On 11 July 1963, police raided Lilisleaf farm at Rivonia near Johannesburg, arresting alleged members of the high command of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). Together with the already imprisoned Nelson Mandela, they were put on trial, charged with conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government by violent revolution. Their expected punishment was death. In The State vs. Nelson Mandela, Joel Joffe, their Defence Attorney, gives a blow-by-blow account of the most important trial in South Africa's history, vividly portraying the characters of those involved, and exposing the astonishing bigotry and rampant discrimination faced by the accused, as well as showing their courage under fire. With a personal forward from Nelson Mandela, this gripping chronicle of a pivotal moment in the war on apartheid should be read by everyone interested in the struggle for justice and human rights.