No Bread For Mandela : Memoirs of Ahmed Kathrada

Ahmed Kathrada was an ordinary man who lived an extraordinary life. His memories traced the remarkable journey of a man who not only observed, but also actively participated in the shaping of his country's history. Son of a shopkeeper originally hailing from Gujarat, he became the trusted confidant of some of the most prominent political figures in South Africa's struggle history, among them Dr. Yusuf Dadoo, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. Politically active at the age of twelve, and joining the Young Communist League at fourteen, Kathrada-or 'Kathy'as friends and family affectionately called him-devoted his life to the freedom struggle in South Africa, for which he was persecuted, banned, driven underground and eventually sentenced to life imprisonment at the Rivonia Trial. He spent twenty-six years in prison, where he grew closer to both Mandela and Sisulu, who were father figures to him.