Now That The Book Has Been Pulled, Some Of Us Are Kind Of Curious About Mandela's Last Years

But also curiosity killed the cat. Sigh.
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POOL New / Reuters

Oh boy someone somewhere has a very strong headache.

Mandela's Last Years has been pulled and now none of us (except the lucky few who had it already) will be able to find out what happened during that last couple of years before the late statesman died.

On Sunday, Nelson Mandela's doctor and the author of the book, Vejay Ramlakan, told eNCA that the story was an interesting one because Mandela was faced with tough medical conditions and conquered them.

"The story of Madiba's last years is actually in a sense more impressive than when he was a fit human being because the strength and determination, the unconquerable fortitude, the approach he had to his mortality was fascinating. It was a gripping story, it was one miracle after another," said Ramlakan.

Whether it was fascinating or not, we will never know for sure. Graça Machel, Mandela's widowed wife and Madiba's grandson Mandla, threatened to take legal action against the author for breaching doctor/ patient confidentiality. Machel said she was not consulted and neither were the executors of Madiba's estate. Penguin Random House South Africa (PRHSA) then decided to withdraw it out of respect for the family.

"PRHSA accepted Mandela's Last Years for publication after the author Vejay Ramlakan advised the publisher that he had been requested by Mr Mandela's family to publish the book. The book was meant to portray Nelson Mandela's courage and strength until the very end of his life, and was in no way intended to be disrespectful," it said.

Ramlakan claimed he wrote the book after he was requested to by some family members, whom he refused to name.

"I would not like to disclose the dynamic of the family and who requested us. I think it is irrelevant. We have said that we received permission from the family," he said to eNCA on Sunday.

Ramlakan said he had no regrets because he was telling the greatest story.

"No! Why should I have regrets because I'm telling one of the greatest stories ever of a global icon, the greatest human being who's lived," Ramlakan said.

The greatest story no one will get to read and some people are OK with that.

But others aren't and if they had the chance they would definitely read it and it might be because now it's hot property.

We love Tata n would love to read Mandela's last years, I can't believe hw selfish graca is, perhaps she's hiding some smallanyana u knw wat

— War Horse (@Shnaitl) July 24, 2017

Hey Black Twitter, please share the 'copy' of the controversial book - Mandela's Last Years. We deserve to know the hidden details! pic.twitter.com/JnASvbNoPt

— ♛The Trillest King♛ (@TumediTreezy) July 24, 2017

I am patiently waiting for the 'Mandela's last years' book to be leaked like GuptaLeakes.

— S.K (@sifisokhuboni) July 25, 2017

While some people seem to be of the view that the book is worth a lot more now that it's probably heading to the black market, for now, most of our Twitter followers seem to be of the view that it's not worth a cent.

This story will be updated with the final results of the poll.