maha_eshraa's review against another edition
3.0
تقيمى للكتاب كان سببه عدم تنسيق الكتاب بشكل يسهل على القارئ . فعزل النبذة الصغيرة للشخصيات التى موجودة فى الكتاب فى اخر قسم مما تسبب إلى رجوعى عدت مرات لآخر الكتاب ادا إلى تشتت ذهنى و ملل . و لكن كان منذ البداية يجب أن اقرا كتاب مشوار طويل إلى الحرية قبل هذا الكتاب خصوصا لمعرفتى قشور عن نيلسون منديلا. الكتاب يعتمد على حوار بينه و بين أشخاص فى الغالب و ليس سيرة ذاتية عن أعماله بشكل نصوص مما لا يناسب من لا يعرفون شئ عن نيلسون .
mandkips's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Police brutality, and Grief
danicapage's review against another edition
5.0
A thoughtful read...not one that a lot of people would like. But one that I really enjoyed.
It's interesting to learn more about the man behind the legend.
A great book--definitely not one to rush through.
It's interesting to learn more about the man behind the legend.
A great book--definitely not one to rush through.
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.
beth_piercex's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
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.