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int 's review for:
Long Walk to Freedom
by Nelson Mandela
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.