FRONTLINE profiles the most widely known and revered political leader in the world--Nelson Mandela. Credited with the reversal of apartheid in a South Africa controlled by two generations of stern Afrikaner leaders who enforced the ideology of racial separation, Mandela stands as an all-embracing giant who brought about his nations extraordinary peaceful transformation to democracy. In the most in-depth film biography of Mandela ever undertaken, the broadcast tells the story of his life through interviews with intimates--from his most trusted associates to his jailers on Robben Island, the prison where he was held for twenty-seven years. The two-hour film offers an insider's account of his extraordinary will to lead and of the great risk and personal sacrifice he endured to achieve democracy and equality for the people of his nation.