Robben Island
Subtitle: a place of inspiration : Mandela's prison island
By: Charlene Smith
Edition: 2nd. ed.
Publisher: Struik Travel & Heritage
Published: 2013
Place of publication: [Cape Town]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 176
ISBN-13: 9781920572907
Subjects: Imprisonment; History; Political prisoners; Prisons
Description: Robben Island-best known as the place where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for eighteen years-has been a place of harshness and brutality; its history steeped in the suffering of those banished there. Yet it has also become a universal symbol of hope, forgiveness, and triumph. With a storyteller's sensibility, combined with rigorous research, Charlene Smith charts the evolution of the island's political and social history, from mail station, place of exile, and military defence post to maximum security prison and World Heritage Site. Fully revised, this new edition provides absorbing accounts of daring escapes, maritime disasters, lepers ostracized from mainland society, the fates o great Xhosa chiefs of the nineteenth century, and the unique bonds of friendship and compassion forged among the political prisoners confined on the island during the apartheid era. Today Robben Island is recognised for both its environmental riches and its cultural significance. More than just a geographical location or a tourist attraction, it is an enduring tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. Sobering and uplifting, an essential read for anyone interested in South Africa's turbulent journey to democracy and the people who made it possible. -- taken from back cover.
Notes: First published in 1997.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-173) and index.
Table of contents: title: Foreword; title: Lawbreakers, lunatics, lepers, and hope; title: Birds, deer, and impertinent sharks; title: Of whales and ships, and sealing wax; title: Escapes : looking for the road; title: Honour dies : the Xhosa chiefs; title: The second world war; title: The last days of October; title: The 1960s : years of terror; title: The warders; title: The 1970s : years of struggle; title: The 1980s : How to we release them?; title: The time God chooses; title: Touring Robben Island.