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shahrun 's review for:
Long Walk to Freedom
by Nelson Mandela
When I picked this book up, I realised I knew virtually nothing about Nelson Mandela! How could that be? Especially as he is known for being a Great Man! So what did I know... His (only) wife was Winnie, he was in prison for a long time (possible wrongfully?), there was a song about freeing him and he became the first black president of South Africa. Then 10 years ago I was lucky enough to visit South Africa, whilst there I stumbled across Robben Island (and got super lucky to visit it, as I was so ignorant and hadn’t booked it months in advance). I can’t remember if that was where I was casually told he was put in prison for planing bombs. Gasp! But he’s a great man! What was going on here? To be honest until I picked up This book I’d not found time to find out any more.
I was astounded by what I read! And now I understand why he is a Great Man. This book takes us through his whole life from his childhood of just over 100 years ago in rural Africa, to the city of Johannesburg where he became a man and realised he couldn’t explore his full potential in his own county unless he gave everything to fight for the freedom to do so. It’s truly frightening to think what kind of world we could still be living in had not a few people realised the system was so dangerously broken that they had to sacrifice everything to fix it. It’s also depressing in 2020 to realise we still have so far to go. I do wonder how he would feel to realise that we still have to be reminded Black Lives Matter! How many People now would be willing to leave their families and give up everything to organise everybody else, ending up in prison and/or with a death sentence hanging over them to fight for what is right? He really was prepared to die for the cause. You can’t even begin to imagine the how the odds were stacked against them too. I didn’t realise until reading this that he spent a life time (27 years!) in prison, and he’s wasn’t a young man when convicted either. The only Nelson Mandela of my life time was the old man, so I didn’t consider what he had been through or how old he was and still so committed to getting the only outcome that was just - freedom for everyone. One speech he gave in court, in 1964 really stands out for me too. From page 438:
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
I am so happy he lived long enough to make history and see his dreams start to be achieved. It’s amazing how he managed to stay so grounded, humble and absolutely dedicated to his beliefs.
I really think this book should be studied in schools, to make people think, to give everyone a clear understanding of supremacy being wrong, stamp out racism and to prevent this from ever happening anywhere again.
I was astounded by what I read! And now I understand why he is a Great Man. This book takes us through his whole life from his childhood of just over 100 years ago in rural Africa, to the city of Johannesburg where he became a man and realised he couldn’t explore his full potential in his own county unless he gave everything to fight for the freedom to do so. It’s truly frightening to think what kind of world we could still be living in had not a few people realised the system was so dangerously broken that they had to sacrifice everything to fix it. It’s also depressing in 2020 to realise we still have so far to go. I do wonder how he would feel to realise that we still have to be reminded Black Lives Matter! How many People now would be willing to leave their families and give up everything to organise everybody else, ending up in prison and/or with a death sentence hanging over them to fight for what is right? He really was prepared to die for the cause. You can’t even begin to imagine the how the odds were stacked against them too. I didn’t realise until reading this that he spent a life time (27 years!) in prison, and he’s wasn’t a young man when convicted either. The only Nelson Mandela of my life time was the old man, so I didn’t consider what he had been through or how old he was and still so committed to getting the only outcome that was just - freedom for everyone. One speech he gave in court, in 1964 really stands out for me too. From page 438:
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
I am so happy he lived long enough to make history and see his dreams start to be achieved. It’s amazing how he managed to stay so grounded, humble and absolutely dedicated to his beliefs.
I really think this book should be studied in schools, to make people think, to give everyone a clear understanding of supremacy being wrong, stamp out racism and to prevent this from ever happening anywhere again.