This was an interesting read and a well written book. I didn't know a lot about Mandela before going into this book and i do think that that was a good way to read this. It provided a good amount of information and background and groundwork to dive deeper into a clearly very interesting and worth while person to know more about.
At first i was a bit unsure about this book since the author himself states that Mandela never actually stated his religion or believes, but this book felt very well researched and so i think its overall done very well.

If you are interesting to learn more about Mandela, this is a great book to pick up!

Really interesting read, and well written biography on Nelson Mandela. I went in not knowing much about him, and came out better informed about Mandela the person. Deeply grateful for the information provided and I would recommend this to anyone looking to better understand the life and person of this famous figure.

The Spiritual Mandela by Dennis Cruywagen is an exceptionally well-done biography of Nelson Mandela which pays special attention to the role faith and religion (the Methodist Church in particular) played in his life. Without it, he says, he never would have survived his imprisonment, and credits it for making him the man he was.

This book is highly informative, and very readable. It is impossible to read this book and not come away with high admiration for the man Nelson Mandela was and all that he accomplished.

I highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Imagine for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Spiritual Mandela: Faith and Religion in the Life of Nelson Mandela by Dennis Cruywagen, is extremely well researched and written. The author details the life of Nelson Mandela chronologically and pays special attention to the influence of the Methodist Church and its' clergy on the education, development and politics of Mandela. Nelson Mandela has always held a special interest to me so I was excited to find a book which I believed would give me some insight into his spiritual life. Sadly, this book does not fulfill the promise made by its main title. It is, however, a detailed look at the role of faith and religion in the life of Nelson Mandela, as written in the book's subtitle.

This reader was interested to learn how Mandela integrated his tribal traditions and celebrations throughout his life with the teachings and rites of the Methodist church. Although the author, Cruywagen, did make several references to the fact that Mandela was a prayerful man he did not provide us with any insights to his actual spirituality. In fact, Mandela is quoted in several interviews as referring to his spiritual life as a private thing that in only discussed, in confidence, with his spiritual advisor(s). This attitude is correct and deserves the highest respect from others and yet I feel like I was misled by the book's title. Perhaps if the editor had realized how misleading the title is my disappointment could have been avoided.

This is yet another case of the confusion that can arise from the words “spirituality”, “faith” and “religion” of which only the last two are synonyms and therefore, the three are NOT interchangeable.