On 24 June 1995, at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, the Springboks faced the All Blacks in the final of the Rugby World Cup. When South Africa's new President, Nelson Mandela, stepped on to the field wearing the Springbok captain's jersey, something changed in South Africa. This book tells the extraordinary and moving story of a moment that changed history.
The Rugby World Cup final of 1995 was the last act of the most improbable exercise in mass seduction ever seen: Nelson Mandela's conquest of the hearts of white South Africa. When Mandela chose to wear the Springbok jersey a beloved icon to many of the white population, and a detested symbol of racial oppression to blacks he captured the hearts of white South Africans, turning rugby, which had so long entirely divided black and white South Africa, into a force for good.
Playing the Enemy is a thrilling account of how the most charismatic statesman of our time deployed his political genius, charm and generous vision to pull office this most unlikely of miracles.
Cerrar
Volver
