The Individual, Auto/biography and History in South Africa

president. 188 Older Mandela biographies were drawn into a lengthened master narrative,
one that culminated in the formation of a new nation, characterised by reconciliation and
cultural diversity ‐ a democratic ‘World in One Country’. In this new national history, the
conflicts of the past, as told through a resistance narrative, now belonged to all in the new
multicultural nation of ethnic diversity.
The monumentalisation of Mandela’s life history in the new South Africa came about
initially through the publication of the 630‐page Long Walk to Freedom, released in 1994 as
Nelson Mandela’s ‘autobiogaphy’. 189 Advertised in British underground rail stations as
offering a narrative of a life which progressed ‘from tribesman, to terrorist, to statesman’,
Long Walk To Freedom became a bestseller many times over, sold in bookshops from its
own specially designed display units, and was even distributed by mail order alongside
the latest in kitchen appliances and gym technology. It became the undisputed primary
cultural icon of the ‘new South Africa’ and even found its way into conservative white
homes in the quest to extend the process of nationing in South Africa.
Mandela’s ‘autobiography’ also took on new life and was substantially abridged to be
more accessible “to the millions of marginally literate South Africans”. The majority of
Mandela’s followers, it was argued, “could not benefit from the original”. The “essentials
of the biography” were thus extracted after lengthy negotiations between the publishers,
and over four months, sections were rewritten into “simpler English” before the new
version, one‐sixth of its original length, was handed over to Ahmed Kathrada “for
checking”. 190 This “short cut to a long walk” was seen as a worthwhile read for those who
wanted “to get some historical facts straight and a sense of Mandela’s remarkable life in a
188 Nelson Mandela: His Speeches and Writings, 1944‐1990 (Bellville and Cape Town: Mayibuye Books in
association with David Philip, 1994). A companion volume, Nelson Mandela Speaks: Forging a
Democratic, Non‐Racial South Africa (Cape Town and Bellville: David Philip and Mayibuye Books, 1994)
was also produced.
189 Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (Boston: Little, Brown, 1994).
190 Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (Abridged Edition; Abridged by Coco Cachalia and Marc
Suttner), London and Braamfontein: Little, Brown and Nolwazi Educational Publishers, Macmillan,
1996.
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