Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation | John Carlin

Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation | John Carlin | Playing the Enemy is a must read for anyone who wants to understand Mandela's genius

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Playing the Enemy:...

	Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation John Carlin Penguin Press HC, The, 2008 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A thrilling, inspiring account of one of the greatest charm offensives in history?Nelson Mandela?s decade-long campaign to unite his country, beginning in his jail cell and ending with a rugby tournament

In 1985, Nelson Mandela, then in prison for twenty-three years, set about winning over the fiercest proponents of apartheid, from his jailers to the head of South Africa?s military. First he earned his freedom and then he won the presidency in the nation?s first free election in 1994. But he knew that South Africa was still dangerously divided by almost fifty years of apartheid. If he couldn?t unite his country in a visceral, emotional way?and fast?it would collapse into chaos. He would need all the charisma and strategic acumen he had honed during half a century of activism, and he?d need a cause all South Africans could share. Mandela picked one of the more farfetched causes imaginable?the national rugby team, the Springboks, who would host the sport?s World Cup in 1995.

Against the giants of the sport, the Springboks? chances of victory were remote. But their chances of capturing the hearts of most South Africans seemed remoter still, as they had long been the embodiment of white supremacist rule. During apartheid, the all-white Springboks and their fans had belted out racist fight songs, and blacks would come to Springbok matches to cheer for whatever team was playing against them. Yet Mandela believed that the Springboks could embody?and engage?the new South Africa. And the Springboks themselves embraced the scheme. Soon South African TV would carry images of the team singing ?Nkosi Sikelele Afrika,? the longtime anthem of black resistance to apartheid.

As their surprising string of victories lengthened, their home-field advantage grew exponentially. South Africans of every color and political stripe found themselves falling for the team. When the Springboks took to the field for the championship match against New Zealand?s heavily favored squad, Mandela sat in his presidential box wearing a Springbok jersey while sixty-two-thousand fans, mostly white, chanted ?Nelson! Nelson!? Millions more gathered around their TV sets, whether in dusty black townships or leafy white suburbs, to urge their team toward victory. The Springboks won a nail-biter that day, defying the oddsmakers and capping Mandela?s miraculous ten-year-long effort to bring forty-three million South Africans together in an enduring bond.

John Carlin, a former South Africa bureau chief for the London Independent, offers a singular portrait of the greatest statesman of our time in action, blending the volatile cocktail of race, sport, and politics to intoxicating effect. He draws on extensive interviews with Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and dozens of other South Africans caught up in Mandela?s momentous campaign, and the Springboks? unlikely triumph. As he makes stirringly clear, their championship transcended the mere thrill of victory to erase ancient hatreds and make a nation whole.

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A Mandela For All Seasons

This dazzling book could have been called "Loving the Enemy." That is, in fact, what Nelson Mandela did to prevent a much feared bloodbath in South Africa as it passed from the hated Apartheid regime to majority rule.
"Playing the Enemy" shows how he did it - first by winning over his prison guards through forgiveness and simple human kindness then by his shrewd seduction of the white government leadership and finally by making the obsession of white South Africa, its Rugby team, the team of all South Africans - black and white.
It's The Greatest Story Ever Told for the twentieth century - and beyond!

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Playing the Enemy is a must read for anyone who wants to understand Mandela's genius

A marvelous book. Anyone who wants to understand the hope (and the chances for failure) in post-apartheid SA should read this book, particularly in the light of Mbeki's failure and the test that is to follow.

Forging a National Consciousness through Mutual Respect

Playing the Enemy is a very timely book. In these days when nations are often more divided than before, Nelson Mandela's instinct to show respect, friendliness, and common purpose with those who saw him as an enemy is a beacon that lights up the potential for all people to come together to accomplish more. John Carlin has used the Rugby World Cup imaginatively to illustrate the essence of President Mandela's approach. Mr. Carlin is a wonderful story teller, and you'll feel chills as you read the many great moments he brilliantly captures in Playing the Enemy.

Leaders have always used foreign enemies to bring their purpose together. Who realized that this could be done at the level of sport rather than through war as a way to unify a country where people were deeply suspicious (even paranoid) about one another?

I was glad to see that Mr. Carlin provided lots of background about how someone imprisoned for decades became the leader of a reconstituted nation in South Africa and went on to accomplish things that not even the most optimistic would have expected. President Mandela's story is one for the ages, and this way of telling the story makes it easier to understand for those who never saw South Africa during the Apartheid regime.

Although I had long studied and worked to help change the government in South Africa from the inside and outside, the political impact of the international boycott of the South African rugby team had been lost to me. I hope those who would like to encourage governments to behave more appropriately towards their people will remember this example.

Bravo, Mr. Carlin!

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"Playing The Enemy" is inspiring

There has been plenty written about the master statesman Nelson Mandela, but John Carlin's story about how Mandela transformed his nation by leveraging the sport of rugby is truly inspiring. This book is a must read for anyone who has ever been discouraged from creating change. Mandela's mindset and approach to liberating his country is unmatched.

An amazing account of an amazing man

As one who has studied South African politics and is well aware of the significance of the 2005 world cup, I was very eager to read this book. Needless to say, this book was incredible.

John Carlin gives a sort of intimacy in this book. He sets up the story, giving the background of Mandela's life. In addition, he also interviews those that had an effect on Mandela's life either in prison, politics, or sport. This 360 degree approach brings the reader to a fuller understanding of the actions taking place and the emotions that drive them.

Mandela has always been a personal hero of mine, and this book reinforces that. Though this is a (modern) historical account, the recapping of Mandela's struggle and the change he has brought to his nation also acts as a feel-good story of triumph.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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