Is the embodiment of justice, fairness and dignity in South Africa and around the world.

Many people followed him, and I was trying to follow his footsteps in the most appropriate way. I was a college student when I first started taking an active part in political activities. At that time, I took part in the divestment campaign and participated in the campaign to help South Africa end the apartheid regime. But as young people, the obstacles I personally face can never be compared with those who live under apartheid every day. And I can't imagine how courageous it was to support Nelson Mandela through such a long prison years. He awakened me to explore the wider world, and he made me realize that everyone has an obligation to defend the cause of justice. The choices he makes make us realize that a person cannot be content with accepting the status quo, but should do what we can to pursue an ideal world.

Over the years, I have looked at him with great humility and worshipped him. At the same time, the sacrifices he made in pursuing a just and fair dream inspired me. Today's world is full of apathy and despair, and Mandela's life story is the process of confrontation with such a world.

He has evolved from a prisoner to a free man, from a liberated fighter to a zealous campaigner for the advancement of Reconciliation, from a political party leader to a national president, committed to advancing the democratic process and development of the country. After leaving office, Mandela continued to work to achieve fairness, equality of opportunity and human dignity. He has made great contributions to changing the country and the world, and it is hard to imagine what history would have been like without him in the past few decades.

After being elected as a United States Senator, I came to the house of Robben on Robben Island, where I first dabbled in political life on the campus of the University of California, more than 20 years after the withdrawal campaign. Today, Robben Island prison has become a monument to the many patriots who sacrificed to achieve a peaceful transition to South Africa. Standing in the room, I tried to backtrack on the days of the prisoner Mandela, 466/64, when his struggle to win was unknown. I also tried to think of the legendary man who had changed his history as an ordinary person, Nelson Mandela, who made a huge sacrifice to change society.

Dialogue with ourselves shows us a picture of the life of Nelson Mandela, a wonderful thing for people all over the world. Through dozens of years of diaries, letters, speeches, interviews and other similar documents, this book shows the reader the life of Mandela from a plain routine prison to a presidential decision. In this book, we see a scholar, a politician, a man who loves his family, a man who writes a biography of the Long Freedom Road, and a leader who combines dreams with reality. He's Nelson Mandela! Now, through these works, we can regain a new understanding of the various stages of his long journey to freedom and the twists and turns he has experienced.

By the full description of the book, Nelson Mandela reminded us that he was never a perfect man. Like ordinary people, he has faults, but it is these shortcomings that inspire and inspire us, because if we are honest with ourselves, we will find that in the process of overcoming fear and doubt, in the process of forgiving others and in challenging ourselves, we will encounter either large or small Struggles and struggles at the individual or political level. The life experience of Nelson Mandela, as described in this book, is not the experience of a man who never makes mistakes or wins forever, but a man who is willing to risk his faith and work hard to make the world a better place.

In general, this is the message Mandela wants to deliver to the world. We live in an age that is seemingly difficult to change, and it is easy for people to succumb to dissent and their weaknesses, and then to choose a simpler path, thus evading the responsibility that should be borne to others. Nelson Mandela has lived through this, but for him, even a tiny light shines into the prison of Robben Island, and he expects a better future and a future worthy of his sacrifice. And in the face of the temptation of revenge, he realized the value of reconciliation, so he finally let the principle of victory over power. More valuable is, at last can relax to rest, he still did not give up to encourage his people to dedicate, in the past did not give up, I think he will not give up in the future.

On the eve of being president of the United States, I was honored to have a meeting with Nelson Mandela. When I was President of the United States, I occasionally talked to him on the phone. But he was old and old, and I was always busy with business, so every conversation was brief. However, in the conversation, many times I can feel his kindness, open-minded and wisdom. I realized that beneath the surface of what had been created was an ordinary man, a man who chose to hope, to abandon fear and to go forward without indulging in the past years of imprisonment. At the same time, I also realized that for a legendary person like Nelson Mandela, to know him and to know him is a better respect for him.

Introduction

--Vanna Harris (head of project, Nelson Mandela Memory and Dialogue Center)

In fact, "dialogue with Myself" is a book written by Nelson Mandela himself, recorded in his voice, very direct, very clear, but also a certain degree of privacy. And the editorial work of our group is equally important. The Panel has completed the contents of the book in the light of its subject matter, the importance of the material and the timeliness of its selection from a large number of available and previously acquired information. We think we have looked at most of the information in the Mandela private archives, but at the end of the list, there are many private collections that have not been consulted or used. For example, at the end of the last few months of work, we stumbled upon the former prison guard, Jacksworth, who also saved some information during his last 14 months in prison, where he served as a caretaker in Victorvillestedt. Again, at the end of the project, the South African National Intelligence Service has released a small portion of the material on Mandela, most of which is helpful to the work of the group. Mandela's material is classified as a top secret at the National Intelligence Agency in South Africa, which means that new materials may be released to the world later.

To complete this book project, we have consulted all of Nelson Mandela's personal information, but the final selection focuses on the following four sections. The first part is the letter in prison. Mandela wrote many letters on Robben Island and sent them to prison guards. He carefully transcribed the letters in two hard leather workbooks, recording the bitterness and anguish of Mandela's most difficult time in prison from 1969 to 1971. These letters were stolen by the prison authorities in 1971 and returned to him 2004 years later by a man who had served as a security policeman. Mandela's prison has a letter inspector because they, Nelson Mandela, were never sure whether his letters could be mailed to the destination, so he called these letters a ruthless fate. The National Archives of South Africa now hold several letters of his detention, which were not mailed by the prison authorities. The archives also hold copies of letters that have not been mailed.

The second part is the two groups of dialogue tapes, recorded not text but sound. These conversations are extremely intimate and not formal. In the course of the conversation, Mandela was often immersed in meditation and began to talk to himself. The first set of tapes was recorded during a long free road partnership with Richardstengel, which lasted 55 hours. The second set of tapes recorded a dialogue between Nelson Mandela and Ahmed Katrada, about 20 hours. June 12, 1964, Ahmed Katrada, Nelson Mandela and 6 others were sentenced to life imprisonment. At the invitation of Nelson Mandela in the 1990s, Kathrada began to work on the long Freedom Road and the review of Mandela's authoritative biography, the author of which was Anthony Sampson (Anthonysampson). Out of the public eye, the relationship between Nelson Mandela and the two old comrades was very relaxed. They can be heard in the recording, they often laugh softly, and occasionally laugh, and Mandela's content and manner of speech is also extremely interesting.

The third part is notes. Mandela was not imprisoned in 1962, when he had the habit of carrying his notebook with him. This year, he visited African countries (as well as Britain) to study military strategies, to participate in guerrilla warfare training and to seek support from the newly independent State and nationalist movement leaders. Throughout his visit and training, he was carrying a notebook. He then returned to South Africa and carried a notebook when he was arrested by the authorities. In the years since his release, he did not give up the habit during negotiations with South African authorities to seek democratic development in South Africa, even during the presidency. These notebooks are notes, memos, minutes of meetings and drafts of letters. There are also a few very long articles, each with several pages (few people are interested in such an article, limited to space, not referenced here). These articles record the main points of each speaker of the Working Committee of the African National Assembly, which are very detailed. Why he should record these, we are not very clear. Perhaps due to his former career as a lawyer, lawyers need to carefully record customer information. Or perhaps after the age of 70, he is no longer confident in his memory.

Part IV is the unfinished sequel to the Long Free road. October 16, 1998, Mandela took out a blue stationery, raised his favorite pen, decisively wrote a few Roman numerals, and then wrote the title: The Presidential years. His hand bold strong and full of power. Under the heading, is the first chapter a few words. Then he wrote the draft two words at the top of the stationery. However, in his final years as president, his writing was eventually delayed by a variety of political activities, philanthropic undertakings and a stream of visitors, preoccupied with various matters, including the negotiations in Burundi. The consultant suggested helping him arrange a professional writer, he refused. He has a strong protective desire for what he writes and always wants to do it himself. For a while, they arranged a research assistant for Nelson Mandela, but he soon felt unaccustomed to the arrangement. In the end, he felt exhausted and never had the strength to write it down.

It is not surprising that Mandela's personal profile does not have any intrinsic organizational principles or systematic arrangements. The information selected in dialogue with himself is classified according to the underlying principles, mainly based on Mandela's life, his contemplation and the subject of reflection. This book contains four parts, each part has the introduction and the topic, the topic is chooses from the classical literature content, the form and the subject matter, including the pastoral life, the drama Life, the epic life and the tragedy scene. Mandela was fond of classical literature, and he studied Latin before entering college and in college. In addition, he has been extensively involved in Greek literature and has played a role in both universities and prisons.

This book forms a direct reference to Marcus ol Lelius's "Meditations," which covers the thoughts, meditations and maxims of the 2nd century A.D. Marcus ol Lelius is not a great philosopher or writer, but he is the leader of the nation, the emperor of Rome, the statesman, the man Who dares to act, the warrior, and he is well aware of the benefits of his meditations, his notes and his daily introspection. His writing is in the struggle, and his books are full of wisdom. The original title of the book was translated by literal meaning to himself. So, both in terms of content and authorship, this "meditation" has a great connection with a man and another book that lived 18 centuries later.