April 2001
Oprah: You became even more disciplined in prison than you had been before, studying regularly and encouraging your colleagues to study. Why?
Nelson Mandela: I knew we could improve our lives even in jail. We could come out as different men, and we could even come out with two degrees. Educating ourselves was a way to give ourselves the most powerful weapon for freedom.
OW: Did you come out a wiser man?
NM: All I can say is that I was less foolish than I was when I went in. I equipped myself by reading literature, especially classic novels such as
The Grapes of Wrath.
OW: That's one of my favorite books.
NM: When I closed that book, I was a different man. It enriched my powers of thinking and discipline, and my relationships. I left prison more informed than when I went in. And the more informed you are, the less arrogant and aggressive you are.
Read the full interview from the April 2001 issue.
