How Far We Slaves Have Come!: South Africa and Cuba in Today’s World

Containing the speeches made by Castro and Mandela at a 1991 rally in Matanzas, Cuba, this volume catches both men at interesting points in their political careers. Castro would shortly be coping with Cuba's loss of crucial economic support after the collapse of the Soviet Union later in the year. Not long out of prison, Mandela was in the midst of negotiating an end to South Africa's apartheid government, and only a few years from becoming the country's first black president. In terms of substance, the speeches are both tributes to the Cuban people for their internationalist aid to the anti-apartheid struggle and to the vanguard role of the African National Congress and, at the distance of almost two decades, Mandela's speech has shown great staying power. Annotation 穢2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)