BOOK REVIEW

"INVICTUS" (previously published as" Playing the Enemy")
by John Carlin

Had I not felt so impressed by the film "Invictus", I would never have discovered this overwhelming book which the film is based on.The author,who lived in South Africa during the interesting period of the transition from Apartheid to Democracy,tries to reflect how Mandela used the World Championship of rugby in 1995 as a political instrument to unite the nation.

It is through conversations with the real-life protagonists that Carling makes us aware of the superhuman effort that Nelson made to put his strategy into action with the slogan"One team one country".What I find most enriching about this book is that although he frames it around this sporting event, the story spans ten years: from 1985 to 1995.It contains extraordinary anecdotes about this not less extraordinary man:how he promoted the secret conversations with the Government to be released from prison,how he befriended his prison guards or how he convinced Francois Pienaar-the captain of the rugby team-that not only was the final an ordinary match,but it also was an opportunity to bond the whole society around the same target.

To conclude I will say that this is a story about freedom,about life and about a man whose charisma, leadership and capacity to forgive after 27 years in prison have moved me. (P.F)