<P> Mandela describes prison time on Robben Island and Pollsmoor Prison . His 28 - year tenure in prison was marked by the cruelty of Afrikaner guards, backbreaking labour, and sleeping in minuscule cells which were nearly uninhabitable . Unlike his biographer Anthony Sampson, Mandela does not accuse the warder James Gregory of fabricating a friendship with his prisoner . Gregory's book Goodbye Bafana discussed Mandela's family life and described Gregory as a close personal friend of Mandela . According to Mandela: The Authorised Biography, Gregory's position was to censor the letters delivered to the future president, and he thereby discovered the details of Mandela's personal life, which he then made money from by means of his book Goodbye Bafana . Mandela considered suing Gregory for this breach of trust . In Long Walk to Freedom Mandela remarks of Gregory only that' I had not known him terribly well, but he knew us, because he had been responsible for reviewing our incoming and outgoing mail .' </P> <P> Later on in his sentence, Mandela met South African president, Frederik Willem de Klerk, and was released from prison in 1990 . Unlike his friend Anthony Sampson's account, Mandela's book does not discuss the alleged complicity of de Klerk in the violence of the eighties and nineties, or the role of his ex-wife Winnie Mandela in that bloodshed . Mandela became the President of South Africa in 1994 . </P> <P> The book won the Alan Paton Award in 1995, and has been published in numerous languages, including an Afrikaans translation by Antjie Krog . </P> <P> Long Walk to Freedom has been adapted into a film titled Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom directed by Justin Chadwick, written by William Nicholson, and produced by Anant Singh . Mandela personally awarded the film rights to the book to Singh's company some years before 2009 . Singh believes that as the film is based on Mandela's own writing, it will be the "definitive" biopic of him . English actor Idris Elba portrays Mandela in the film . The film was limited released on 29 November 2013 in the United States . Full release happened on Christmas Day 2013 in the United States . When the film was shown in London for Prince William and his wife, Nelson Mandela's death was announced . </P>

Where was a long walk to freedom published