Book Review : Mandela and the Revolutionaries,

Paul S. Landau, Spear: Mandela and the Revolutionaries, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2022, 412 pages.

The present book, Spear: Mandela and the Revolutionaries by Paul S. Landau, is meant primarily for that section of academia which is willing to approach the archives and historical sources with an open mind, rather than for those scholars who have tunnel vision. Divided into twelve chapters (including two Appendices), the study focuses on the anti-apartheid struggle, especially its revolutionary phase which lasted for roughly four years, 1960–1964. In his discussions on this phase of the history of South Africa, Landau has deliberated at length on the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a military branch which was far removed from the African National Congress (ANC). Its operations were jointly planned and executed by the ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP). While discussing this organisation, he has highlighted the important role which Nelson Mandela played in its formation, expansion, and working.