Damning Endorsement

“In the crowded field of political biography, it can be hard for a novice author to stand out. But not Denis Sassou-Nguesso, the president of Congo-Brazzaville, who has certainly managed to make a splash. In his new tome he boasts, in large type on the cover, that it contains a foreword written by Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president. The foreword praises Sassou-Nguesso as “one of our great African leaders” which, as endorsements go, beats the Booker and Nobel prizes rolled into one,” writes The Guardian. But: “Mandela has issued a statement saying he did not write the foreword. Nor has he read the book. He plans to take legal action.”