Reflections on Nelson Mandela is a new book that contains exclusive photographs of renowned statesmen, thinkers, performers, celebrities and commentators alongside their answer to one simple question: “What do you think society, mankind and humanity can learn from Nelson Mandela’s values and virtues?” Reflections also reveals ‘the meaning’ of Mandela to the world at large – from artists to activists, bankers to bouncers, marketers to road sweepers, policemen to journalists, healers to students, and many in between. Completing the volume are revealing images of Mandela himself. To celebrate the pre-launch of Reflections (which will hit the shelves on 1 July 2010), selected images and quotes from the book will be framed and displayed at the Proud Central, London W1. An auction of these items (25 May 2010) will raise money for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.

Press Release

WORLD UNITES IN REFLECTION A NEW BOOK AND LONDON EXHIBITION ON REFLECTIONS ON THE LIFE OF NELSON MANDELA

Kevin Spacey, Kate Moss, Lord Attenborough, Arpad Busson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, actors, Stephen Fry and Richard E Grant and Dame Judy Dench, communications guru Alistair Campbell, philosophy professor A C Grayling, DJ and broadcaster Trevor Nelson – are just some of the people who have chosen to share their deeply personal thoughts and impressions in Reflections on Nelson Mandela, Icon of Peace.

Published by Reynolds and Hearn Ltd on 1st July 2010, this revealing, provocative and beautifully produced portrait of South Africa’s first black president contains exclusive photographs of renowned statesmen, thinkers, performers, celebrities and commentators. Each is pictured alongside their answer to one simple question: “What do you think society, mankind and humanity can learn from Nelson Mandela’s values and virtues?”

Perhaps still more telling than these contributions are those of the less lauded. Reflections also reveals ‘the meaning’ of Mandela to the world at large – from artists to activists, bankers to bouncers, marketers to road sweepers, policemen to journalists, healers to students, and many in between. Completing the volume are revealing images of Mandela himself.

This is a voyage of discovery. Photographs of each contributor suggest aspects of their characters and lifestyles, while their quotes reinforce who they are and the values they hold dear. In this context, their observations on Mandela throw a revealing and often inspiring light on the condition of man and womankind at the start of the 21st Century. They spark new considerations of modern values and virtues, and further boost the political and philosophical debates Mandela continues to champion.

About the author
“Life changing,” is how South-African born author and photographer Antoinette Haselhorst describes her experience producing Reflections. “No matter how many doors were slammed in my face, no matter how many people told me to give up, no matter how lost I felt, I was determined to complete this.”

Her own relationship with Mandela is personal, intense and serendipitous. Antoinette moved with her family to Germany in 1978, a time when student uprisings raged in Johannesberg. Many Europeans held all white South Africans in contempt, and the then teenager was accused by her classmates of being a ‘murderer and oppressor’.  Antoinette’s subsequent career in fashion and photography saw her finally settling in London.

A year after Mandela was released from his 27-years of imprisonment, Antoinette learnt he’d bought the same Johannesburg house in which she’d been raised.

“I turned my back on politics,” she says, “until a magazine editor I met through one of my exhibitions suggested I do a book on Mandela. The year was 1997. Since then, I’ve rediscovered the land of my birth and its legacy to the world this man helped create. Nelson Mandela opened a door to reconciliation, and showed I no longer needed to feel ashamed.”
Antoinette’s previous book, sponsored by De Beers, is Motherhood – a collection of photographs capturing the unique bond between mothers and their children, and the singular beauty of pregnant women.

Launch-day exhibition 25th May 2010
To celebrate the pre-launch of Reflections, selected images and quotes from the book will be framed and displayed at the Proud Central, London W1. An auction of these items (25 May 2010) will raise money for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.  “ Antoinette has been a loyal supporter of The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund UK for many years and we are so thrilled to see this wonderful book being published. By raising funds for us through the book and the Exhibition Antoinette will be making a massive difference to the lives of many South African Children and we are extremely grateful to her.” Executive Director, Kathi Scott. The exhibition will run for a one-week period.

Reflections on Nelson Mandela, Icon of Peace published by: Reynolds and Hearn Ltd will retail for £12.99 throughout all good European Book retailers.

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