As much a rigorous historical exploration as a culinary reference, this book offers a delicately compiled biography of Nelson Mandela through the recipes that have been the backdrop, and occasionally the primary cause, for momentous personal and political events. From the corn grinding stone of his boyhood and prison hunger strikes to presidential banquets, tales told in sandwiches, sugar, and samoosas speak eloquently of Nelson Mandela's intellectual awakenings, emotional longings, and constant struggle for racial equality.