Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation

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Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation

4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 · rating details · 1,577 ratings · 313 reviews

A thrilling, inspiring account of one of the greatest charm offensives in history--Nelson Mandela's decade-long campaign to unite his country, beginning in his jail cell and ending with a rugby tournament.

In 1985, Nelson Mandela, then in prison for twenty-three years, set about winning over the fiercest proponents of apartheid, from his jailers to the head of South Africa'...more A thrilling, inspiring account of one of the greatest charm offensives in history--Nelson Mandela's decade-long campaign to unite his country, beginning in his jail cell and ending with a rugby tournament.

In 1985, Nelson Mandela, then in prison for twenty-three years, set about winning over the fiercest proponents of apartheid, from his jailers to the head of South Africa's military. First he earned his freedom and then he won the presidency in the nation's first free election in 1994. But he knew that South Africa was still dangerously divided by almost fifty years of apartheid. If he couldn't unite his country in a visceral, emotional way--and fast--it would collapse into chaos. He would need all the charisma and strategic acumen he had honed during half a century of activism, and he'd need a cause all South Africans could share. Mandela picked one of the more farfetched causes imaginable--the national rugby team, the Springboks, who would host the sport's World Cup in 1995.

Against the giants of the sport, the Springboks' chances of victory were remote. But their chances of capturing the hearts of most South Africans seemed remoter still, as they had long been the embodiment of white supremacist rule. During apartheid, the all-white Springboks and their fans had belted out racist fight songs, and blacks would come to Springbok matches to cheer for whatever team was playing against them. Yet Mandela believed that the Springboks could embody--and engage--the new South Africa. And the Springboks themselves embraced the scheme. Soon South African TV would carry images of the team singing "Nkosi Sikelele Afrika," the longtime anthem of black resistance to apartheid.

As their surprising string of victories lengthened, their home-field advantage grew exponentially. South Africans of every color and political stripe found themselves falling for the team. When the Springboks took to the field for the championship match against New Zealand's heavily favored squad, Mandela sat in his presidential box wearing a Springbok jersey while sixty-two-thousand fans, mostly white, chanted "Nelson! Nelson!" Millions more gathered around their TV sets, whether in dusty black townships or leafy white suburbs, to urge their team toward victory. The Springboks won a nail-biter that day, defying the oddsmakers and capping Mandela's miraculous ten-year-long effort to bring forty-three million South Africans together in an enduring bond.

John Carlin, a former South Africa bureau chief for the London Independent, offers a singular portrait of the greatest statesman of our time in action, blending the volatile cocktail of race, sport, and politics to intoxicating effect. He draws on extensive interviews with Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and dozens of other South Africans caught up in Mandela's momentous campaign, and the Springboks' unlikely triumph. As he makes stirringly clear, their championship transcended the mere thrill of victory to erase ancient hatreds and make a nation whole.(less)

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published August 14th 2008 by Penguin Press HC, The (first published January 1st 2008)

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Aug 03, 2012 I, Curmudgeon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: inspiration, kindle-book, non-fictoin, good-read, really-good-read, recommended

I'm not going to belabor the point here, as I ususally do.

We often act, despite everyone's acknowledgement to the contrary, as if our generation invented racism, homosexuality, godlessness, greed, gluttony, and, sometimes hate. If we don't buy in to that common portrayal of who caued history's woes we sometimes still seem to see these things as "ours to fix" and take ownership where it's difficult to establish who is responsible for what. "We must stop this NOW!" yet, if the problem has lasted f...more I'm not going to belabor the point here, as I ususally do.

We often act, despite everyone's acknowledgement to the contrary, as if our generation invented racism, homosexuality, godlessness, greed, gluttony, and, sometimes hate. If we don't buy in to that common portrayal of who caued history's woes we sometimes still seem to see these things as "ours to fix" and take ownership where it's difficult to establish who is responsible for what. "We must stop this NOW!" yet, if the problem has lasted for centuries, why bring the same arguments and tools to the table that have never worked in the past?

Now we sit in ivory towers under white buildings, that look as if someone has set an overturned coffee cup on top of a rectangular whit box, and draw battle lines on paper instead of in the sand. Money becomes blood. Law becomes the sword, and we call ourselves civilized while, in practice, little changes save what one side or the other's needs for a new battle.

Try as we might, we look back at our history, in our past, and scour present with fine toothed combs, struggling to find heroes with perfect faces that can be mounted on milk cartons and billboards to show off dazzling smiles. Failing to do that, we make up or own, and post their images, choosing to believe as truths that really came from the darkest imagination in which they had been created. In ignorance, we ignored the true heroes who toil in obscurity to overcome massive mountains of trumped up thought with ages of experience at believing imagined rights and wrongs. Faces that failed the test of photogenics and lighting, or voices that seemed drol and ordinary instead of heroic.

While most of us in the US were absorbed in our own misery and joy, either make believe or real, in South Africa from 1985 to 1995 a battle raged. Sometimes the battle involved blood and bone, blade and bullet. Sometimes these battles involved paper and law, authority and anarchy. Sometimes it involved thoughts and emotions, both real and self-cultivated, and, sometimes, politics. This was nothing as simple as a war of guns and bullets, though there was plenty of that to go around, this was a war for hearts and minds. A war over that fragile, illusive thing we choose as our Identity as a person and a nation and the relationship between us.

While most of the United states continued about their lives in blissful ignorance, tipping the metaphorical hat at news stories and other odd things in press and on television, the most important battle of our time had been started, fought, and won, steming the tide of bloodhsed, rather than causing more to bleed. It was perhaps the most important battle of all time about human rights and human dignity and the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness with no barriers or glass ceilings decided by the colour of your skin and no privlidges ripped away by an angry fledgling government of wounded victimized warriors.

This book reads like a 300 page newspaper article. John Carlin is, after all, a journalist. It starts with a long history lesson, that is as distasteful as it is interesting and wicked as it is wise. In the middle the book turns to a tale of manipulation, cunning and charm. By the end, it's a tale of triumph. A bloodless coup where there were no casualties and the enemy joined the victors in celebration, dancing in the streests...and the rest of the world slept with only a few even registering the importance of what was going on. Our acknowlegement of what had passed held in check our need to have villains and faces to rail at and call shameful names, and make believe heroes to occupy our guilt.

This book reads like the weather in Maine. The first part is the cruel winter that seems to last well more than it's fair quarter. A brief spring that is far to short, a blistering summer and a beautiful autum with gold and red leaves dancing in the wind. As they say in Maine, "If you don't stay for the winters, then you do not deserve the spring and summer."

Let no man be so foolish as to think that sports, a national sport is only a thing of fancy or a bottle passion for sale to the highest bidder. Surely, those things can happen, but here, the galvanizing agent that started a healthy conversation about how Blacks and Whites in South Africa could live in peace without fear of eachother started with a "A Hoolagin's sport played by gentleman." A brutal sport of Contact and bone jaring collision, amazing speed and skill played by strong men with the hearts of lions.

For Whites, as one Rugger in the book put it. "For once we were not the bad guys, everybody's favorite villains. The people were behind us. The whole world was behind us and we felt it. We had regained our dignity after years of being everyone's enemy." For blacks, led by Nelson Mandella, it was a chance to show, that victors are not always vengeful. Sometimes they are thoughttful and caring and understanding of simple pleasures. That your fears of us are not waranted, this is how we prove it.

It's a great book. Everyone should read it. (less)

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Jul 12, 2011 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: meridian, non-fiction

1994 was a critical year for South Africa. A president had been elected by almost two-thirds of voters in the first truly democratic, one-person, one-vote elections the country had ever had. Tensions were simmering just barely under the surface, not infrequently erupting into violent neighborhood rallies, bloody skirmishes, and even assassination. Many of the white Afrikaner minority were worried about reprisals from the black majority, some of whom were undoubtedly eager for revenge or at least...more 1994 was a critical year for South Africa. A president had been elected by almost two-thirds of voters in the first truly democratic, one-person, one-vote elections the country had ever had. Tensions were simmering just barely under the surface, not infrequently erupting into violent neighborhood rallies, bloody skirmishes, and even assassination. Many of the white Afrikaner minority were worried about reprisals from the black majority, some of whom were undoubtedly eager for revenge or at least eager to see whites “put in their place” after so long in power. Extremist elements from both ends of the spectrum were arming themselves for what they deemed the inevitable civil war that would come. Even among the more moderate South Africans, doubts that a lasting peaceful government could be forged ran rampant.

And then there was Nelson Mandela.

Almost three decades of incarceration might be expected to have a hardening effect on a person, particularly when the initial conviction was unjust. However, Nelson Mandela used his time in prison to come to understand his adversary. He learned to speak Afrikaans, studied Afrikaner history, developed friendships with his Afrikaner jailors, and continued to reach out to the government leaders who had put him in prison. Eventually, this approach not only secured his release from jail and his election to the presidency, but also set his country on a path toward equality and reconciliation.

In the midst of this time of upheaval and radical change, South Africa was also preparing to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Rugby, for those who are as unfamiliar with the sport as I am, is sort of a cross between soccer and American football, but without any pads to cushion the ferocious impacts. Mr. Carlin explains the Afrikaner passion for rugby as “the closest they got, outside church, to a spiritual life” and Mr. Mandela himself once described it as “a religion” for Afrikaners. The black South Africans generally viewed the gold and green uniforms of the Springboks, along with the old national flag and national anthem, as a symbol of the oppression they had suffered under decades of apartheid. For years, they had cheered for whatever team the Springboks were playing against, urging a global boycott on South African rugby while apartheid was still law. And then Mr. Mandela determined that the best possible use for the sport of rugby is as “an instrument of political persuasion [and] reconciliation.”

To this end, Mr. Mandela worked with the disparate elements of South Africa, tirelessly lobbying, inspiring, charming, persuading and cajoling Xhosa, Zulu, English and Afrikaners alike into supporting the Springboks and his vision of South African unity: “One Team, One Country.” He encouraged the more vengeful anti-apartheid activists to soften their stance against the symbols they loathed and to give the country a chance to come together. He convinced General Constand Viljoen, the former overall commander of the South African Defense Force who led a right-wing group determined to take up arms against the new government, to stand down and renounce war. He motivated the almost-completely Afrikaner rugby team to learn the Xhosa words to the new national anthem “Nkosi Sikelele” and sing it and the old national anthem with equal gusto before each match during the tournament. In a triumphant ending worthy of a Hollywood film (which, as a matter of fact, it now is), the underdog Springboks defeated the heavily favored New Zealand All Blacks to win the World Cup and the entire country celebrated rapturously, regardless of color. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu explained, “That match did for us what speeches of politicians or archbishops could not do. It galvanized us, it made us realize that it was actually possible for us to be on the same side. It said it is actually possible for us to become one nation.”

Mr. Mandela's optimism, charisma, and determination to engage all South Africans in the process of peace and justice prevailed against the fear and suspicions so prevalent at this turbulent time. And the sport of rugby was his instrument of choice in this extraordinary reconciliation.

For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.(less)

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Mar 03, 2009 Edwin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Basically put, Nelson Mandela is the MAN. We tend to reduce people to symbols, to say-- oh yeah, him, he's the guy that did this, or she's the "that" girl, or whatnot. And that was basically the nature of my knowledge of Mandela-- a vague sense of his wisdom and love of freedom or something.
I don't know if this is the best book ever written about Mandela. But reading it definitely has given me a fuller appreciation of a man I had once thought of only as a symbol. He is a master manipulator, ambi...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Cody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Cody Baughn
Per.4
Invictus
The recommended book that I read for this grading period was Invictus by John Carlin. This genre of this book is historical non-fiction because the book captures the actions made by Nelson Mandela to unite a deeply separated country through non-violence. Nelson Mandela was the President of South Africa in a period in time when the outcome of his country was uncertain at best, and his approach at trying to resolve this problem was even more uncertain. Throughout Africa th...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Brad Nelson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John Carlin provides insight on a man who understood people in a way that few can. I remember learning about Apartheid, communism, and the general events that unfolded at some point in grade school. What was explained in platitudes of "He was a great man who did great things" is unfolded in this well written memoir as a man who almost singularly sowed peace where there was none.

Learning about the human element that Nelson Mandela brought to the transitional South African government can provide i...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Daniel Wu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After reading the novel "The Power of One" authored by Bryce Courtenay, I become interested in Apartheid and the situation of black people in South Africa. Although the movie "Invictus" is kind of a disappointment to me, I still decide to read the book and, WOW, it turns out that I love it.
The author introduces many characters in the book, and accounting their histories, the reader gets to know the situation/background from different/contracting point of view. Some people may find it boring, but...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Nora Lockett rated it 5 of 5 stars

I became interested in this book in a very roundabout way. I am a fan of rugby, and the South African team the Springboks in particular, and picked up this book for that reason. I was not prepared for the sheer power of what I read. I must say that I never realized how very evil apartheid was until I read the details in this book. For part of the time, tears streamed down my face as I grieved the injustices suffered by the black African people of South Africa. Central to the book is the one inju...more

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Jun 18, 2010 Cath Duncan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nelson Mandela is the epitome of Agile Living and Agile Leadership, which is essentially about living in a way that exercises your freedom and expands freedom for others. Exercising your mental and emotional freedom is the foundation of Agile Living and creating all the other types of freedom that you might want for yourself and the people around you. In spite of having many of his freedoms severely constrained and restricted, and having his loved ones tortured and killed in terrible ways, Nelso...more

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Aug 23, 2011 Jake Wright rated it 4 of 5 stars

REVIEW: Playing the Enemy – John Carlin
- “Playing the Enemy” depicted the time Nelson Mandela spent in jail in the beginning of the book, but the important parts were those after the first multiracial election in 1994. The book begins on the day of the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final but jumps back to 1985, when Mandela is in jail. The next few chapters show what his life in jail was like and Carlin describes Mandela’s transformation from revolutionary to peacemaker. The description of his tenure in...more REVIEW: Playing the Enemy – John Carlin
- “Playing the Enemy” depicted the time Nelson Mandela spent in jail in the beginning of the book, but the important parts were those after the first multiracial election in 1994. The book begins on the day of the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final but jumps back to 1985, when Mandela is in jail. The next few chapters show what his life in jail was like and Carlin describes Mandela’s transformation from revolutionary to peacemaker. The description of his tenure in jail include a few instances of foreshadowing, explaining the cultural role of rugby in white South African society. Carlin takes the reader from Mandela’s time on Robben Island to his release and election. From there, Carlin explains how even though a black man is the President of a once segregated nation, South Africa is still divided. Mandela lacked the endorsement of whites in the country and he found that sport was common ground. The book then takes the reader through Mandela’s campaign to support the Springboks, South Africa’s national rugby team and their journey from being a losing team to inspired champions of the world. In the introduction of the book, Carlin includes a quote from Mandela that nearly summarizes his campaign and the book: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, the power to untie people that little else has…It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers.”
- Obviously, South Africa under apartheid was very different than American culture. The segregation of South Africa was actually very similar to America from the Reconstruction period up to the 1960s. The black citizens required pass books to travel outside their houses and were arrested if they didn’t have them. They weren’t allowed to live in cities with whites unless they were servants. Even the restaurants, water fountains, bathrooms, and beaches were separated for blacks and whites (whites getting the nicer parts of each mentioned item). The Sharpeville Massacre in 1960 which killed 69 blacks and the assassination of African National Congress leader Chris Hani show the strong feelings of superiority of the whites to the blacks. This is both similar to America in that there were assassinations and lynchings in America in the past but is different than the U.S. today because there haven’t been (successful) assassinations or public killings by police as high profile or recent as the 90’s. The culture today is very modern and westernized but also contains many aspects of African culture, as many tribes still live in South Africa.
- John Carlin’s purpose in writing this book is, as stated in the introduction, “[to] humbly…reflect a little of Mandela’s light” (Carlin). Carlin gives an accurate account of the transformation of South Africa from a separated country to a united nation. He shows Mandela’s strategy to untie the nation, beginning in his days on Robben Island and ending with the winning of the World Cup, with fans (black and white) cheering and waving South Africa’s new flag. Carlin also proves Mandela’s quote about sport (above) by showing how Mandela used rugby to gain the support of the whites.
- There are many themes of “Playing the Enemy”. One of the main themes is the power of one person and that one person can change a nation. This is expressed in the long journey Nelson Mandela takes from protesting in the 1960s to being inaugurated as South Africa’s first democratically elected president. Another main theme is the power of sports. Carlin uses a large part of the book to show how the sport of rugby and how the Springboks brought the nation together by giving the citizens common ground, inspiration, and something to cheer for.
- I would without a doubt recommend this book to anyone. You don’t have to be a sports fan to enjoy the genius of Nelson Mandela and the beauty of the acceptance of the new government in South Africa. If you do like sports, the book is even better to read because Carlin expertly proves Mandela’s quote saying “Sport has the power to change the world” by taking the reader on a journey from the separated and chaotic South Africa fresh off of change of power in 1994 to the unified, victorious South Africa after winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
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Mar 14, 2011 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Like a lot of books I end up reading, I saw the film first. The film was average at best (and the rugby scenes were very poor in my opinion), so it wasn't hard to beat by the book. That being said, the book doesn't surpass the film in the way it told the same story, the book surpasses the book in that it interweaves more storylines, more subplots and more characters into this fascinating story. After reading this book -- which is fascinating for multiple reasons including geopolitics, race relat...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Rebecca Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: challenge-11, non-fiction

'Playing the Enemy' is one of those non-fiction pieces that you scarcely would have allowed yourself to believe to be true, lest you know it was. It is also one of these texts that you pick up, completely prepared for on subject, and soon you are delivered something that you did not expect.

The novel follows the famous south African Nelson Mandela, president, human rights activist and, as accordance to the subject matter of the book, a dedicated rugby fan. The first half, if not more, of the book...more 'Playing the Enemy' is one of those non-fiction pieces that you scarcely would have allowed yourself to believe to be true, lest you know it was. It is also one of these texts that you pick up, completely prepared for on subject, and soon you are delivered something that you did not expect.

The novel follows the famous south African Nelson Mandela, president, human rights activist and, as accordance to the subject matter of the book, a dedicated rugby fan. The first half, if not more, of the book takes the reader on a tour of his life as well as the lives of millions of South African residents as they lived during the time before, during, and have human rights reform in the once turmoil African nation. It tells of the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela, his distinct social power and abilities, and how they eventually led to his release from prison.

There is also significant mention and accounts of the social and physical abuse suffered by the blacks under the powerful white government, and how Mr. Mandela was able to persuade them to not retaliate with anger, but with such emotions as love and forgiveness.

During this telling, the book is punctuated with 'where-is-he-now' points concerning the life of Francois Pinaar, who would become the captain of the South American rugby team during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, of which the book speaks.

Finally, the book turns to the concern of rugby. (I have my single grievance with this book because it was supposed to be about 'Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation, but over half of the book seemed a pre-requisite to this idea. Although it was not as if the first section of the book was not informative. On the contrary, it was quite intriguing!)

Watching the nation of South Africa change was awe-inspiring. From a government headed entirely by whites to a country governed by President Mandela, a black former-prisoner, was a true testament to human forgiveness. The way he dealt with the people around him, of all races and of all intentions, may have been the deciding factor in the fate of his country. As was his attention to rugby, at first shunned by the black population for its connection to the white rule, it was now something that he could use to pull together his people with. All of his people.

The South African rugby team prevailed in the world cup, thanks to the support of Mr. Mandela, and 43 million South Africans. The rest, as they say, is history.

This is a fantastic novel for all those who want to not only read more on the history of South Africa, the amazing and inspiring life of Mr. Nelson Mandela, but also for those who want a read a book with surprising real events and an ending that will leave you feeling hopeful for the future.

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Jan 04, 2010 Ian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a good book. It is almost unfailingly superficial and positive in its take on the black population and critical of the white - justified to an extent but less than nuanced and annoying. Its ultimate thesis surrounding the importance of rugby and the 1995 World Cup to the peaceful transition is valid and well supported.

I had hoped the rugby side of the story would be more informative/included but it amounted to little more than pre-game jitters, scores and that Jonah Lomu was a big boy....more

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Nov 14, 2011 Marvin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Good if flawed account of Mandela's struggle to unify South Africa. The author did a good job in showing how tenuous the country was during Mandela's term as president and Mandela"s role in stabilizing a very dangerous period in history. However there are just too many flaws in this book to thoroughly enjoy it. First, there is the formal and stiff writing style of the author. It tends to be unfocused in describing the events. Secondly, while The author sincerely admires Mandela, and there is muc...more

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May 26, 2012 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was an excellent read, and I got a lot out of it. The book documents the transition from apartheid to one-person-one-vote in South Africa. First, we meet Nelson Mandela in prison, as he begins negotiations with politicians during the apartheid era. Then, we follow his release and election as president. Finally, we witness the 1995 Rugby World Cup which was held in South Africa and the role it played in “nation building”.

I enjoyed this book because of the portrait it gives us of Mandela, an...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Adrian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up this book after watching the film "Invictus", which was great. The first half sets the historical and political context of South Africa's struggle against apartheid, which is important for readers to fully appreciate the momentous significance of the Rugby World Cup final in 1995. The tension then begins to build towards a stirring climax.

The writing is not stellar, and it can be difficult to keep track of the many characters introduced (the author flits from one point of view to an...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Muphyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: africa, biography-memoir, book-club, history-politics, non-fiction, south-africa, audiobook, 2013-reads, sports

A great insight into the events that led up to the 1995 Rugby Worldcup, uniting a nation under Mandela. For some reason, I expected it to be more about the Springbok captain Pinaar and rugby but it was actually a portray of Mandela's last years in prison and the events leading up to his release and then later the 1994 elections. Really appreciated the insightful portrayal of Mandela as a man who created a new nation with fantastically clear and shrewed mind and a heart full of grace and love. Fi...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Germà rated it 3 of 5 stars

És un panegíric, si. Però qui pot resistir-se a una personalitat com la de Mandela? Carlin el va tractar en profunditat, i és comprensible que hagi caigut rendit als seus encants. La història és magnífica i mereixia ser explicada de la manera com ho fa Carlin. Si t'agrada la llibertat, gaudiràs amb aquest llibre. Si a més a més també t'agrada el rugbi, aleshores et fascinarà!

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Dec 14, 2009 Petra X rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel-adventure

Nelson Mandela is my hero. Rugby is my game (I'm from the South Wales valleys, 'nuff said).

Simply the best book I've read all year, it was absolutely awesome. Mandela's methods for disarming and charming everyone were inspirational - this is the only inspirational book I've read (I can't get into that genre at all).

I've just been chucked out without notice from a private group 'Back in Skinny Jeans' on Goodreads where some member/s don't like non-Americans, non-Republicans, non-Christians and...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Gil rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the book that the movie Invictus was based on. Invictus is my favorite movie ever (mixing politics, race-relations, and Rugby), so I wanted to read this book. A biography of Nelson Mandela, I found myself wanting more. It was scattered in its delivery and disorganized in it's historical treatment. Other than the organization, it felt like I was reading a long article in a magazine. I also wanted more depth on the rugby world cup. I felt like they didn't really talk about the blow by blow...more

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Jun 16, 2010 Steve rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa

I read this book under the title "Invictus", which coincided with the film of the same name.

This is a fabulous book. Carlin obviously had rather indepth access to Mandela and also dedicated hours, months and years of research and interviews with other sources to produce this fantastic narrative. The book is not a story about rugby; the game itself serves and the central point only in that the narrative is told as a historical build up to the crescendo moment which is the 1995 Rugby World Cup fi...more

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Feb 16, 2012 L Greyfort rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Carlin makes no bones about being a complete Mandela fan. Even though the reader is fully aware of his bias, the concise history of South Africa's rebirth he supplies to the uneducated (i.e., me),
complete with pithy profiles of the relevant national figures, builds the foundation for the reader's full understanding of the significance of Mandela's and the team's achievement.

This book could not attain its extremely moving denouement, in the depiction of the climactic rugby match, if the author ha...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Joyce rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 50-books-challenge-2012

I'm like the average reader, I know like everyone else that Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison - 18 of them in a tiny cell on Robben Island - and emerged without hatred to spearhead a peaceful transfer of power in South Africa. But you probably know nothing about the 1995 Rugby World Cup match. John Carlin's brilliant book corrects that, and, along the way, presents a concise biography of a remarkable man. In this book, Nelson Mandela is a brilliant politician with a genius for disarming hi...more

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Sep 06, 2009 Caleb rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's a journalistic account of Nelson Mandela, the end of apartheid in South Africa, and its link to the Springboks' victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. It's a fascinating story and Carlin got great access to people, but it had two flaws that bothered me. one, everyone interviewed thought this was really important and significant, so much so that it felt schmaltzy and like a Disney movie for stretches. Second, I found it grating how much the whites were allowed to keep their dignity and ownersh...more

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Feb 18, 2010 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: saturday-book-club

It is a good book- different from the movie (Invictus) neither better nor worse. But I am constantly in awe that South Africa navigated its way through the peaceful transition to a full representative democracy. I ended up going to see he movie again after I finished the book to see the differences better. I appreciated the book more than the movie after I finished the book.

For those who are interested:

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole t...more

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Feb 16, 2011 Olduvai rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, non-fiction

As I made my way through John Carlin’s Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, I kept thinking back to the Clint Eastwood-directed, Morgan Freeman- and Matt-Damon starring movie Invictus, which is based on this book. The film was entertaining and thoughtful, although it seemed to be a bit more upbeat than I expected, considering that it follows Nelson Mandela from the beginning of his presidency, a time still very fraught with racial tensions in South Africa. Invictus...more As I made my way through John Carlin’s Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, I kept thinking back to the Clint Eastwood-directed, Morgan Freeman- and Matt-Damon starring movie Invictus, which is based on this book. The film was entertaining and thoughtful, although it seemed to be a bit more upbeat than I expected, considering that it follows Nelson Mandela from the beginning of his presidency, a time still very fraught with racial tensions in South Africa. Invictus focuses on Mandela and his involvement with the Springboks (the South African rugby team), whom he encouraged his countrymen to support (the Springboks were mostly supported by the Afrikaners, and for many non-whites symbolised white supremacy). The movie mostly suggests these tensions, and makes use of Mandela’s white and black bodyguards to illustrate some of these tensions (not all that effectively).

Reading Playing the Enemy became a game of ‘spot the difference’ for me. For instance, Invictus left the impression on me that prior to winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the Springboks were quite a hopeless team (apparently not all that true). They had, for instance, beaten the All Blacks before, as well as Argentina, another strong team, if I remember correctly from the book. Perhaps the biggest tragedy of Invictus was the lack of excitement in their rugby footage! The husband and I were commenting that even an episode of Friday Night Lights has more exciting sports footage than Invictus! And also, the role of team captain Francois Pienaar is played up. The movie portrays it as his idea to have the team learn the new anthem (it was the team manager’s idea). And the team did not react as negatively as the movie suggests, and many of the team members embraced it wholeheartedly, such as James Small, an Englishman who had felt ostracized by his teammates.

More importantly, Playing the Enemy also made me realize just how much was glossed over, or perhaps not even mentioned at all. The violence, the protests, the false arrests, the assassinations, especially of Afrikaners such as the defense attorney working to free the Upington 14 who were accused of killing a black policeman who had fired into a crowd. There wasn’t enough of a sense of this tension, of the background that shocked the world.

But enough about the movie. Movies tend to pale when compared to the book, don’t they? Playing the Enemy is yet another well-written non-fiction book, from which the movie pulled information from just the last few chapters. It sustains one’s interest in a subject that could easily have been bogged down by too much information. (Here I should admit that I am somewhat interested in rugby. Thanks to its colonial past, Singapore does actually have a national rugby team, and so do many of the schools and I have actually seen watched a little rugby – at the Singapore Sevens, although I never thought that I’d ever read a book on rugby.) There are ample interviews with relevant people, which was aided by Carlin’s journalism background (he was The Independent’s South African bureau chief in the late 1990s). The information is well laid out and interspersed with interesting anecdotes and quotes, and he provides plenty of background for ignoramuses like me, who need to a refresher on South Africa’s apartheid history. Unlike the movie, the book wasn’t all about the game. The Rugby World Cup final was the culmination of all this planning, strategic or accidental, so like the firework spectacular at a new year celebration, it gave the world a big bang to wow over. Carlin does a wonderful job capturing the issues, the hostility, introducing a host of other characters but at the same time keeping Mandela very firmly as the main personality, the driving force of these events, both captivating and enigmatic. This is Mandela’s story, this is South Africa’s story, as it very rightly is.

Highly recommended!(less)

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Nov 25, 2009 Adam Bielamowicz rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sports-books

It is a sports book, but at the same time it isn't. A great story that chronicles a good part of the history of Apartheid in South Africa and what Nelson Mandela did to make the nation one. This all culminated with South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup in 1995.

This book is exactly why I love sports so much. South Africa was a nation that, for decades, was racially segregated, and the land and power in the country were given to the Afrikaans, which made up an extremely small percentage of the...more

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Oct 30, 2010 Dean Summers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, africa, politics

This is the book that inspired the motion picture Invictus, staring Morgan Freeman as the pre-eminent freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela, and Matt Damon as François Pienaar, captain of the Springboks when that team won for South Africa the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

The movie is a must see. And yet the book far outweighs the movie. The movie is about the events leading up to a rugby championship game. The book is about the transition of power in South Africa from the Apartheid government to full democrac...more

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Mar 26, 2010 Brandon O'Neill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dad left me a really good read! This is the story of Nelson Mandella's plan using rugby as a uniting factor in South Africa after he was released from prison. I came away with a huge respect for Mandella not only as a politician, but the way in which he united black and white South Africa with surprisingly little bitterness after a 27 year imprisonment. He seemed able to charm everyone he wanted to. He was the right person in the right place at the right time.
I also came away more curious abo...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Anthony rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’ll admit that after having watched Invictus I didn’t feel the drive to read the story that inspired the movie. Despite many of the over-the-top cheesy Disneyesque feel-good sports moments dramatically overplayed in the movie, Invictus was a decent flick with a classic performance by good old Morgan Freeman. Before watching it I didn't know much about Nelson Mandela other than he was an Nobel laureate and key instrument in ending Apartheid. Invictus did a great job of showing Mandela's diplomat...more I’ll admit that after having watched Invictus I didn’t feel the drive to read the story that inspired the movie. Despite many of the over-the-top cheesy Disneyesque feel-good sports moments dramatically overplayed in the movie, Invictus was a decent flick with a classic performance by good old Morgan Freeman. Before watching it I didn't know much about Nelson Mandela other than he was an Nobel laureate and key instrument in ending Apartheid. Invictus did a great job of showing Mandela's diplomatic and charismatic persona while revealing the curious fact that Mandela artfully used the 1995 Rugby World Cup as pivotal tool to mend the disparities of race in South Africa. I turned to the book, Playing the Enemy, only because it was highly recommended by a reputable source who both read the book and saw the movie and concluded that Carlin's book was helpful in providing the historical and social back-story to the relationship of Rugby, race, and politics in Mandela's South Africa.

While reading it (with Morgan Freeman’s archetypal voice narrating in my head) I was surprised to find that many of the roll-your-eyes Hollywood moments such as the plane flying low over the stadium at the opening of the world-cup championship game, the overtime last minute victory against the New Zealand All Blacks, the post-victory ecstatic hugging of just about every white Afrikaner and black countryman, and the Sprinkbok captain's bold proclamation that their success wasn't because “we didn't have 62,000 fans behind us. We had 43 million South Africans,” (242) were actually all true occurrences. Knowing this, I wish that I had read the book before the movie because I would have better appreciated some of the scenes I presumed to be overindulgent dramatization.

While the movie does tend to admittedly over-dramatize, John's Carlin's book is a worthy read that provides a lot of helpful back-story regarding Mandela's incarceration, a brief history of the colonization of South Africa, the development of apartheid, and the tensions that were threatening to tear apart the country when Mandela was released from prison. With all the violence and genocide that we have witnessed in the African continent throughout the past few decades it is truly amazing that the country of South Africa was not subjected to the same fate as its northern neighbors. This is especially true when one considers the privilege gained by the white Afrikaner in Apartheid South Africa and the extreme political views of the disparate parties of the black South Africans. These two dissident people were like a match to a pile a kindle and Mandela is truly a hero to his nation for his ability to win over the people and assuage many of the building tensions.

Of course the story of Rugby is a major part of the story of Playing the Enemy and John Carlin provides good analogies to the zealotry of American football to explain how the excitement of sport helped bond the people. I will say that in reading each chapter, I found that Carlin's editing could have used some improvement. The book is mostly chronological and because of this Carlin tends to jump back and forth from explaining events that happened to key people while cataloging the important social and political temperature all while persistently explaining how important rugby was to the Afrikaner and loathed by the South African black. Carlin interviewed a lot key figures to get the facts for this book and because of the depth of his interviews he tends to tell everyone's story all at once and thus each chapter lacks a distinctive voice. From a reader's perspective I found this to be a slight annoyance, but from a more symbolic perspective I believe it works because Playing the Enemy isn't just Mandela or the Sprinkbok's story, it is the story of all of South Africa.(less)

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Mar 10, 2010 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, also-movie, historical, non-fiction, travel

What started as a great book took me a long time to actually finish. I mean there was no suspense or no surprise at the end, anyone who knows anything about rugby knows the All Blacks lost the world cup in 1995...or hence the Springbok won.

Something just didn't sit right for me through the book, I honestly don't know much about Mandela or South Africa in general at the time, but this book didn't make me want to know more.

I struggled to understand how the South Africian rugby team could not get t...more

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