood.