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Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (平装)
by Nelson Mandela
| Category:
Autobiography, South Africa, Fighting for freedom, Motivation |
| Market price: ¥ 198.00
MSL price:
¥ 178.00
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Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
The story of greatness: A suprisingly honest and unflinching look at the life of Nelson Mandela. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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Jean Pouliot (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-21 00:00>
The sheer bulk and length of Nelson Mandela's magnum opus seemed daunting, and I left it on the shelf for a long time. But once I started, the author's enthusiam and optimism - in the face of some of the most virulent and entrenched racism and oppression faced by human beings - made it a delight to read.
Mandela takes us from his childgood in the Transkei region of South Africa, through his school years, his coming of age as a lawyer and politician, through his treason trials and imprisonment on Robben Island and final vindicatory release. Along the way, he provides fascinating and often funny vignettes of his perceptions, his maturation and even his mistakes. Mandela is not out to write hagiography here, but subtly and honestly describes his struggles and failures as a man, and those of the ANC (African National Congress), with which he was associated for many years. He even writes about his own struggles (personal and pragmatic) with treating people differently based on skin pigmentation. Mandela's deep desire to maintin his dignity in the face of apartheid's ludicrous tyranny are memorable and uplifting. Those who see him as a terrorist need only ponder his decades of working within the system, attempting to follow the non-violent lead of Mohandas Ghanhi - only to be subject to repeated attempts by the government - via bannings, silencings and forced relocations - to disempower him and his people. Reading the book will make the reader appreciate that using violence was a measure of last resort against a conscienceless foe.
Long Walk to Freedom is a must-read to those who wish to know Nelson Mandela better, who love South Africa or who simply cherish freedom and the dignity of all human beings.
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Elijah Chingosho (MSL quote), Kenya
<2007-01-21 00:00>
After reading this book, I was absolutely thrilled. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is this remarkable person that you kind of feel a personal relationship to as you go through this great piece of work. Mandela represents the struggle of the oppressed South Africans to regain their pride and freedom and it is fantastic that Mandela has lived his ideals, a unique achievement by a mere mortal.
Going through the book reveals that you are reading about someone who is not trying to exalt himself but someone who is really human and makes mistakes, is man enough to admit to them and goes to show that even after spending a generation in prison, he neither lost his humanity nor was brutalised by the nasty experience.
Mandela was the first president of a truly democratic South Africa but as soon as he was President, be broke with traditional African leaders practice and started grooming a successor. After only one term in office, he voluntarily gave up power, a rarity on the continent.
Mandela is a man of disarming simplicity, very honest and has done Africa proud. I sometimes day dream of what the African continent would be like if most countries were blessed with half a Mandela leader each (it would be asking too much to ask for a full Mandela.
This is an inspirational book to the whole of humanity that is well written that I strongly recommend to everyone. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-21 00:00>
Wow, what an inspiring book. It was recommended to me by a South African, whose ethnic background is Caucasian, that to learn about South Africa's recent history and culture, one should read this book.
This book is truly amazing and very, very informative. The civil rights struggle for equality and equal treatment is vividly depicted. The decades spent to peacefully open the government policies so that the citizens of the country can equally share the benefits and contribute to the improvement of their society is remarkable.
One important point is that many individuals did not share their government's oppressive policies and many, regardless of ethnic background, supported Mr. Mandela. His ability to unite a divided country is truly inspiring.
If one wants to learn how difficult it is to live as a second class citizen, with very restrictive policies in a police state, this book is it. We in the US are very fortunate to have many freedoms and opportunities that we often take for granted. After reading this book, I am very thankful that we are a united country where we promote based on a person's ability to perform, not their ethnic or religious background.
Reading Colin Powell's autobiography My American Journey one also gets a good view on how we in the US can achieve based on our own accomplishments once given a open, honest, and fair opportunity to perform our job. |
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Ashley Person (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Long Walk to Freedom is the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, one of the greatest leaders of South Africa. It gives a detailed account of his childhood, youth, and adulthood. It takes you through his years in college and his work as a lawyer as well as all of his political struggles with apartheid including his years in jail.
The book is extremely well written and gives the detail that only someone who witnessed the events could posses. Mandela's hindsight as he reviews the events of his life shows a more personal side to him. I liked the book but anyone who is considering reading it should be reminded that it is an autobiography so it does have a bias. He wrote the book as someone who had been wronged. Long Walk To Freedom provides an interesting and detailed account of the South Africans struggle with apartheid. It details Nelson's joining of the ANC (African National Congress) his rise in the ANC, and his creation of the MK. It also gives facts about his personal life and the life of his family. It is recommended to anyone who enjoys autobiographies or to anyone who is looking to learn more about the history of apartheid and South Africa.
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Brian (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Nelson Mandela was a legend. Putting his life in an autobiography doesn't even do justice to it. However, it is a very well written book and shows Nelson Mandela's high level of intelligence distinctly. The events of this man's life, portrayed in vivid detail in his book, have rocked the foundation of the entire world. No piece of literature recaps such an influential life as Mandela's with such accuracy and powerful detail as A Long Walk to Freedom. The book may seem extraordinarily long and boring at first and resemble nothing more than another political biography, but this book is unlike any other book of its kind. Straight from the beginning, Mandela describes his mostly uneventful childhood in a surprisingly interesting fashion, which is a great quality for snaring new readers. The vivid retelling of many insane events as Mandela approached the climax of his political career is the trademark of his skilled writing, and brought on a flow of renewed interest before one could suspect the plot was dead. The inclusion of countless crimes against humanity in the book, are the masterpiece behind its immensely famous influential power. The description of these events allowed me to see on the same level as Mandela and gradually understand why he was permanently devoted to the struggle. Nelson Mandela had no problem asserting the importance of his beliefs and justifying on a human level why his feelings and actions were pointed in the right direction. This book asserts that the highest importance in life is freedom, and from reading about the many woes of the oppressed South Africans, one can see that this book makes an effort to show that the opposite of freedom will always be unethical mayhem. This book should be read by anyone who understands it and wants to read it; I guarantee it will influence your views in some way and really have you thinking.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela is a inspiring, touching book that spans the lifetime of one of the world's living legends. It transforms Nelson from a larger than life revolutionary, or a poster-boy of the antiapartheid movement, into a man with real emotions and longings.
The book opens with Nelson's childhood, explaining the gradual process in which he discovered the oppression of his people by the ruling whites. He realized the state's favor of the tribal system (in which Africans are broken into groups, or tribes, and are not permitted to be with a member of another.) This ensured the separation of African tribes, for if they were to group together sooner, they could have slowed apartheid based solely on their much higher population. Nelson himself rejected this notion every time it was mentioned his tribal upbringing forced him to look up to the civilized whites. It was not until years later that Nelson learned his true calling.
He was sentenced to life in prison for a charge of treason in 1964, a charge he could not deny due to his organization's involvement with sabotage. As well his illegal trip out of the country in which he was a fugitive from the South African police. Even in prison he served as a revolutionary, fighting for better treatment of the prisoners. He accomplished so much that the state would simply impose a new, harsher warden when Nelson had molded the previous one into his will. The South African government saw him as a leader of the revolutionary movement, and made clever attempts on his life (once, attempting to fool him into an escape, so he could be killed in a gun fight at the airplane that was to take him to safety.)
His release from prison was one of the major news events of the year. The very fact that he survived prison intact provided a much-needed jump to the revolutionary movement. Serious negotiations began (they had started prior to his release as well, but with no advancement) Long walk to freedom comes to a close with a multiracial election, the greatest achievement by the revolutionary movement.
Nelson struggled with his position as a leader, he found himself wishing someone else could have taken his place, and he could have lived his life as a normal family man. His visits with his wife were rare, but cherished throughout his prison sentence. He recalled them to brighten his mood, repeating every word spoken by the two in his head.
In addition, Long Walk to Freedom is a testament of South Africa's darkest years; it describes a time of desperation for blacks, and leisure for whites. Nelson catches himself deeply disturbed by the sight of a white beggar, poverty was normal for blacks, it was a tragedy for whites.
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Meg Pusateri (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Nelson Mandela's A Long Walk to Freedom is a compelling story that follows the life of a freedom fighter from his humble beginnings in a small African village to his inauguration as the first black president of a free South Africa. The book is filled with many delightful stories, collected over an entire lifetime. Through Mandela's eyes the reader experiences life in South African during the apartheid government, especially the hardships faced by an African active in politics. I found that one of the most interesting sections of the book was when Mr. Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island, which, in reality, ate up twenty-seven years of his adult life. It was intriguing to watch as the lives of prisoners changed with the passing years and new characters were introduced, some of them quite memorable. As much as I enjoyed the story itself, there were times that I felt that the book dragged, weighed down by in depth descriptions of South African political battles and trials, many of which did not appeal to me. I would recommend this book to political and history buffs who enjoy such passages, but not to the reader looking to read a good story. Also, there were times that I felt that Mr. Mandela was trying to hard to insert deep philosophical thoughts into his writing in the form of metaphors and similes. Overall, I believe that despite its shortcomings many readers will find this book an interesting read, perfect for nights when one's mind craves a thought provoking story.
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Bakari Chavanu (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
When I read Mandela autobiography last year, I kept thinking how good it was to finally read his first person account of the history of the anti-apartheid, anti-colonial struggle. While I had previously read many of his speeches and writings about Mandela, it was good to see his view of the struggle. What comes out most clear in this book is that Mandela never sees the liberation of Azania/South Africa as his struggle alone. He constantly reminds his readers, as he did in the popular interview on the Oprah Wimphrey Show, that it was he and the ANC, along with the oppressed masses of South Africa, who fought and won the liberation of South Africa. Mandela clearly understands the role and purpose of organization in liberation struggle. Despite the media hype that tries to paint him as some sort of messiah, he shows that political education and mass organization are what brings about freedom.
The only problem I did have with his story is that he glosses over the final days or months of his imprisonment. Any politically consciousness person reading his book would know that there must of been a lot more negotiation and deal making in order for the vicious, settler, racist European government and establishment to allow him to go free and become the head of state of South Africa. While it's clear that the European power structure was also responding to the pressures of the liberation struggle, they no doubt pushed Mandela and leading members of the ANC that the liberation of South Africa would require certain conditions so that the power structure in South Africa could maintain its economic interest. Thus, I guess it would be difficult for Mandela to fully disclose what took place before his release from prison, but somehow this account of the liberation struggle must be revealed in order that we get a better understanding of present-day South Africa.
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J. Vishio (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Long Walk to Freedom is in no way an adventurous book, nor a novelists dream, but it is one the most inspirational and motivating books ever. It is the most realistic look at apartheid that really taps every boundary of the mind and soul. It is a book, a masterpiece if you will, that everyone should pick up at one time in his or her life and read. Actually, you should pick it up a couple times in your life and read it. Many of the concepts and terms in the book were hard to understand. After going over them a few times though, things started to make sense and all of his thoughts and experiences became one big life lesson. No matter who reads this book, it opens that persons mind to emotions that could only be felt by Nelson and his followers. How life can seem so short. But how a single man can accomplish so much in that short time.
It doesn't matter how old you are. Whether you are 15 or 75, this is a book that everyone can relate to. It was a book that I had to read for my honors English 10 class. I had heard horror stories about how long and boring it was. Long, yes. Boring, no way. It is a book that is captivating from start to finish. Granted, some of the parts in the middle of the book were a little slow. He had many stories about his jail time that could have been left out. At the end of the book though, it was those stories that you keep going back to. How he was in jail doing mindless things and at the same time starting one of the greatest activist groups ever. He never lost site of his ultimate goal. In doing that, he started a revolution that is still being impacted today. It is something that everyone knows about and appreciates. It is only when you pick up his autobiography and find out just really went on; and what he really had to go through just to set his people free.
For some younger adults, his book may seem quite boring at times. When you get older though, it all starts to make sense. You might pick it up a few years later and say, "Oh yeah, that's what he was trying to get across" or "He really was fighting for something he believed in more than life." Many of his thoughts and hopes can be shown in almost every sentence of the book. It is something evident from the very start. "Long Walk to Freedom" is indeed a long walk. It is a walk though that everyone should go on and not rush through. You should read every word and appreciate every word; for it can help you at times you would never imagine it could.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
Take out a pen and sheet of paper and write down everything you know about Nelson Mandela. If you can't go beyond a few sentences then you should read his autobiography. Not only will you know who he is, but you will also get a sense of knowing him personally.
I myself did not know too much about the man, despite having lived in South Africa for two years in the early 1980s (from age 10 to age 12).
The first two sections of the book, covering his childhood and his first years in Johannesburg (up to page 92), is disjointed, covering various moments that wre particularly memorable for Mandela. Of course this is nearly mandatory for an autobiography. However after Mandela starts law practice, a coherent story finally develops and the big payoff begins. Don't expect any earth-shattering revelations--there are none; what you'll get is a progressive page-turning story of someone, who through determination and tactful mediation, gradually became the largest force in the movement to dismantle apartheid.
Mandela does not preach his political views. You will get insight into them no doubt, but Mandela prefers to indulge in his and others' circumstances and his tactics to improve them. As strange as it may sound, a "stubborn man of compromise" is how I would describe him in keeping the movement intact. Of course only one so stubborn would reject a virtually inherited position as a "counselor" to pursue something more worthy, despite being pigeon-holed under apartheid. His wit and charisma proved valuable. When his activities inevitably led him into legal trouble, many enforcing apartheid could not hide their respect.
One may expect the coverage of his decades in prison to be boring. In fact, enough had transpired over those thousands of days for condensation into very interesting prose. The funniest and most amazing instances occurred here.
After finishing the book, I had a sense that persistence is the best attribute for outright success.
There is one minor weakness I want to mention: Mandela occasionally throws a lot of names at you, especially in the beginning. I have trouble remembering the names of people I meet, so how am I supposed to remember who's who for people with whom I cannot associate a face? I think Mandela wanted to make sure no friend was excluded from the book.
If you find yourself confused by all the names concentrate on Oliver and Walter, they are two of the most important figures.
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1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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