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kzhassan's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
So so phenomenal! It really takes you through his whole life journey and I learned a ton about the behind the scenes of the struggle to end apartheid
sbayssassew's review
3.0
It was an informative read, but extremely long and detailed. He had an incredible memory. Like I said to a friend, he could remember the exact name of someone he met at a gas station 50 years before and what they each were wearing. It made for a very long (and not very exciting) read at times. He was an amazing man though, very intentional about everything he did. At the end he says he was just an ordinary man who did what he had to do, but there are not many men who could have done what he did with such grace, intelligence and honor.
laurajordensharris's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation
ibbyham's review
4.0
So sad to see the events of history repeating themselves. Insight into how to interpret the current affairs of the world provided by the past events. Personalities like Nelson Mandela strive and persevere and lead.
courtney_westerlund's review
5.0
This is a very long read, but it's a very good one. The movie doesn't do the book justice. Set a timeline for yourself to read it because it really was insightful. The book follows Mandela's life from boyhood all the way through the end of Apartheid.
wickedmitch's review against another edition
5.0
Mandela’s life story is interesting and he has a compelling voice in writing this book. It was quite informative about both his outlook and the history of South Africa
dmaurath's review
4.0
At the end of the audiobook is an interview with an editor for book and he mentions how it’s as much a biography of South Africa as it is a biography of Nelson Mandela. That is too true. The major flaw of the book is that it’s simply a telling of events as they happened in order with little time spent on how those events felt for Nelson. There is little introspection by Nelson Mandela the man and he seems to be at times only a shallowly defined character instead of the central subject of the book. For example, when relating his divorce, instead of discussing his feelings, he quotes a letter he wrote at the time that reads like an opening statement in a legal trial where he must defend his decision to divorce. Mandela does admit in the book that he is not one to share his feelings and perhaps lacks the ability to intellectualize his feelings, a possible advantage for someone who could have been easily overwhelmed many times throughout his life. Yet I am still curious.
kconway23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0