Playing the Enemy
Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
Published on 1. September 2008
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-1-84354-859-1 (ISBN)
Description
As the day of the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup dawned, and the Springboks faced New Zealand's all-conquering All Blacks, more was at stake than a sporting trophy. When Nelson Mandela appeared wearing a Springboks jersey and led the all-white Afrikaner-dominated team in singing South Africa's new national anthem, he conquered white South Africa.
Playing the Enemy tells the extraordinary human story of how that moment became possible. It shows how a sport, once the preserve of South Africa's Afrikaans-speaking minority, came to unify the new rainbow nation, and tells of how - just occasionally - something as simple as a game really can help people to rise above themselves and see beyond their differences.
Playing the Enemy tells the extraordinary human story of how that moment became possible. It shows how a sport, once the preserve of South Africa's Afrikaans-speaking minority, came to unify the new rainbow nation, and tells of how - just occasionally - something as simple as a game really can help people to rise above themselves and see beyond their differences.
Reviews / Votes
I think the way [Carlin] carried out his task in South Africa [in the 1990s] was magnificent. It is easy now for a journalist to criticise everybody, including the government, but in those days you could count journalists with that courage on the fingers of one hand. * Nelson Mandela *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
1 x 8pp b/w plate section
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 165 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
605 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84354-859-1 (9781843548591)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
John Carlin
Playing the Enemy
The inspiration behind the Oscar nominated film Invictus starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman
E-Book
04/2009
Atlantic Books
€8.49
Available for download
Person
John Carlin grew up in Argentina and in the UK and spent 1989-95 in South Africa as the Independent's correspondent there. He has also lived in Nicaragua, Mexico and Washington, writing for The Times, the Observer, the Sunday Times, the New York Times, among other papers, and working for the BBC. He now lives in Barcelona, where he writes for El Pais.