Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend

Book Description

Raised in a multi-ethnic farming community, Afrikaner Christo Brand was confused and saddened when he first confronted the realities of South African apartheid. Conscripted into the military at 18, Brand chose to serve as a prison guard rather than embrace the brutality and danger inherent in the work of soldiers and policemen. Assigned to the maximum security facility on remote Robben Island, Brand was given charge of the country’s most infamous inmate: Nelson Mandela.

For 12 years Brand watched Mandela scrub floors, empty his toilet bucket, grieve over the deaths of family and friends yet remain as strong as any freedom fighter in history. Won over by Madiba’s charm and authentic concern for the well-being of others, Brand became Mandela’s confidant and at times accomplice. Celebrating triumphs and suffering through many setbacks, the two men formed an unlikely bond, one that would endure until Mandela’s death.

Told with candor and reverence, Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend is both a meditation on friendship and a moving testament to the dedication, determination and―most of all―humanity exuded by one of the world’s great leaders.

中文：

书名：曼德拉：我的囚犯，我的朋友

南非白人克里斯托·布兰德在一个多民族的农业社区长大，当他第一次面对南非种族隔离的现实时，他感到困惑和悲伤。布兰德在18岁时应征入伍，他选择了当监狱看守，而不是接受士兵和警察工作中固有的残暴和危险。布兰德被分配到偏远的罗本岛上的最高戒备设施，负责管理这个国家最臭名昭著的囚犯：纳尔逊·曼德拉。

12年来，布兰德看着曼德拉擦洗地板，清空马桶，为家人和朋友的去世而悲痛，但仍然像历史上任何自由斗士一样坚强。被马迪巴的魅力和对他人福祉的真诚关怀所赢得，布兰德成了曼德拉的知己，有时甚至是帮凶。两人庆祝胜利，并经历了许多挫折，形成了一种不太可能的纽带，这种纽带将一直持续到曼德拉去世。

带着坦率和崇敬的口吻， 曼德拉：我的囚犯，我的朋友 它既是对友谊的沉思，也是对这位世界上最伟大的领导人之一所散发出的奉献精神、决心和–最重要的–人性的感人证明。