From four different prisons over 27 years of confinement, Nelson Mandela penned a multitude of letters to prison authorities, government officials, compatriots and, most memorably, his wife Winnie and his five children. More than 250 are highlighted in the new book The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela, released on what would have been the 100th birthday of the revered anti-apartheid activist and South African president on July 10.

Mandela’s granddaughter, Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela, joins Nelson Mandela Foundation senior researcher Sahm Venter in discussing this intimate portrait of one of the most inspiring figures of the 20th century. Kansas City is one of only four U.S. stops on their book tour, joining New York, San Francisco, and Dallas.