Rick Stengel had a piece in this week’s issue of Time, the magazine he edits, about Nelson Mandela. It was the cover story: "The Secrets of Leadership"; in the piece Mr. Stengel went through eight prescriptive slogans (example: "Keep your friends close – and your rivals even closer") and explained how they relate to Mr. Mandela’s life and work.
This is not a new subject for Mr. Stengel–in 1993 he and Mr. Mandela collaborated on Mr. Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. After they finished the book, Mr. Stengel writes in this week’s Time piece, he "felt a terrible sense of withdrawal; it was like the sun going out of one’s life."
What Mr. Stengel didn’t say in his piece–and we’re not suggesting he should have, this is just for transition purposes–is that he has started working on another Mandela book. We haven’t been able to find out what the thrust of the book is exactly, but Mr. Stengel’s literary agent Joy Harris sold it to Crown, where it will edited by Rachel Klayman. Crown will probably give more details later today.
UPDATE: Crown publicity director Katie Wainwright told Media Mob just now that the tentative title of Mr. Stengel’s book is Mandela’s Way, though the specifics of what it will actually be about are still being discussed. “That’s for Rachel to sit down with Rick, and to figure out how they want to shape it,” Ms. Wainwright said.
Wait, so, will this book perhaps be an expanded version of this week’s Time cover? Not necessarily, according to Ms. Wainwright, though that piece did serve as Mr. Stengel’s proposal when his agent submitted the project to Crown.
No pub date has been set yet, Ms. Wainwright said. Also: Mr. Stengel is pledging "a percentage of his royalties" to the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
