Long Walk To Freedom
Ratings54
Average rating4.4
Excellent autobiography. I knew ABOUT Mandela, of course, but that's not the same as knowing the things he accomplished, the struggles he faced and all that. It took me a long time to get through it, despite picking it up pretty consistently - it's a hefty read by dint of the subject matter even though Mandela tells it in a way that is mostly very easy to follow. (Though there are a lot of organizations with acronyms for names, and quite a lot of names of fellow prisoners, guards, lawyers, government officials from various political parties, etc. Some of the people are easy to follow as they pop up again and again throughout the narrative, but others only come up a few times and sometimes I lost track of who was who, other than whether they were anti-apartheid or oppressor.) The story of their fight for freedom and one-person-one-vote elections was fascinating, as were the stories of their legal cases, the prisons they occupied, and how they mentally survived 27 years there for their political beliefs. (Because of course, not knowing the history, I didn't know that Mandela had a whole host of fellow political prisoners who were there at the same time, which was real interesting.)
What an inspirational, wise, gracious and articulate man. How can you not love him? The Father of a nation.
I had to put this down for bit during the prison part (which is a huge chunk obviously) but it was a wonderful read and I laughed outright several times (especially the story about deKlerk telling our beloved protagonist he's about to be released). Mandela's a very sympathetic character and I can understand why the ANC chose to use his story to frame the struggle.
A big book and one that I wish I finished years earlier. The audiobook made completion possible this time and the writing made it pleasurable. Beautifully written (with the help of a ghostwriter, I believe) and well arranged, the autobiography underscored the title. The journey to an apartheid-free SA was indeed long and arduous, which made the achievement all the more extraordinary. This is also an inspiring tale of belief in principles and in man's capacity to change, and Mr Mandela's unshakeable refusal to succumb to hatred is exemplary.
Ps: The narrator of the audiobook is excellent.
“I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed”
After all, he went through. He had no hatred, no spite. It was an inspiring and powerful read.
Astonishing. The man, the story, the book. I recognize that the author may be biased, that there may be perspectives we're not getting... but even so this is a remarkable and memorable work. A remarkable man and life.First, admittedly, because of the context: to those of us who grew up with First Fourth Fifth Eighth Amendment protections, it is chilling to read of the brutality of the South African government. It's even worse to note how calmly and matter-of-factly Mandela speaks of being “banned”, of topics and people that are illegal to discuss, of a life that none of us can conceive of outside of [b:1984 5470 1984 George Orwell http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1348990566s/5470.jpg 153313].But where the book really shines is in its depiction of humanity and how lovely we can be. Mandela demonstrates a rare form of Enlightenment: an ability to communicate, empathize, understand, reflect, learn. Again, we're only getting it from his PoV and with the advantage of his age... but the humility and self-awareness that come through are not, IMO, fakeable.Readable, captivating, beautiful. I'm about to create a must-read tag on goodreads, and this is the first book to go on that list.
This was a very interesting read. I am an Afrikaner by heritage and have been living in the Netherlands for most of lifespan (with some in between periods of a few months). To hear the story of the ANC and Nelson Mandela himself was rather remarkable and at times shocking.
It startled me at times to find out that some of the things I had come to believe about the ANC or Winnie Mandela were mostly propaganda by the Nationalist government (at least according to this book).
Other things that stood out were the parts about the armed struggle. Some of that struggle mentality still comes back in the strikes and violence in South Africa nowadays.
The autobiography is easy to read and well written with detailed accounts of some of the trials and more intermittent reporting on some of the prison life.
What I also hoped to find in the book, but could not was information on the Reconciliation Tribunals. But that was only after the book was published. So yeah for me. Strong moment.
All in all, a book worthy of your attention
This book was hard for me to get through but I'm very glad I read it. I learned so much about this amazing man. I grossly misunderstood his many struggles. I did have difficulty identifying with the culture and setting sometimes but that is likely my shortcoming and not that of the book or author.
