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melbsreads 's review for:
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
by Nelson Mandela
Also reviewed on my Youtube channel.
This was definitely not an easy book to read. It's nearly 70 years worth of Mandela's life and South African history packed into 650ish pages. But it's definitely worth the read, especially for those of us who grew up only knowing Mandela as a world leader and an old man.
Twentieth century history has never really interested me. I've always been far more fascinated by the nineteenth century, and if I can't get that, I'll go back further and read about the Renaissance or the eighteenth century. So reading this was something of a new experience for me. In a not-at-all-shocking piece of white girl privilege, I've always thought of civil rights as something that was mainly a concern in the 1960s (which isn't to say that I thought everything was fixed in the 1960s. I'm not a total moron). But when I think of civil rights, I've always thought of the March on Washington, of Martin Luther King Jr, of Mississippi Burning. Hell, even the referendum that forced the Australian government to view Aboriginal Australians as actual people was in 1967.
All of this is a really long winded way of saying that this book made me horrified over my white girl privilege. Because Mandela was released from prison when I was seven. He was elected when I was ten. Apartheid in South Africa existed throughout my childhood. Yes, Mandela went to prison in the 1960s. But the problem continued. Duh, Past!Kirsti. He wouldn't have been in prison if apartheid had ended in the 1960s, you numpty.
This is a fairly terrible review. Basically, this book forced me to confront my preconceived notions while also educating me on South African history and politics. Sure, it wasn't easy to read, and a glossary to keep track of all the people and organisations would have been really handy. But books that are IMPORTANT aren't always easy to read. And that's precisely why I'm doing this project.
This was definitely not an easy book to read. It's nearly 70 years worth of Mandela's life and South African history packed into 650ish pages. But it's definitely worth the read, especially for those of us who grew up only knowing Mandela as a world leader and an old man.
Twentieth century history has never really interested me. I've always been far more fascinated by the nineteenth century, and if I can't get that, I'll go back further and read about the Renaissance or the eighteenth century. So reading this was something of a new experience for me. In a not-at-all-shocking piece of white girl privilege, I've always thought of civil rights as something that was mainly a concern in the 1960s (which isn't to say that I thought everything was fixed in the 1960s. I'm not a total moron). But when I think of civil rights, I've always thought of the March on Washington, of Martin Luther King Jr, of Mississippi Burning. Hell, even the referendum that forced the Australian government to view Aboriginal Australians as actual people was in 1967.
All of this is a really long winded way of saying that this book made me horrified over my white girl privilege. Because Mandela was released from prison when I was seven. He was elected when I was ten. Apartheid in South Africa existed throughout my childhood. Yes, Mandela went to prison in the 1960s. But the problem continued. Duh, Past!Kirsti. He wouldn't have been in prison if apartheid had ended in the 1960s, you numpty.
This is a fairly terrible review. Basically, this book forced me to confront my preconceived notions while also educating me on South African history and politics. Sure, it wasn't easy to read, and a glossary to keep track of all the people and organisations would have been really handy. But books that are IMPORTANT aren't always easy to read. And that's precisely why I'm doing this project.