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 democracy. It is a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of an epic event in world history, and it is an intimate, inspiring character study (and study of character) of a truly great leader, who was first and foremost a true human being, who embodied the Xhosa word ubuntu.