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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
This book was a long read, but a valuable one. It took me awhile to get interested in it. I will admit that one effect of this book was to knock Mandela off the pedestal that I had him on, but it also made him more real to me and helped me understand the struggle he went through. I almost gave up on this book partway through it, but I'm glad that I continued through it because in the end the account was very worth reading.
One of the best in the species. GOAT. Heroic, humble, pensive, and most of all, patient.
A megadose of inspiration for that ass.
A megadose of inspiration for that ass.
This book was looooooong! It traces Nelson Mandela's life from his early childhood to his release from prison. Notable milestones include:
-birth in the village of Mvezo
-being sent to the "Great Place" palace at Mqhekezweni, where he lived under the guardianship of the reagent Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo after his father's death
-schooling at Clarkebury, Healdtown, and Fort Hare
-escaping to Johannesburg to avoid an arraged marraige and finding a way to eeke out a living there as a law clerk
-studying law at the University of Witwatersrand
-joining the ANC
-touring South Africa & Africa to explain the ideals of the ANC and their wish for the end of apartheid and for equality for all South Africans
-imprisonment on Robben island
-release from prison and continued civils rights work
Overall, I thought the book was extremely inspiring. In my life right now, I do not feel like I am pursuing a passion or working toward a goal. My greatest wish is to find something (decide on something...) to fight for with the tenacity, patience and kind heartedness that Mandela displayed throughout his life and fight for freedom.
-birth in the village of Mvezo
-being sent to the "Great Place" palace at Mqhekezweni, where he lived under the guardianship of the reagent Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo after his father's death
-schooling at Clarkebury, Healdtown, and Fort Hare
-escaping to Johannesburg to avoid an arraged marraige and finding a way to eeke out a living there as a law clerk
-studying law at the University of Witwatersrand
-joining the ANC
-touring South Africa & Africa to explain the ideals of the ANC and their wish for the end of apartheid and for equality for all South Africans
-imprisonment on Robben island
-release from prison and continued civils rights work
Overall, I thought the book was extremely inspiring. In my life right now, I do not feel like I am pursuing a passion or working toward a goal. My greatest wish is to find something (decide on something...) to fight for with the tenacity, patience and kind heartedness that Mandela displayed throughout his life and fight for freedom.
I'm on page 147 of 751 but am absolutely captivated! Learning about one of my hero's childhood and the way he become such a wonderful freedom fighter is amazing!
Picked this up after watching Invictus and realising I knew next to nothing about South Africa. Read it slowly and not sure what else to say other than the obvious: wow, what a life!
My favourite literary genre would have to be the autobiography, especially when it's well-written, and this book was no exception. Actually, mine is the illustrated version so the text is abridged, but I didn't think it suffered for that and it was well worth it to have the photographic record as well. This is an amazing account of the life of one of the greatest men of the 20th century, as well as being an important historical document. On the political front he gives detailed accounts of the various movements in South Africa during the years he was active and if the numerous acronyms become a bit confusing at times, along with the huge cast of players, it's still very informative. From a personal perspective, we see a man of contrasts - feisty and utterly devoted to the cause of the ANC and the freedom of his people in the public arena, but intensely vulnerable on a personal level. In becoming the Father of a Nation, he made great personal sacrifices - 2 marriages, 27 years of imprisonment and missing out on seeing his children grow up during that time. However even at the worst of times there is never any sense of despair or giving up and a spirit of hope infuses the pages of this book. Highly recommended.
I so enjoyed this book, it was not only great history of Mandela but of South Africa and the struggle for freedom for all people.
It was amazing, and accurate and just really well done. I definitely recommend. I have South Africa now in my list of places to visit.
It was amazing, and accurate and just really well done. I definitely recommend. I have South Africa now in my list of places to visit.
I'm not going to lie- there were parts of this that were not as captivating as I would have liked. But the less than riveting parts usually only lasted a couple of paragraphs at a time. I knew next to nothing about Nelson Mandela before reading this. I knew that he was a freedom fighter who spent decades in prison in South Africa and that my roommate had had an excellent quote of his taped to our bedroom wall for a while. There are so many adjectives to describe Mandela's attitude throughout this book- honesty, gratitude, optimism, fortitude, selflessness... I could go on and on. I had to turn this into the library for a month and then checked it out again to finish it. I had marked several passages the first time around and I wish I had had time to note them all. This is a book that, I think, would benefit everyone to read. Slow parts notwithstanding, the last chapter is so beautifully and thoughtfully written, a perfect summation, that it makes every previous page worth the read. 9/10.