Late one night in 1963, a South African police   unit surrounded the African National Congress headquarters in Rivonia   and arrested a group of party leaders gathered inside. Eight of them,   Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Dennis Goldberg, Govan Mbeki, Raymond   Mhlaba, Elias Motsaledi, Andrew Mlangeni, and Ahmed Kathrada, were   convicted of sabotage and, on 11 June 1964, sentenced to life in   prison. Soon, these men became widely known as the 'Rivonia Trialists.'   Despite their imprisonment, the Trialists played active roles in the   struggle against South Africa's racist regime. Instead of being   forgotten, as apartheid officials had hoped, they became enduring   symbols in a struggle against injustice and racism.    Kathrada and his colleagues were classified as high security   prisoners, segregated from others and closely watched. Every activity   was regulated and monitored. Among the many indignities visited upon   them, the prisoners were prohibited from keeping copies of incoming and   outgoing correspondence. Kathrada, or 'Kathy' as he became known,   successfully hid both.    Letters from Robben Island contains a selection of 86 of the more   than 900 pieces of correspondence Ahmed Kathrada wrote during his 26   years on Robben Island and at Pollsmoor Prison. Some were smuggled out   by friends; others were written in code to hide meaning and content   from prison censors.  These are among his most poignant, touching, and   eloquent communications. They are testimonials to Kathrada, to his   colleagues, and to their commitment to obtaining human dignity and   freedom for all South Africans.

Letters from Robben Island: A Selection of Ahmed Kathrada's Prison Correspondence, 1964-1989 PDF

The list of books you might like