portlandcat's review against another edition
2.0
This is an extremely tedious book about an incredible man. It’s almost as if Gandhi is so intent on escaping the human condition, that he’s totally incapable of relating to the reader on the sensual or emotional level.
striver's review against another edition
4.0
a mostly honest writing. enjoyable. I did take my time reading it (14 months)
akashthakursingh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
vspinazola's review against another edition
4.0
Acknowledging the gendered, class, and racial critiques of Gandhi, he was a great man. I started reading this a few weeks ago at the start of COVID-19 because I recalled he went through the plague and offered medical assistance during that time, and thought maybe his insight could provide some guidance on how to sway our leaders in the right direction. Somewhat surprisingly, the plague didn't play a large role in his analysis of his life. Note, though, that he very often referred to his book on Satyagraha as a place to find more stories and history - which was definitely a drawback to this book, it felt like it was missing large sections of his life at times.
I also found it interesting what he spent time on analyzing in his life - while serving on the frontline of plagues or wars garnered little attention, the minute details of passing resolutions in congress did. I also appreciated his little digs at the legal profession and serving as an attorney - India and South Africa does not sound too much different than is does in state court today in America, unfortunately.
This really is about "the story of my experiments with truth," which is the sub-title of the book. I really appreciated his struggles with being vegetarian in the face of being ill, and how in other aspects of his life he tried and failed, and then tried again. I did gain some insights from the book, but not as many as I had hoped - again, that could be because some of that was reserved for his other books. I'm glad I read it - but it is an investment, at just over 500 pages.
I also found it interesting what he spent time on analyzing in his life - while serving on the frontline of plagues or wars garnered little attention, the minute details of passing resolutions in congress did. I also appreciated his little digs at the legal profession and serving as an attorney - India and South Africa does not sound too much different than is does in state court today in America, unfortunately.
This really is about "the story of my experiments with truth," which is the sub-title of the book. I really appreciated his struggles with being vegetarian in the face of being ill, and how in other aspects of his life he tried and failed, and then tried again. I did gain some insights from the book, but not as many as I had hoped - again, that could be because some of that was reserved for his other books. I'm glad I read it - but it is an investment, at just over 500 pages.
alisarae's review against another edition
5.0
It was very nice to read this book and see Gandhi's life from his own eyes. I understand why people say he was an INTP--I can totally see it now.
As Gandhi wrote this book published serially for contemporaries of the time, he didn't bother to give an explanation what was going on in the larger political theatre, assuming his readers would already be aware of it. Since I didn't know anything about his life before reading this book, I felt a little lost and some events appeared to pop up out of nowhere. For example, when he returned to India from South Africa, he was quite famous but he doesn't really explain the magnitude of his fame or how and why he became famous. Other iconic events like the salt march and the partition of India happened after this book was written (1921), so are not mentioned. It would have been better to read an outsider's biography of his life before reading his autobiography, and I plan to do that next.
A good deal of the book is spent talking about his personal experiments in dietetics, fasting, and telling anecdotes of people trying to convince him to eat meat or drink milk. So if you aren't really interested in that, maybe don't listen to the audio so you can more easily skip over those parts.
Other things are interesting though, like how completely inadequate he felt as a young lawyer and appeared by all accounts to be a failure in that department when he started out. How hard it is to sustain energy and motivation for political movements, and to raise money that impassioned people promise and then forget about. He would often fast when other people did something that disappointed him, as a way to show that he expected them to do better and to rectify the situation. And he talks about his spiritual development and beliefs.
The most inspirational thing was his commitment to personal morality and honesty, even as a young lawyer when more senior partners encouraged him to avoid the truth. The world needs more leaders committed to the truth; indeed, he said that Truth is his god.
As Gandhi wrote this book published serially for contemporaries of the time, he didn't bother to give an explanation what was going on in the larger political theatre, assuming his readers would already be aware of it. Since I didn't know anything about his life before reading this book, I felt a little lost and some events appeared to pop up out of nowhere. For example, when he returned to India from South Africa, he was quite famous but he doesn't really explain the magnitude of his fame or how and why he became famous. Other iconic events like the salt march and the partition of India happened after this book was written (1921), so are not mentioned. It would have been better to read an outsider's biography of his life before reading his autobiography, and I plan to do that next.
A good deal of the book is spent talking about his personal experiments in dietetics, fasting, and telling anecdotes of people trying to convince him to eat meat or drink milk. So if you aren't really interested in that, maybe don't listen to the audio so you can more easily skip over those parts.
Other things are interesting though, like how completely inadequate he felt as a young lawyer and appeared by all accounts to be a failure in that department when he started out. How hard it is to sustain energy and motivation for political movements, and to raise money that impassioned people promise and then forget about. He would often fast when other people did something that disappointed him, as a way to show that he expected them to do better and to rectify the situation. And he talks about his spiritual development and beliefs.
The most inspirational thing was his commitment to personal morality and honesty, even as a young lawyer when more senior partners encouraged him to avoid the truth. The world needs more leaders committed to the truth; indeed, he said that Truth is his god.
mjsteimle's review against another edition
2.0
Is it heretical to say that Gandhi is overrated? Because, over two thirds of the way through his autobiography, that is exactly what I think. He does not come off at all as a likable person; I have major issues with the way he treated his family.
agnestyley's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
2.75
I mean it wasn't actively bad it was just really very dense with so many names and unnecessary info of just every single person he met like it was not trying to persuade and be concise i guess but still
plus just his early years so not independence stuff really
and defo not one to read if you have an ED
plus just his early years so not independence stuff really
and defo not one to read if you have an ED
oanh's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
Repetitive after the first one third of the book. The repetitive topics of diets, religion, meetings with political and religious figures were like a sushi rotating service.
The narration does not follow a strict chronological order.
This blend of random time-jumping, repeating ramble lost me completely. Every few chapters, I paused because I had a déjà vu.
If I could advise my old self on this book, it would be: read the first one third of the book up until Gandhi came back to India from his first South Africa sojourn. Then, read one chapter on each of these topics:
The narration does not follow a strict chronological order.
This blend of random time-jumping, repeating ramble lost me completely. Every few chapters, I paused because I had a déjà vu.
If I could advise my old self on this book, it would be: read the first one third of the book up until Gandhi came back to India from his first South Africa sojourn. Then, read one chapter on each of these topics:
- Diets
- Public Hygiene
- Ironing, washing his own clothes
- Education of his sons
- His son got sick and his vegetarian, hydropathic treatment
- Relationship with his wife
- Networking in Bombay speech
- Befriend Gokhale (not that it was different from the networking in Bombay, but understand this friendship provides the context for Gandhi’s entrance to the Congress later in life).
- Engagement in war recruitment
Read the first and last paragraph of the last chapter. That’s good enough for me, keep the reading engaging and fresh.
nemcraft's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0