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Playing the Enemy

Playing the Enemy

By John Carlin

Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation. Penguin Books, 2008.

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16 mins read

14 Key insights

A brief summary of Playing the Enemy

The true story of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and subsequent rise to power among an apartheid nation on the brink of civil war, and the rugby game that brought everyone together.

Key insights in Playing the Enemy

1
What do you get from this book? The epic story of how Nelson Mandela used rugby to unite a segregated nation
2
South Africa’s apartheid government was a volatile place, but Nelson Mandela knew rugby could transform society
3
Mandela was imprisoned for fighting apartheid leaders but ingratiated himself to captors by learning about their culture
4
The Upington 14 case pushed the nation toward civil unrest, sparking the immediate need for peace talks with the ANC
5
The government released Mandela from prison in 1990 and began peace talks with him and the ANC
6
Tensions rose when apartheid symbols were flouted during South Africa’s rugby game, followed by the assassination of an ANC leader
7
White society became strongly divided on apartheid laws, driving the country toward civil war
8
Mandela won the election and focused on bridging the gap between races rather than replacing white symbols with Black ones
9
Winning over Constand’s people proved difficult, but Mandela believed hosting the World Cup in South Africa could end the violence
10
The Springboks went from being a symbol of white supremacy to representing the entire nation
11
The final game of the World Cup united Black and white people in South Africa, especially when the Springboks won
12
Summary of the key insights
13
Selected critiques in brief
14
Final word

Who should read Playing the Enemy

Politicians • teachers • students • historians • civil rights activists • sports fans

About the author of Playing the Enemy

John Carlin is a British sportswriter and political journalist. From 1989-1995 he served as the South African bureau chief for British newspaper The Independent. His work extends to Spanish-language newspapers such as La Vanguardia, Clarín, and El País, where he was a senior international writer. Carlin is the recipient of the 2000 Spanish Ortega y Gasset Award for journalism.

author avatar

John Carlin

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