The Black Pimpernel

Book excerpt: The story of Nelson Mandela's early years on the run from the apartheid authorities JOHANNESBURG. MARCH 1961. Thirty-one activists are on trial for treason. Among their number is Nelson Mandela, a rising star of the resistance movement and one of the biggest threats to the South African government and their racist system of apartheid. To everyone's surprise, they are found not guilty. But rather than relish his newfound freedom, Nelson disappears. With this, the incredible true story of Nelson Mandela's life on the run begins. For months, he is an outlaw, the police and secret services hunting him in vain, living under new identities and separated from his young family. His mission? To set up armed resistance to apartheid, and in doing so change the course of history.