audreysova's review against another edition
3.0
I was hoping (and expecting) that this book would have more that would tie it together. Instead the chapters had a theme, and within it there were various elements from Mandela (letters, excerpts from conversations, writings, journal entries, etc). While there were a lot of moments that spoke loudly, there were so many others that I missed because I didn’t have enough context of everything happening at that point in time and who some of the people referenced were. I could see this book being a great complement to reading a history of South Africa or even a more robust biography of Mandela. All that said, I’m glad to have read it, and the audio of conversations with Mandela at the end of the audiobook was a fun surprise treat.
zohal99's review against another edition
4.0
It was fascinating to get a more raw portrayal of Nelson Mandela from writings that were mostly never intended for public reader consumption, compared to his autobiography (which I highly recommend reading).
My favourite parts were the transcribed interviews between Stengel and Mandela, which I felt gave a great deal of insight into his character.
Mandela sees the goodness in people and does not view that as a weakness. His optimism and his emphasis on the power of hope is something leaders such as Barack Obama hold dear. I think it is a very powerful weapon to hold, even when the world is hell-bent to tell you that hope is pointless.
My favourite parts were the transcribed interviews between Stengel and Mandela, which I felt gave a great deal of insight into his character.
Mandela sees the goodness in people and does not view that as a weakness. His optimism and his emphasis on the power of hope is something leaders such as Barack Obama hold dear. I think it is a very powerful weapon to hold, even when the world is hell-bent to tell you that hope is pointless.
katelkrame's review against another edition
3.0
Very interesting but difficult to read without knowing all the context. I am going to read his autobiography next to gain further insight.
tylovesbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted so badly to love this book. But I just couldn't. It felt very disjointed and just incomplete. It felt as if someone took notes to make an autobiography and then just turned in the notes. It will be a very hard read for most. I did learn that Mandela was married three times and liked Tracy Chapman music.
steph_koala's review against another edition
1.0
My rating of '1' might seem pretty critical but disregarding the fact that the book contains writings from an impressive figure, I don't think there's much to it. It's confusingly put together and would have greatly benefitted had it had more contextual entries from the editors or better footnotes. Unless you're already a Mandela expert, the book and its included writings, excerpts, and notes are hard to follow. I was glad when it was over but was left feeling like I only got a superficial understanding of Mandela. I'm interested in reading more about him but not in this kind of format.
zoey1999's review against another edition
4.0
It was fascinating to get a more raw portrayal of Nelson Mandela from writings that were mostly never intended for public reader consumption, compared to his autobiography (which I highly recommend reading).
My favourite parts were the transcribed interviews between Stengel and Mandela, which I felt gave a great deal of insight into his character.
Mandela sees the goodness in people and does not view that as a weakness. His optimism and his emphasis on the power of hope is something leaders such as Barack Obama hold dear. I think it is a very powerful weapon to hold, even when the world is hell-bent to tell you that hope is pointless.
My favourite parts were the transcribed interviews between Stengel and Mandela, which I felt gave a great deal of insight into his character.
Mandela sees the goodness in people and does not view that as a weakness. His optimism and his emphasis on the power of hope is something leaders such as Barack Obama hold dear. I think it is a very powerful weapon to hold, even when the world is hell-bent to tell you that hope is pointless.
books_lover42's review against another edition
3.0
Nelson Mandela's "Conversation with Myself" was a glimpse into Mr. Mandela's most intimate thoughts, as this read like a diary.
I have not read anything else on the life of Mr. Mandela and found that I would appreciate a context for this work therefore I plan on following up by reading, "A Long Walk to Freedom".
I have not read anything else on the life of Mr. Mandela and found that I would appreciate a context for this work therefore I plan on following up by reading, "A Long Walk to Freedom".