Who is the author and main subject in the memoir, Long Walk to Freedom?

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918-2013) is the author of the memoir Long Walk to Freedom. In it, he chronicles his childhood and youth in apartheid South Africa, his work as a freedom fighter, and his contributions as a leader of the African National Congress towards ending apartheid. Mandela describes in Long Walk to Freedom his childhood as the son of a Xhosa chief in the Transkei. Although Mandela as a youth feels deeply connected to his Xhosa roots, Long Walk to Freedom shows how Mandela’s perspective and frame of reference broadens as he experiences more of his country.