About the Book
Madiba A to Z celebrates at the same time as it wrestles with the great historical questions that Mandela himself raised: What is forgiveness? What are justice and equality? How long must the long walk to freedom go on before we are free? Danny Schechter wrote Madiba A to Z after conversations with key players ranging from Thabo Mbeki to Nadine Gordimer, from Mandela’s Robben Island cellmates to his guards, from former presidents and cabinet ministers to his closest friends and family members, from adversaries to key advisors. What emerges is a portrait of a man and a nation that are, despite many gains, still fighting for true freedom. People told Mandela after his release, “Well, now you’re free.” And he said, “No, we’re free to be free.”
About the Author
Formerly a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard and a television producer, Danny Schechter has made waves in the mainstream and alternative media for more than 30 years. Called the “alternative Walter Cronkite”, he has witnessed and participated in the history-making events of our age, from the founding of the Yippies in 1967, to Nelson Mandela’s triumphant presidential election in 1994, for which Schechter was designated the exclusive filmmaker.
