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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Easily one of my favorite autobiographies of all time! I didn't really know what to expect when I started this book but I was most interested in learning about Mandela's philosophy of protesting. His depiction of his 27.5 years in prison make up a large chunk of the narrative and largely define his role as an activist for political and social change. Upon his release at the age of 71, he is no more weakened by the struggle than the day he entered.
A very inspiring and necessary read about a difficult and triumphant life!
A very inspiring and necessary read about a difficult and triumphant life!
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom takes readers from his early years in Mvezo through his twenty-seven year imprisonment and finally to his inauguration. This memoir focuses on the struggle to end apartheid, but does not discuss Mandela’s time in South Africa’s government so if you are looking for a complete picture of his life, you will need to supplement your reading. This memoir is interesting in a few different ways.
Despite your feelings about Mandela as a person, it must be acknowledged that the movement he led was incredible. Not only did the ANC manage to overthrow apartheid, he led South Africa to a democratic system in a time when more African countries were replacing their colonist yokes with dictatorships. South Africa is still in a lot of turmoil – racial inequalities and government corruption still reigns. But the steps he took are important, and it was fascinating to read about his journey.
Long Walk to Freedom is not a traditional memoir – instead, the narrative comes from two parts: first, Mandela’s “prison diary” describing his life up to his time in Robben’s Prison. Everything afterward has been converted from interviews between Mandela and journalist Richard Stengel, who ghostwrote Long Walk to Freedom. The flow of the memoir is fantastic and consistent – you really can’t tell the shift, and Stengel did an excellent job humanizing Mandela, combining the facts of his life on a grand scheme with the small pieces of daily life. One moment, he will be relaying information about early negotiations with the government and the next, an antidote about Mandela’s taste in wine. It’s all fascinating, but incredibly accessible, too.
While Long Walk to Freedom is quite a long memoir, I found it excellent and well worth reading, especially if you want to better understand the dismantling of apartheid from a primary source. This is not a piece of objective non-fiction. It’s a memoir, so it’s incredibly biased. That said, I really think it’s worth a read! Nelson Mandela is an important historical figure and a Nobel laureate and there’s no better source of information about an influential individual’s life then his memoir.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Police brutality, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent
Minor: Medical content, Car accident
An incredible story, this reads also as a partial history of South Africa and an introduction to politics. I don't often say this, but everyone ought to read this book.
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
This book is immense and truly is one of the easiest, most engaging political (auto)biographies I have read. Mandela traces his life from his earliest days in the Transkei region of South Africa all the way to his election in the transitional, post-apartheid government. This book not only gives you a history of Mandela, but also tells you a history of South Africa, its people, its policies, and its geography.
Additionally, you get a view into the mind of a political leader for the ages. The title fit's Mandela's story, a slow and arduous journey towards Freedom. Throughout the writing, you learn about a man that never loses his sense of purpose even after defying the expectations of his tribe & family and facing systemic oppression from a government on dehumanizing him and all other blacks. I learned through reading his story what it really means to be dedicated to "the struggle" and how it truly takes a lifetime to be the change we want to see in the world.
Mandela's writing does gloss over a lot of details and he quickly jumps over years of content. I found myself less enthused by some of the platitudes in his writings, but still intrigued by his life and leadership lessons interspersed throughout the book. Strangely, I think the length is appropriate and I actually wish he went into more detail on his presidency.
All in all, totally worth (a lot of) your time. This book takes hold of your soul and places you in real world events not too far removed from present day. Moreover, it offers essential insights on leadership.
Additionally, you get a view into the mind of a political leader for the ages. The title fit's Mandela's story, a slow and arduous journey towards Freedom. Throughout the writing, you learn about a man that never loses his sense of purpose even after defying the expectations of his tribe & family and facing systemic oppression from a government on dehumanizing him and all other blacks. I learned through reading his story what it really means to be dedicated to "the struggle" and how it truly takes a lifetime to be the change we want to see in the world.
Mandela's writing does gloss over a lot of details and he quickly jumps over years of content. I found myself less enthused by some of the platitudes in his writings, but still intrigued by his life and leadership lessons interspersed throughout the book. Strangely, I think the length is appropriate and I actually wish he went into more detail on his presidency.
All in all, totally worth (a lot of) your time. This book takes hold of your soul and places you in real world events not too far removed from present day. Moreover, it offers essential insights on leadership.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
This was a powerful, intense read and surprisingly the language was easy to comprehend. By this I mean, it wasn't colloquial, but it wasn't a dry textbook. I felt like I was listening to Nelson Mandela speak to me. Sure, it took me several, many months to finish, but that was partially due to the fact that I was read many books all at the same time.
This book was recommended to me by an acquaintance from South Africa. He thought it would provide better perspective after I had read Trevor Noah's Born a Crime.
As with Maya Angelou (see my review of [b:I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings|13214|I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings|Maya Angelou|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327957927s/13214.jpg|1413589]), I did not know much about Mandela or apartheid in South Africa (other than the brief period I learned about it in world history in high school). This book provided a bit more knowledge into who he was, the struggle, and the process toward the end of apartheid.
My favorite quote is from literally the last page.
"It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.
When I walked out of prison that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both. Some say that has now been achieved. But I know that that is not the case. The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed. We have not taken the final step of our journey, but the first step on a longer and even more difficult road. For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others....
I have walked the long road to freedom, I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way....I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long way is not yet ended."
It is profound and deep, and completely floors me the depth of compassion this admirable man carried his whole life.
This book was recommended to me by an acquaintance from South Africa. He thought it would provide better perspective after I had read Trevor Noah's Born a Crime.
As with Maya Angelou (see my review of [b:I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings|13214|I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings|Maya Angelou|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327957927s/13214.jpg|1413589]), I did not know much about Mandela or apartheid in South Africa (other than the brief period I learned about it in world history in high school). This book provided a bit more knowledge into who he was, the struggle, and the process toward the end of apartheid.
My favorite quote is from literally the last page.
"It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.
When I walked out of prison that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both. Some say that has now been achieved. But I know that that is not the case. The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed. We have not taken the final step of our journey, but the first step on a longer and even more difficult road. For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others....
I have walked the long road to freedom, I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way....I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long way is not yet ended."
It is profound and deep, and completely floors me the depth of compassion this admirable man carried his whole life.
One cannot give a book written by Nelson Mandela anything but five stars. His life and legacy is so inspirational. If you know a little about him, and want to know more, this is a great opportunity to learn more. It is a straightforward and easy-to-follow retelling of his life and his story. We should not forget how much the world changed because of Mandela and people like him. We should not forget how complacency can turn all that change into nothing.