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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Every time I was blessed to visit South Africa, I kept seeing this in bookshops still being placed as a number one must-read in the non-fiction section even though the initial print was released in 1994. Now of course this suggestion might look biased from the outside, however it made me realize that it is the perfect opportunity to get me started on the path of knowing more about Mandela.
You might probably know by now that it is a very long read, however this comes across as a book where the flow of the writing keeps you going. There are so many references to politics, geography, African culture, that one would eventually need to put time in researching the references. Once you tend to overlook a couple of elements, they will eventually get back to you in further chapters and you might not fully connect the dots.
One of the numerous interesting points made in the book is that of the penitentiary system in a given country.
Seeing how many points this book touches, like previously mentioned, I would not have guessed how fast the initial draft was written.
Reading along you would get from a very frustrating or alarming description of events to a humorous one, Mandela demonstrating that he was not just a relentless freedom fighter, but a jocular person as well.
Altogether this is a must read, and I really hope that more and more people will find an interest in going through this book. One of the ending quotes, can easily be one of the most powerful that I have ever heard coming out from a fellow human being.
You might probably know by now that it is a very long read, however this comes across as a book where the flow of the writing keeps you going. There are so many references to politics, geography, African culture, that one would eventually need to put time in researching the references. Once you tend to overlook a couple of elements, they will eventually get back to you in further chapters and you might not fully connect the dots.
One of the numerous interesting points made in the book is that of the penitentiary system in a given country.
It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones - and South Africa treated its imprisoned African citizen like animals.
Seeing how many points this book touches, like previously mentioned, I would not have guessed how fast the initial draft was written.
I wrote rapidly, completing a draft in four months. I did not hesitate over choosing a word or phrase. I covered the period from my birth through Rivonia Trial, and ended with some notes about Robben Island.
Reading along you would get from a very frustrating or alarming description of events to a humorous one, Mandela demonstrating that he was not just a relentless freedom fighter, but a jocular person as well.
I would tell audiences, "On election day, look down your ballot and when you see the face of a young and handsome man, mark an X."
Altogether this is a must read, and I really hope that more and more people will find an interest in going through this book. One of the ending quotes, can easily be one of the most powerful that I have ever heard coming out from a fellow human being.
It was this desire for the freedom of my people to live their lives with dignity and self-respect that animated my life, that transformed a frightened young man into a bold one, that drove a law-abiding attorney to become a criminal, that turned a family-loving husband into a man without a home, that forced a life-loving man to live like a monk.
One of the best memoirs I have ever read. A must read for everyone!
I REALLY wanted to love this. Mandela’s story is absolutely amazing and I wanted to learn about South Africa’s history as well. Mandela’s story kept me reading as long as I did but I didn’t connect with the writing for some reason. Or maybe it was the audiobook? I kept finding myself forcing myself to pick it up and that became less and less until I gave in to put it down for now at least.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Nelson Mandela was a great man. This is a great book about his life. It's written in an accessible way and his ghostwriter apparently did 70+ hours of interviews, many of which are apparently available to be listened to and I'd be very interested in hearing some of Mandela's own words.
This book really confronted my ignorance on Mandela, apartheid, and South Africa in general. I knew the barest of bare bones, but nothing of substance at all and Mandela explains a lot of things very well. It gives you a great picture of what black people in South Africa were subjected to for so many years.
This book also does a fantastic job of capturing the politics and the various parties and people in political power. It's a complicated structure, but Mandela simplifies it where necessary so that even those who are very ignorant of the political situation can understand the different roles.
It is a political autobiography, so he obviously wrote with the intent of making himself look good, which is not an attempt to throw shade on Mandela. That's just something that comes with the genre. You gloss over some of the darker bits. It makes me want to read more broadly on the subject so I learn more than just this one (albeit incredibly important) perspective.
I highly recommend this. It's a great book about a great man's life with so much important information. It's a very valuable resource on fighting for human rights.
I don't understand why you wouldn't hire a South African audiobook narrator if you want the book narrated with a South African accent. I understand that Michael Boatman is very famous and great at audiobooks, but you can hear his terrible fake accent changing constantly throughout the books- sometimes her rolls his Rs, sometimes he does a soft British R, sometimes he does a standard hard American R (an easy example, but you could tell with other pronunciations too). Sometimes those things would change from sentence to sentence. Just hire a South African.
This book really confronted my ignorance on Mandela, apartheid, and South Africa in general. I knew the barest of bare bones, but nothing of substance at all and Mandela explains a lot of things very well. It gives you a great picture of what black people in South Africa were subjected to for so many years.
This book also does a fantastic job of capturing the politics and the various parties and people in political power. It's a complicated structure, but Mandela simplifies it where necessary so that even those who are very ignorant of the political situation can understand the different roles.
It is a political autobiography, so he obviously wrote with the intent of making himself look good, which is not an attempt to throw shade on Mandela. That's just something that comes with the genre. You gloss over some of the darker bits. It makes me want to read more broadly on the subject so I learn more than just this one (albeit incredibly important) perspective.
I highly recommend this. It's a great book about a great man's life with so much important information. It's a very valuable resource on fighting for human rights.
I don't understand why you wouldn't hire a South African audiobook narrator if you want the book narrated with a South African accent. I understand that Michael Boatman is very famous and great at audiobooks, but you can hear his terrible fake accent changing constantly throughout the books- sometimes her rolls his Rs, sometimes he does a soft British R, sometimes he does a standard hard American R (an easy example, but you could tell with other pronunciations too). Sometimes those things would change from sentence to sentence. Just hire a South African.
Too long, too tedious and way too clinical.
The death of Mandela's second child is being dealt with in no more than 4 sentences but he lists every man he has met and worked with in excruciating detail. How is that supposed to be relatable?
The death of Mandela's second child is being dealt with in no more than 4 sentences but he lists every man he has met and worked with in excruciating detail. How is that supposed to be relatable?
A must read for everyone. I thought it would be really heavy but the style made it gripping from start to finish. So much human experience and sacrifice here, written with such genuine humility, warmth and humour, but also demonstrating supreme wisdom. One of the greats of history.