THE philosopher Voltaire once remarked: "The multitude of books is making us ignorant". This, contemporary Seffrican-speak would say, is "very rich", coming as it does from someone who himself wrote more than 20,000 letters and over 2,000 books!
But imagine, for a moment, that Voltaire - one of the most celebrated individuals in the history of France - was talking about the multitude of books on Nelson Mandela.
Apart from those courtesy of his own pen, there is a whole library of books about the life of the world's most-loved statesman and nonagenarian.
But have they succeeded at making us understand the man better or are we just more ignorant about what really makes him tick?
When David James Smith wrote Young Mandela, copyright 2010, it was touted as virtually the most seminal work on the life of the man who spent 27 years in jail. The book was meant to explode the myth that Mandela is a saint, and show that he is just "one of us" - equally flawed.
Smith, his publishers said at the time, had written "the single most important contribution to our knowledge of this global icon".
Yeah, right!
There are no prizes for guessing how many more books followed after this, Smith's end-all tale!
Mandela himself followed soon thereafter with a tome-like Conversations with Myself. And just to lend weight to the credibility of this literary project, the foreword was written by US President Barack Obama.
In the foreword Obama says the book "does the world an extraordinary service in giving us that picture of Mandela the man".
Isn't this the very brief Smith was following? Perhaps not.
Some bright spark, whose job was to shift the book off the shelves, says: "While other books have recounted Mandela's life from the vantage of the present, Conversations with Myself allows, for the first time, unhindered insight into the human side of the icon."
Didn't Mandela's own Long Walk to Freedom achieve the same?
But writers keep seeing a vacuum to fill in this vast area of telling the Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela story.
In his review of yet another Mandela book, critic Bruce Denill, writing in The Citizen (Thursday, January 26 2012) kicks off nicely: "It's debatable whether the world needs another book about Nelson Mandela."
But alas, he goes on to make a case why the world indeed needs journalist Max du Preez's contribution, titled The Rough Guide to Nelson Mandela.
Touche!
This is the same Du Preez who, in his long and illustrious career, has read a dozen and one books on the life of the man he now wants to give the reading public a roughguide to.
There's no doubt that as Du Preez was writing, Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Book of Quotations, was the toast of the town.
Broadcaster Jenny Crwys-Williams had earlier added her two-cents' worth to the body of Madiba quotes with her In the Words of Nelson Mandela.
In case he may have missed it, Du Preez would do well to remember that before this book of quotes, another award-winning journalist, Alec Russell, was receiving rave reviews for his April 2009 book, After Mandela.
Well, it may not strictly have been about Madiba, but After Mandela, The Battle for the Soul of South Africa was borne of Russell's "deep knowledge of South Africa and his relationships with its mostimportant figures".
Mandela is among these.
Yes, that is the argument - with his wealth of knowledge and vast experience, Du Preez should not have given us, what, just another Mandela book. He should instead have used his time to pen a second take on Of Tricksters, Tyrants and Turncoats, his 2008 literary gem of "more unusual stories from South Africa's past".
Talking of Du Preez, there's another contribution from that clan called The Nelson Mandela Story. It was written by political journalist Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob.
Before the din from Russell, there was also a lot of brouhaha about the work of Time magazine editor Richard Stengel, who collaborated with Mandela on Long Walk to Freedom. He co-produced the 1996 documentary Mandela and wrote Mandela's Way: Lessons on Life.But more importantly, 2010 was Stengel's as his conversations with Madiba featured prominently in the ex-president's Conversations with Myself.
Now where did Du Preez see a gap?
In 2007 there was yet another take on the affable "Mr Graça Machel" in the form of Mandela: A Life, a collaboration between Adrian Hadland and Sean Fraser.
Its worth is that you will not find it on many coffee tables.
What you will find on many coffee tables is The Children's Mandela by Tyne Doyle. In it the children of South Africa share their thoughts about the man - illuminating stuff.
Children were catered for again when writer Chris van Wyk did an abridged version of Long Walk to Freedom, with beautiful illustrations by Patty Bouma.
Penguin Books publishers bequeathed us A Prisoner in the Garden, remember? On the cover was prisoner number 466/64 resting on a spade on the Island. Before the novelty wore off, I could garner enough courage to curl up on the sofa with the serious intention of reading a Mandela book. Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela - My Prisoner, My Friend by James Gregory was in vogue then.
It was sold as: "An account of how the author was Nelson Mandela's gaoler for over 20 years. Despite opposing political views and Gregory's initial dislike of Mandela, the two gradually formed a firm friendship, becoming each other's confidant and source of comfort."
On the lighter side of the serious business of the arms trade and its cousin the torture trade, British stand-up comedian Mark Thomas wanted to write a book about his underground escapades in this murky world. He didn't look too far for a title: As Used On the Famous Nelson Mandela. It was published in August 2006.
Cartoonist Zapiro has the Mandela Files. His peer Rico, assisted by Stephen Francis, has A Life In Cartoons.
On some shelf you will also find The Authorised Comic Book. Serious!
But by far the most palatable work on the darling of the ruling ANC was The World That Made Mandela by historian Luli Callinicos, an old friend of Madiba's.
Is there room in our libraries for more books on the man from Qunu?
His cook Xoliswa Ndoyiya certainly thinks so. She has one out called Ukutya Kwasekhaya: Tastes from Nelson Mandela's Kitchen. The recipe book was launched in Johannesburg last Thursday.
Still on culinary matters, there's Anna Trapido's The Story of Food in the Life of Nelson Mandela.
A mouthful, if you ask me!
To Trapido's credit, she coaxed Ndoyiya into writing her own cookbook about Tata's favourite dishes.
As if the work of imbongi - praise singer - was not enough, there's a book titled Viva Mr Mandela: A Celebration in Words and Pictures. It is the work of one Jomarie Dick.
What happened to the man who designed the Madiba shirt? Is he not taking a sabbatical somewhere furiously putting together his haute couture contribution to literature?
Watch the space in case the aim from our prolific writers is to beat Voltaire's record of published books using Mandela as asubject!
- Makatile is a Masters student in creative writing at Wits University
The endless narrative on Mandela
THE philosopher Voltaire once remarked: "The multitude of books is making us ignorant". This, contemporary Seffrican-speak would say, is "very rich", coming as it does from someone who himself wrote more than 20,000 letters and over 2,000 books!
But imagine, for a moment, that Voltaire - one of the most celebrated individuals in the history of France - was talking about the multitude of books on Nelson Mandela.
Apart from those courtesy of his own pen, there is a whole library of books about the life of the world's most-loved statesman and nonagenarian.
But have they succeeded at making us understand the man better or are we just more ignorant about what really makes him tick?
When David James Smith wrote Young Mandela, copyright 2010, it was touted as virtually the most seminal work on the life of the man who spent 27 years in jail. The book was meant to explode the myth that Mandela is a saint, and show that he is just "one of us" - equally flawed.
Smith, his publishers said at the time, had written "the single most important contribution to our knowledge of this global icon".
Yeah, right!
There are no prizes for guessing how many more books followed after this, Smith's end-all tale!
Mandela himself followed soon thereafter with a tome-like Conversations with Myself. And just to lend weight to the credibility of this literary project, the foreword was written by US President Barack Obama.
In the foreword Obama says the book "does the world an extraordinary service in giving us that picture of Mandela the man".
Isn't this the very brief Smith was following? Perhaps not.
Some bright spark, whose job was to shift the book off the shelves, says: "While other books have recounted Mandela's life from the vantage of the present, Conversations with Myself allows, for the first time, unhindered insight into the human side of the icon."
Didn't Mandela's own Long Walk to Freedom achieve the same?
But writers keep seeing a vacuum to fill in this vast area of telling the Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela story.
In his review of yet another Mandela book, critic Bruce Denill, writing in The Citizen (Thursday, January 26 2012) kicks off nicely: "It's debatable whether the world needs another book about Nelson Mandela."
But alas, he goes on to make a case why the world indeed needs journalist Max du Preez's contribution, titled The Rough Guide to Nelson Mandela.
Touche!
This is the same Du Preez who, in his long and illustrious career, has read a dozen and one books on the life of the man he now wants to give the reading public a roughguide to.
There's no doubt that as Du Preez was writing, Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Book of Quotations, was the toast of the town.
Broadcaster Jenny Crwys-Williams had earlier added her two-cents' worth to the body of Madiba quotes with her In the Words of Nelson Mandela.
In case he may have missed it, Du Preez would do well to remember that before this book of quotes, another award-winning journalist, Alec Russell, was receiving rave reviews for his April 2009 book, After Mandela.
Well, it may not strictly have been about Madiba, but After Mandela, The Battle for the Soul of South Africa was borne of Russell's "deep knowledge of South Africa and his relationships with its mostimportant figures".
Mandela is among these.
Yes, that is the argument - with his wealth of knowledge and vast experience, Du Preez should not have given us, what, just another Mandela book. He should instead have used his time to pen a second take on Of Tricksters, Tyrants and Turncoats, his 2008 literary gem of "more unusual stories from South Africa's past".
Talking of Du Preez, there's another contribution from that clan called The Nelson Mandela Story. It was written by political journalist Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob.
Before the din from Russell, there was also a lot of brouhaha about the work of Time magazine editor Richard Stengel, who collaborated with Mandela on Long Walk to Freedom. He co-produced the 1996 documentary Mandela and wrote Mandela's Way: Lessons on Life.But more importantly, 2010 was Stengel's as his conversations with Madiba featured prominently in the ex-president's Conversations with Myself.
Now where did Du Preez see a gap?
In 2007 there was yet another take on the affable "Mr Graça Machel" in the form of Mandela: A Life, a collaboration between Adrian Hadland and Sean Fraser.
Its worth is that you will not find it on many coffee tables.
What you will find on many coffee tables is The Children's Mandela by Tyne Doyle. In it the children of South Africa share their thoughts about the man - illuminating stuff.
Children were catered for again when writer Chris van Wyk did an abridged version of Long Walk to Freedom, with beautiful illustrations by Patty Bouma.
Penguin Books publishers bequeathed us A Prisoner in the Garden, remember? On the cover was prisoner number 466/64 resting on a spade on the Island. Before the novelty wore off, I could garner enough courage to curl up on the sofa with the serious intention of reading a Mandela book. Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela - My Prisoner, My Friend by James Gregory was in vogue then.
It was sold as: "An account of how the author was Nelson Mandela's gaoler for over 20 years. Despite opposing political views and Gregory's initial dislike of Mandela, the two gradually formed a firm friendship, becoming each other's confidant and source of comfort."
On the lighter side of the serious business of the arms trade and its cousin the torture trade, British stand-up comedian Mark Thomas wanted to write a book about his underground escapades in this murky world. He didn't look too far for a title: As Used On the Famous Nelson Mandela. It was published in August 2006.
Cartoonist Zapiro has the Mandela Files. His peer Rico, assisted by Stephen Francis, has A Life In Cartoons.
On some shelf you will also find The Authorised Comic Book. Serious!
But by far the most palatable work on the darling of the ruling ANC was The World That Made Mandela by historian Luli Callinicos, an old friend of Madiba's.
Is there room in our libraries for more books on the man from Qunu?
His cook Xoliswa Ndoyiya certainly thinks so. She has one out called Ukutya Kwasekhaya: Tastes from Nelson Mandela's Kitchen. The recipe book was launched in Johannesburg last Thursday.
Still on culinary matters, there's Anna Trapido's The Story of Food in the Life of Nelson Mandela.
A mouthful, if you ask me!
To Trapido's credit, she coaxed Ndoyiya into writing her own cookbook about Tata's favourite dishes.
As if the work of imbongi - praise singer - was not enough, there's a book titled Viva Mr Mandela: A Celebration in Words and Pictures. It is the work of one Jomarie Dick.
What happened to the man who designed the Madiba shirt? Is he not taking a sabbatical somewhere furiously putting together his haute couture contribution to literature?
Watch the space in case the aim from our prolific writers is to beat Voltaire's record of published books using Mandela as asubject!
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