Sentenced to life imprisonment at the Rivonia Trial in 1964, Ahmed Kathrada spent eighteen years on Robben Island and a further seven in Pollsmoor Prison with, among others, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. During his incarceration he secretly jotted down quotations which he came across and liked: proverbs, aphorisms, poetry and drama extracts, and passages from books, magazines and newspapers. On Robben Island these quotations were like familiar friends. They helped steel the soul within the stolen body ? the authorities might control that body but they could not lock up the mind. A journey which reveals how this remarkable and modest man was able to maintain his dignity and freedom of mind while all other liberty was denied him.