Celebrate Nelson Mandela Day with these books about his life and legacy

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Nelson Mandela is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and one of the great moral and political leaders of our time. Dedicated to fighting racial oppression in South Africa, and across our global community, Mandela’s courage and compassion continue to inspire today. It’s because of this that his legacy is marked annually on his birthday (18 July) – a day coined Mandela Day.

The day was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2009, and it marks and celebrates Mandela's lifelong dedication and service to conflict resolution, race relations, human rights, and gender equality, as well as his attempts to uplift poor and underdeveloped communities.

With his call to “make the world a better place” in mind, Mandela Day reminds us all to take action and inspire change, but also remember the importance of social equality and justice for all – issues that are as pertinent today, as they were when he was fighting for change.

During his early career, Mandela worked as a lawyer, but in 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC) party. It's here where he organised peaceful and non-violent protests against apartheid – a political and social system that upheld racial segregation in South Africa – which lasted from 1948 to 1991. The government pre-empted further action and arrested Mandela along with 155 other activists, and in 1962 he was imprisoned for 27 years for his resistance to the regime.

He spent 18 years incarcerated on Robben Island where the conditions were unimaginable. He was verbally and physically harassed by prison wardens, faced deep isolation, and was rarely allowed visits from his family, including his wife. He was also forced to carry out heavy labour in the island's lime quarry, which caused irreparable damage to his sight from the blinding glare of the sun.

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Despite this, he remained unbroken, viewing the ordeal he experienced as the making of him. Something he writes poignantly about in the books you're about to discover.

During his imprisonment, he became a mystery man, the missing leader that many members of the South African community desperately wanted. And when he finally walked free, three decades later, the people needed to hear his voice louder than ever.

After he was released, Mandela did not stop freedom fighting. He became the president of the ANC party, and led the nation out of the apartheid, changing the country to its very core and serving as South Africa’s first black president from 1994 to 1999.

He was the first president to take power following a fully representative democratic election, and over the course of his five-year tenure, he and his government worked to transform a nation segregated by centuries of colonialism into a democracy.

In retirement, he continued to dedicate his life to championing justice on a global scale; asking and inspiring younger generations to continue his work by making the world a better place for all.

Mandela once said: “Education is the most powerful weapon”, so to honour Mandela Day, we’ve compiled a round-up of books that will help you learn about his life, legacy, and continued dedication to humanity. In the face of adversity, his life really is an incredible tale.