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timhoiland's review
4.0
It’s a good practice, I think, to read books about inspiring people who have lived remarkable lives. It’s a way of learning to see the world through the eyes of those who have most profoundly shaped it. For my part, I’ve made it a point to learn what I can from Nobel Peace Prize winners - folks like Martin Luther King, Jr., Wangari Maathai, Elie Wiesel, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Dag Hammarskjöld, and Mother Teresa.
Another remarkably inspiring Nobel laureate for me is Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who led the nonviolent anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and served as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He just turned 80, and a new biography was published for the occasion: Tutu: Authorized (HarperOne), by South African journalist Allister Sparks and Tutu’s daughter, Mpho Tutu. The book also includes anecdotes and memories from a great variety of people who have known Tutu or have been impacted by him in different ways, and these perspectives give the book its intimate feel. I’d already read two of Tutu’s books, and did some research on him while I was at Eastern, but reading this new biography was a real treat.
- See more at: http://tjhoiland.com/wordpress/2012/01/tutu
Another remarkably inspiring Nobel laureate for me is Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who led the nonviolent anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and served as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He just turned 80, and a new biography was published for the occasion: Tutu: Authorized (HarperOne), by South African journalist Allister Sparks and Tutu’s daughter, Mpho Tutu. The book also includes anecdotes and memories from a great variety of people who have known Tutu or have been impacted by him in different ways, and these perspectives give the book its intimate feel. I’d already read two of Tutu’s books, and did some research on him while I was at Eastern, but reading this new biography was a real treat.
- See more at: http://tjhoiland.com/wordpress/2012/01/tutu
fiona_leonard's review
3.0
The authorized biography of Desmond Tutu is an interesting read. I've had this one on my to read list for quite a while, as I've been fascinated by Tutu's achievements and his ideology. While it partly lived up to my expectations, on the whole I found this a very frustrating read, due, I suspect, to competing agendas on the part of it's co-authors. On one hand, perhaps reflecting the influence of Mpho Tutu, Desmond Tutu's daughter, the book reads as a glowing tribute to Tutu. At the end of each chapter there are reflections from friends, family and iconic figures who are lavish praise on Tutu. I suspect that these sit a bit more naturally in the print version of the book, but in the kindle version they loom oddly from the midst of a chronological telling of Tutu's life. Allister Sparks, for his part, inserts biographical information that is of interest to him. While for most of the book he delivers an even-handed rendering of Tutu's life, when he reaches the time of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Sparks goes into considerable detail to recount the activities of the TCR, often beyond Tutu's involvement. This book reinforced my interest in Tutu, but I think I will have to look further afield to find a book that really gives me what I'm looking for.
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