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lewismillholland 's review for:
The Long Walk To Freedom
by Nelson Mandela
I was over at Nathaniel's house and said the one thing I've changed my mind on recently was political passivism as an absolute. Like, it's never okay to be violent to achieve political ends. Nathaniel almost immediately got up and returned with a copy of Nelson Mandela's biography. I didn't know much about South Africa, partially because everyone I know whose gone their comes back as an "expert" and wants to talk about all they've learned indirectly, like it's deeply ingrained knowledge that spills out because it has so many applications to their present-day life and they're just so *worldly*. So yeah I didn't know anything but if it was from a book I was willing to learn.
And yeah it's a good book. Mandela writes like a politician, but well, although it did make crave a biography — an outsider's perspective, someone who could criticize his decisions and his moral failures (I had to Google about his infidelity). Every action he took was carefully reasoned and, since we got his reasoning for each move, every step seemed artfully calculated. Who knows if that was just Mandela going back to set the record straight, you know?
Nathaniel's intent for me with this book, to see a famous world leader who eschewed peace in the name of achieving political change, worked. I'm certainly on board with the idea that violence is justified in certain contexts. Opposition must be expected, but an outside observer can't fault the freedom fighter. Also, it taught me violence isn't a commodity, and has gray areas. Attacking government facilities is a step below attacking government officials. By stating a clear set of targets, Mandela and the rest of the ANC were able to execute a campaign of controlled violence. That's impressive.
Anyway. Good book, especially for an autobiography. (I'd recommend skipping the childhood and youth sections of the book, though, you can jump right to when he's a lawyer. Damn histories and their reliance on chronological structures.)
And yeah it's a good book. Mandela writes like a politician, but well, although it did make crave a biography — an outsider's perspective, someone who could criticize his decisions and his moral failures (I had to Google about his infidelity). Every action he took was carefully reasoned and, since we got his reasoning for each move, every step seemed artfully calculated. Who knows if that was just Mandela going back to set the record straight, you know?
Nathaniel's intent for me with this book, to see a famous world leader who eschewed peace in the name of achieving political change, worked. I'm certainly on board with the idea that violence is justified in certain contexts. Opposition must be expected, but an outside observer can't fault the freedom fighter. Also, it taught me violence isn't a commodity, and has gray areas. Attacking government facilities is a step below attacking government officials. By stating a clear set of targets, Mandela and the rest of the ANC were able to execute a campaign of controlled violence. That's impressive.
Anyway. Good book, especially for an autobiography. (I'd recommend skipping the childhood and youth sections of the book, though, you can jump right to when he's a lawyer. Damn histories and their reliance on chronological structures.)