Best known as a maximum-security prison for apartheid-era political prisoners from 1961–1991, Robben Island has – officially – done service as a hard-labour prison, a leper colony, a mental asylum, a 19th century whaling station and a WW II military fortification and – unofficially – as a ‘university’ for South Africa’s post-apartheid leaders. The book offers a fascinating insight into the many-layered story of Robben Island and its inhabitants – both famous and long-forgotten.