Product Description

The famously taciturn South African president reveals much of himself inLong Walk to Freedom. A good deal of this autobiography was written secretlywhile Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years on Robben Island by South Africa's apartheid regime. Among the book's interestingrevelations is Mandela's ambivalence toward his lifetime of devotion to public works. It cost him twomarriages and kept him distant from a family life he might otherwise have cherished.Long Walk to Freedom also discloses a strong and generous spirit that refused to be broken under the most trying circumstances--a spirit inwhich just about everybody can find something to admire.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2288 in Books
• Published on: 1995-10-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 656 pages

Amazon.com
The famously taciturn South African president reveals much of himself in Long Walk to Freedom. A good deal of this autobiography was written secretly while Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years on Robben Island by South Africa's apartheid regime. Among the book's interesting revelations is Mandela's ambivalence toward his lifetime of devotion to public works. It cost him two marriages and kept him distant from a family life he might otherwise have cherished. Long Walk to Freedom also discloses a strong and generous spirit that refused to be broken under the most trying circumstances--a spirit in which just about everybody can find something to admire.

From Publishers Weekly
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the first democratically elected president of South Africa, Mandela began his autobiography during the course of his 27 years in prison.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This is an articulate, moving account of Mandela's life from his "country childhood" following his birth on July 18, 1918 to his inauguration as president of South Africa on May 10, 1994. Mandela traces the growth of his understanding of the oppression of the blacks of South Africa; his conviction that there was no alternative to armed struggle; his developing belief that all people, black and white, must be free for true freedom; and the effect that his commitment to overthrowing apartheid had on his family, who "paid a terrible price." Over a third of Mandela's memoir tells of his 27 years in prison, an account that could stand alone as a prison narrative. He ends his book with the conclusion that his "long walk" for freedom has just begun: "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." Highly recommended for all collections.
--Maidel Cason, Univ. of Delaware Lib., Newark
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

great men can write!
it is a very humourous and (I guess) honest book. He tells his tales as a child, and the innermost changes that led to leadership.
Interesting AND entertaining!
Greetings form Argentina!

"it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle"

I recently finished a leadership training course sponsored by my company. One of the activities that we did in the class was to reflect on great world leaders and think about what qualities made them great. It came up during the session that some years ago the teachers had led a similar exercise, but had actually asked the participants to try to communicate with a living leader who had personally affected them. The idea had been for people to get in touch with a former manager or teacher. However, it happened that one of the participants (not having a manager who he or she had admired) contacted Nelson Mandela by email. To everyone's surprise, he responded quite kindly and shared some thoughts about leaders and leadership.

When I was traveling in South Africa, I heard many similar stories. Tour groups who told about Mandela coming out of the parliament building to greet and talk to the tourists. Employees at Robben Island talked reverently about how he had taken personal interest in their lives based on the briefest of acquaintenceships. Every story emphasized his humbleness, his respect for others, and his basic approachability.

Long Walk to Freedom, for me, confirms that image of Mandela as a man who is great in part because of his humbleness, and his resistance to myth. He emphasizes his role as the man in the middle, pushed by circumstances and common decency into greatness. He consistently avoids overdone bragging (the little that is there is surely allowed him) and looks hard at the actions that the ANC took in their quest for freedom.

While it would have been interesting to read this before going to South Africa, I actually think that I got more out of it now after seeing the country first.

I really enjoyed the book. It is not a perfect narrative. It suffers in parts from being written over a period of years. There are some little repetitions and awkwardnesses along the way. None of those things matter at all in relation to either the reading experience or the importance of the book. I liked it very much, and would recommend it highly to others. Do not be daunted by its size (625 pages, in my edition). It is actually a very quick read and kept me intensely interested the whole time. Genuinely inspirational.

Must Read
This is a fantastic book that provides great insight into one of the most inspirational leaders in modern history. His story in particular and the anti-apartheid struggles in general are fascinating and provide extremely valuable lessons. With his humbleness and incredibly lucid and organized writing style (which admittedly did surprise me), this could be the best autobiography out there. One can only imagine how different the continent would be if other African Nations had such strong leaders with Nelson Mandela's courage and integrity.