Internationally recognised as a world statesman, the South African black nationalist Nelson Mandela was imprisoned 1962 to 1990. The fight to have him freed came to symbolise the fight for freedom for all of South Africa's people of colour. Mandela's subsequent ascension to the presidency in 1994 in turn symbolized the aspirations of South Africa's black majority. He led the country until 1999. Ato Quayson is Director of the African Studies Centre at Cambridge.

Part 1 Streams of African nationalism: no easy walk to freedom; the shifting sands of illusion. Part 2 Living under Apartheid: people are destroyed; land hunger; the doors are barred. Part 3 The fight against Apartheid - our tactics and theirs: freedom in our lifetime; our struggle needs many tactics; Verwoerd's tribalism; a charge of treason. Part 4 Resistance from underground: the struggle for a national convention; general strike; letter from underground; a land ruled by the gun. Part 5 On trial: black man in a white man's court; the Rivonia trial.