Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation

This engaging nonfiction book follows Nelson Mandela's political path for ten years, from the time he was in prison to the triumphant win of the South African rugby team of the world cup in 1995.  Carlin shows how Nelson's charisma and political genius kept South Africa out of civil war and how he used rugby to unite a nation.  I have read Invictus before and enjoyed it, but I think I enjoyed this one more.  Invictus was more about the players, but this focuses more on Mandela and how his gentle but powerful personality won over one opponent after another.  In the forward, the author states that in a way this book could be seen as a leadership manual for statesmen.  I really felt that was true, and got some good ideas for my own role as director from reading this. It reinforced something I have been thinking about.  Sometimes tasks seem insurmountable, but really they hinge only on people changing their minds.  Mandela was a master of helping people change their minds for the better.