Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (Long Walk to Freedom #1-2), Nelson Mandela

Long Walk to Freedom is an autobiography written by South African President Nelson Mandela, and first published in 1994 by Little Brown & Co. The book profiles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison. Under the apartheid government, Mandela was regarded as a terrorist and jailed on the infamous Robben Island. He later achieved international recognition for his leadership as president in rebuilding the country's once segregated society. The last chapters of the book describe his political ascension, and his belief that the struggle still continued against apartheid in South Africa.

عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «راه دشوار آزادی: خاطرات نلسون ماندلا»؛ «راه طولانی به سوی آزادی: زندگینامه نلسون ماندلا»؛ نویسنده: نلسون ماندلا؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال1995میلادی

عنوان: راه دشوار آزادی: خاطرات نلسون ماندلا؛ نویسنده: نلسون ماندلا؛ مترجم: مهوش غلامی؛ تهران، اطلاعات، سال1374، در804؛ و23ص؛ مصور، عکس، شابک9644233263؛ چاپ دوم سال1379؛ چاپ سوم سال1383؛ چاپ چهارم سال1387؛ شابک9789644233265؛ چاپ پنجم سال1390؛ چاپ ششم سال1392؛ چاپ هفتم سال1395؛ چاپ هشتم سال1397؛ موضوع یادمانها و زیستنامه ی نویسندگان افریقایی، افریقای جنوبی - سده20م

عنوان: راه طولانی به سوی آزادی: زندگینامه نلسون ماندلا؛ نویسنده: نلسون ماندلا؛ تلخیص کوکوکاچالیا و مارک سوتنر؛ مترجم سیما رفیعی؛ تهران، عطایی، سال1392؛ در168ص؛ مصور؛ شابک9789643137250؛ عنوان دیگر زندگینامه نلسون ماندلا؛

نگارنده ی کتاب «نلسون ماندلا» در روز هجدهم ماه جولای سال1918میلادی در «ترنسکی، آفریقای جنوبی» به این دنیا آمدند؛ ایشان در سال1944میلادی به «کنگره ی ملی آفریقا» پیوستند، و پس از سال1948میلادی، پیش از دستگیری در ماه اگوست سال1962میلادی، در برابر سیاستهای «آپارتاید» حزب ملی حاکم پایداری کردند؛ در ماه نوامبر سال1962میلادی، ایشان به پنج سال زندان محکوم شدند، و در سال1963میلادی در زندان «جزیره رابن» به نوشتن آغاز کردند، تا اینکه به «پرتوریا» بازگشت داده شدند، و سپس در آنجا، دوباره در دادگاه «ریونیا» محاکمه، و از سال1964میلادی تا سال1982میلادی دوباره در زندان «جزیره رابن» زندانی شدند، و سپس ایشان را به زندان «پالسمور» بردند، که در آنجا به تدریج به عنوان نماد قدرتمندی از پایداری، در برابر جنبش ضد آپارتاید، به شهرت رسید؛ «ماندلا» در طول27سال زندان، که بیشتر آن را در یک سلول در «جزیره روبن» سپری کردند، مشهورترین چهره ی مبارز علیه آپارتاید، در «آفریقای جنوبی» شدند؛ «نلسون ماندلا» یکی از راهبران بزرگوار سیاسی و مردمی دوران ما بودند؛ ایشان قهرمانی جهانی بودند، که زندگی خود را وقف مبارزه با تبعیض نژادی، در آفریقای جنوبی کرده، و به پاس آن از خود گذشتگی، جایزه ی صلح نوبل به ایشان اهدا شد، و به ریاست جمهوری کشورش رسید؛ «ماندلا» با اینکه بیست و هفت سال از بهترین سالهای عمر خویش را در پشت میله های زندان گذراندند، اما لحظه ای از پایداری و مبارزه در راه آرمان خویش دست نکشیدند، تا اینکه در سال1990میلادی، در سن هفتاد و دوسالگی، دوباره آزادی خود را به دست آوردند، و در مرکز صحنه سیاسی جهانی قرار گرفتند؛ «ماندلا» به عنوان رئیس «کنگره ملی آفریقا» و «نهضت ضد آپارتاید آفریقای جنوبی» ملت خویش را به سوی آرمان «حکومت اکثریت»، و «دولت چند نژادی» هدایت کرده، و نیروی حیاتی در مبارزه در راه «حقوق بشر»، و «برابری نژادی» بوده اند

این کتاب شرحی تکان دهنده و هیجان انگیز از زندگی ایشانست؛ «ماندلا» برای نخستین بار، از داستان زندگی خویش، از «حماسه ی مبارزه ها و شکستها»، از «امیدهای دوباره»، و از «پیروزی» سخن میگویند؛ «نلسون ماندلا»، برای میلیونها انسان در سراسر جهان، نمادی از «پیروزی امید و غرور»، بر «نومیدی و تنفر»، «پیروزی عشق و از خودگذشتگی و خویشتنداری»، بر «خصلتهای اهریمنی و انتقام جویی» مینگارند، و با خوانشگران خویش زیبا سخن میگویند

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 07/04/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 13/02/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

It was indeed a long, long walk to freedom. Apartheid, established in 1948 in South Africa, was abolished in 1990. Nelson Mandela is one of the most well-known icons of the fight against this discriminatory system. This book explores his life, historical and political events during his lifetime, his thoughts and feelings as well as his contribution to the fight against apartheid and racism.

The book starts off with Mandela's childhood days, and sketches out his family connections and his prospects if he had not become the father of the nation. This part drags a little, especially since I had no sympathy with the undemocratic procedures of ruling in the African tribes that keep out women and are authoritarian to a large extent. Mandela's first step towards freedom was when he ran away to escape an arranged (read,forced) marriage. From this point on, the story picks up as it explores his coming to terms with the knowledge of how his colour has the ability to influence his choices. The most interesting part of the book is the middle part where he describes his time in prison in detail. It is both horrifying and edifying and it is during these chapters that the reader develops a strong empathy with the man. The last part of the book deals with his life after prison, politics and the dismantling of apartheid. It also deals with the elections, violence and how Mandela ultimately becomes President.

Mandela is a thoughtful and educated man and has analysed everything in detail before he set it down on paper. Hence, he was able to tell us exactly what stand he took on an issue, why he took that stand and he also goes through the entire procedure of arriving at a decision. This serves to give a greater understanding of the man himself. I really enjoyed the small tidbits of his personal life and his relationships with other members of the ANC. There are flashes of humour in the book, and the emotions come through as well. While reading this book, one needs to remember that this is Mandela's story, and hence, his viewpoints and his thoughts about life and politics are what have been explained in detail. For example, there are instances where he makes excuses for a terrorist attack by claiming it was the inevitable result of oppression. He also overlooks Winnie Mandela's crimes. I disagree, but these are the events seen from his perspective.

One of the most interesting features of this book is that it showcases apartheid and its results in detail. He shows how apartheid affects every section of society. Even in prison, there is a distinction in the way different prisoners are treated on the basis of their colour. There was one incident that really stood out. When Mandela travels by plane on an underground mission, he was startled and fearful on seeing that the pilot was a black man. If this is how an activist fighting for freedom of black people reacts instinctively to black people in power, we have a long way to go to achieve true equality. Another interesting thing is that for most of the struggle against apartheid, Mandela was out of bounds, unable to communicate with his comrades and had no freedom of movement or any real political power. At one point, he mentions that the public had not seen his face for thirty years. Yet, he inspired a nation and took steps to bring about a peaceful beginning to a democratic State.

The book also makes a political statement, especially in the final chapters. Mandela stands up for ANC consistently and completely, so he is definitely boosting the party image. It helps to have a basic working knowledge of South African history and politics while reading this book. Mandela mentions all the major events and goes through their effects but I found I yearned for more knowledge to understand the situation better. I was consistently looking up everything for a more detailed analysis. For example, I had no idea why exactly opposed the 'group rights' clause so vehemently. This often happened because I guess the author wrote for a South African audience. The final chapters were too rushed but I guess it would take another lengthy book to make sense of the South African politics from 1990-1994.

I think this is a great book by a great man. It is not just what he aimed for in his life, but his spirit of compassion, inclusiveness, forgiveness and ability to live by his principles that made him great.

This is Nelson Mandela's autobiography. He really had quite the life and fought quite the battle. I liked that this started out with this childhood. He often referred to himself as a country boy. Things seemed to open up for him and other things were of his own creation. He didn't set out to accomplish what he did, but he followed a road that seemed to gain momentum the farther he went. This road led to decades in prison, and eventually he was given his freedom.

He detailed certain events that had such an impact on him. It was interesting to see how some of this molded him. Overall, this was interesting and it covered a topic that I knew very little about. So 4 stars.

n  

"لقد جرّدت نفسي طول حياتي للنضال من أجل الشعب الأفريقي، لقد كافحت ضد هيمنة البيض كما كافحت ضد هيمنة السود. لقد عشت تواقًا إلى مجتمع ديمقراطي حرّ، يعيش فيه الجميع في وئام ومساواة. إنّه هدف أرجو أن أعيش له وأن أحققه. وهو الهدف الذي سأموت من أجله إن لم يكن من ذلك بدّ."

n

n  n

يأتون من بعيد ليحتلّوا أرض غيرهم ويسرقوا ثرواتها، ويجرّمون شعبها ويستعبدونه، ويعاملونه بقسوة ووحشية وعنصرية. ومن يقوم من تلك الشعوب بالمطالبة بأدنى حقوقهم، يزجّونهم في السجون! لكن لا بُدّ للقيد أن ينكسر ولا بُد لليل الظلام والظلم والعبودية أن ينجلي. وها هو نيسلون مانديلا ورفاقه يضربون أعظم الأمثلة في الوقوف في وجه التمييز العنصري ومحاربة كل أشكال الظلم والاستبداد. وسيسجّل التاريخ أسماء كل الأحرار الذين وقفوا في وجه المستعمرين الغاصبين العنصريين بأحرف من ذهب، وسيذهب أولئك الغاصبين إلى مزبلة التاريخ.

n  "لقد شعرت في تلك اللحظة التي عبرت فيها بوابة السجن أنني في الواحدة والسبعين من عمري أبدأ حياتي من جديد، وكانت تلك نهاية عشرة آلاف يوم في السجن"n
-لحظة خروج مانديلا من السجن، بعد 27 عامًا قضاها وراء القضبان

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=png6c...

تهرب مني كل الكلمات حين أريد التعبير عن سير الرجال العظام، ففيها من قوة الإيمان بالأهداف، وفيها من التأثير والمعاناة والطموح ما يفوق كل وصف.
لروحك السلام بابا مانديلا
ولأرواح جميع العظام السلام.
...

An amazing story that is at times gripping but always compelling.

“As I finally walked through those gates to enter a car on the other side, I felt- even at the age of seventy-one- that my life was beginning anew. My ten thousand days of imprisonment were over.” - Nelson Mandela, A Long Walk to Freedom

2013, my year of reading biographies, started off with Dr. King’s and ended with reading Nelson Mandela’s. A perfect end to the year.

Apartheid is something that hit very close to home to me, being a member of the same Bantu people that the racist Afrikaner government believed were on the same level as animals. Mandela has always been a hero in my family and I grew up hearing about his life and his struggles to gain freedom for black South Africans. I knew about Apartheid before I knew about the American civil rights movement.

This autobiography is very comprehensive in scope, covering Mandela’s childhood, his adulthood, his transformation into a freedom fighter, and his time spent in jail, and finally his inauguration as South Africa’s first black president.The history of his African National Congress party was intriguing,and even more gripping were the stories of Mandela's days as the "Black Pimpernel" travelling all around Africa and Europe.

This was not an easy read. Mandela made so many sacrifices, as did his wife and children. It really hurt reading about how he, his wife and children were treated, and how it took so long for the world to wake up and send proper help.

“I was made, by the law, a criminal, not because of what I had done, but because of what I stood for, because of what I thought, because of my conscience.”

A couple of things really stood out to me. The first was how colonized our thinking is. Black Africans have been told they are inferior and even now they often display that inferiority complex. The Afrikaners were fed the same lies and believed that blacks were inferior before witnessing for themselves that that wasn't true (Boer party propaganda). The second thing that stood out was how this book restored my faith in mankind at times. It was fascinating to read about the humanity that arose in the unlikeliest people.

Mandela was humble and acknowledged all those involved in the freedom struggle. About his inauguration, he said, “I felt that day, as I have on so many other days, that I was simply the sum of all those African patriots who have gone before me. That long and noble line ended and now began again with me. I was pained that I was not able to thank them and that they were not able to see what their sacrifices had wrought.”

After reading this book, my respect for Mandela grew even more. I loved his spirit; he refused to be broken, he refused to become bitter and he somehow kept his wit and his sense of humour. He was honest about what he learned, about his own prejudices and mistakes.

The first time I visited South Africa was in 1995, a year after the democratic elections that officially ended Apartheid. The thought crossed my mind that a few years prior my family and I would not have been able to make that trip in such comfort and safety. Thank you, Madiba for making this happen.

To quote my GR friend Leola, “I feel like the world could never be prepared enough to say goodbye to Nelson Mandela.”

If you ask my daughter why she chose to move to Africa, she will tell you that it must have been her long childhood exposure to Paul Simon's "Graceland." But I think the truth actually lies in her exposure to the extraordinary life story of Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela is a world treasure: principled, dedicated, uncompromising, and consistently both human and humane.

This autobiography recounts Mandela's life from early childhood in a Transkei village, through the political awakening of his young adulthood, his activism for racial equality in apartheid South Africa, and the terrible sacrifice he made for his people when he was held as a political prisoner, often in deplorable conditions, his only crime being one of conscience. It is a measure of the man that he emerged from over 27 years of profoundly unjust treatment, still prepared to become an inclusive leader of all of the people of South Africa.

This kind of book, as detailed as it is on the evolution and politics of the ANC, could easily have been a slow read. But Long Walk to Freedom is anything but that; it is a compelling page turner.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough to do it justice.

I started my year with something that I am not so much into -history and autobiography. The initial pace/phase of my reading was telling me that I am doing a mistake. But thankfully I didn't pay attention to those.
There can not be a better start I will wish for.
This is a book in which you will be drawn into. There is so much for everyone to learn from the life of Nelson Mandela.
The length of book which looks daunting is actually the vital requirement of the book. I feel it is also a symbolism of the length of struggle these souls put together. The easy going language and the descriptive picture the book draws is something which will never make you complain about the length of book.
The way everyone from the continent of Africa particularly came together for is cause was something interesting. There was an incidence when a president asked Nelson Mandela-"are you short of any pocket money". And than immediately gave him a some.

This is a book for everyone to read.

My Lord, what a book!

This book depicts the harsh realities of living in the Apartheid South Africa! Imagine living in a country where you are denied basic human rights, been told you are less because of your skin colour. The scary thing is that South Africa was not the only country with this sort of system.

Nonetheless, Nelson Mandela's book is truly beautiful, honest, raw, emotional and makes you see that you should never stop fighting against what is wrong. He is a true testament to courage, bravery and a man who sacrificed his freedom for the freedom of South Africa.

Amazing book!

n  7 Starsn

At the end of this book I'm left with a number of emotions: humility, awe, wonder.

I've thought long and hard about how to review this book and already the word count is much higher than I'd wanted it to be. It is one of those books that, as a member of humanity itself, you are simply obliged to read.

It should be required reading for everyone, everywhere.

I will read it again many times in my life. Of this I am sure. I feel honored to have "shared" in his life vicariously by means of this autobiography.

One word kept popping into my mind as various scenes and anecdotes were recounted, a word which, to me personally, describes Rolihlala (Nelson) Mandela for me. In addition to "Freedom Fighter" and "Liberator" and all the endless terms that have been used to describe this man, I have a new one which I think you will use to describe him as well upon reading his story: He was, and is, a Gentleman, in the highest and noblest form that the word can be used.

I have said nothing about the style of writing or how the story is told. My review (which keeps growing in word count!) would not be so laudatory if the narrative itself had not been so expertly executed, with build-ups and climaxes and tense moments, all superbly written. Even those of you not into non-fiction should enjoy it.

I am a different person after having read this. It is a truly humbling account, for many reasons--both obvious and not.

Figura incontornável da luta anti-apartheid, Mandela é um dos meus heróis.
Pela capacidade de ver sempre o bem, por mais escondido que esteja, no coração de cada um e pela sua capacidade de resistência e resiliência.
Creio que o nosso século não será capaz de criar mais personagens assim, altruístas e mais focadas no bem estar do povo a que pertencem, do que em si próprias.
Embora grande parte do livro seja focada em questões políticas e da luta pela liberdade da África do Sul, esta autobiografia permite-nos descortinar o verdadeiro carácter do homem por trás do mito.
Livro de leitura obrigatória.

I learned Nelson Mandela’s life from my high school history because of the word, apartheid. (Thanks to Mahatma Gandhi; he introduced him to us on his cause of Caste System in India.) However, I just scratched the surface of him t as my teacher did not tell much details about him as if he was not attached much importance to the subject. ( If I were my teacher, I would have told much more about him.) In fact, I mistook him for a Black-American. Uh-oh! I was still an ignoramus at that time despite the fact that I was enthused about studying history. Few years later, he drew my attention when he was in the news ; he was reported to have passed away. The world was so grieved by his death that he was almost the headlines of all the newspapers and news programs. Only that time did I realize that he was such a big name in the world. As usual, I desired to know him more by reading his life. However, I did not afford to buy his book then. Eventually, my generous-to-fault student gifted me this book. Of course, I grinned from ear to ear with joy. Full of enthusiasm, I started to read it. However, it took me time to finish it and ended up on my study table for a few months. The book is light because of Mandela’s prose but steeped in geographical places and anthropological and political terminologies only South African can almost relate to. Nevertheless, I liked it on account of Mandela’s ideologies, experiences, and speeches he delivered before his people.

I enjoyed reading Mandela’s autobiography because of his light English prose as the indication that he had studied well- typical of a smart student studying in English speaking countries. For your information, South Africa has many official languages, and English is one of them. Thus, not the majority of its population uses the language every day. Another impressive thing about writing his autobiography is his capability to incorporate his various feelings, be they in positive or negative, into his compelling narrations. Sometimes, other autobiographers write with highfalutin, highbrow, and high-flown stories or with unfathomably philosophical insights beyond my understanding (, but still I try to bend my mind to them until I bash my head against the wall ending up into a library of books or surfing the internet. Ones of best examples so far are Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Selected Writings and Poems.) Therefore, reading Mandela’s autobiography can be likened to a teen-ager’s diary. Everyone can take a fancy for his diary unless you are that a political animal. On the contrary, his usage of some political, geographical, and anthropological terms which I am not very much familiar with undermine the said like-a-teen-ager’s-diary element. You might get tired of them , saturated with the words you need to absorb in and turn over in your mind. In fact, it has 859 pages, the thickest book I have read this year. Thus, you have no choice but to turn to Google or to a library of history books if you are a Luddite in order to understand them by heart. That’s why I did not lay a finger on it for a few months. In the end, Mandela’s autobiography, in my hypothetical suggestion, could still be a critically acclaimed book for its two kinds ,A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM: NELSON MANDELA'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: AN ABRIDGED VERSION- expunged some technical words and A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM: NELSON MANDELA'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: UNABRIDGED VERSION, same with this original version.

Reading his speeches is also page-turning. There’s something about his speeches – they were like causing mass hysteria among South Africans at that time. I tend to read his narrations as fast as I could in order to imaginatively listen to them . As a matter of fact, I tended to search his speeches on Youtube wondering how he delivered them. I would say that Nelson Mandela, along with Malcolm X , has most moving speeches I have read so far.

Mandela’s autobiography reminded me of Malcolm X, another Black -American revolutionary who had somewhat the same cause—racial equality. Malcolm X , based on his best-selling authorized biography, also believed that Black-Americans should be equal to White Americans . He demonstrated against the culture of discrimination against his fellow Blacks. The only differences between their causes were: specifically, Mandela fought against the Apartheid whereas Malcolm X against general forms of discrimination. Still, both of their causes categorically fall to racial equality. Besides, there is one surprising thing that made me jump to my conclusion: Nelson Mandela’s last resort was using violence when he came to the point that diplomatic negotiation did not work at all. In fact, he had been influenced by the idea of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi on civil disobedience. After all , he succumbed to Malcolm X’ slogan , “ BY ANY NECESSARY MEANS.”, which I surmised he had disliked ;rather, admired Martin Luther King’s , “ I HAVE A DREAM.”I guess I can also conclude as well as you agree that , sometimes , in any circumstances even in history, Malcom X’s slogan worked and is feasible as long as this is the last resort as was Mandela’s. On the contrary, in the end, Mandela had proved that “virtue of patience” in the name of peaceful, friendly, and sincere ,as he put it, negotiation can work.
Likewise, Mandela was weaned on communism or Marxism - the political idea that also influenced Malcolm X and Richard Wright, famous for his books, The Native Son and Black Boy. Did this idea also occur to some revolutionaries in a place with insurgent atmosphere because of social injustice? So does to some at the present situation?

Before I finished it, Aristotle had taught me his The Republic, a philosophy book that also deals with the real meaning of JUSTICE. ( I haven’t written my review of it yet.) It has the dialogues among the Philosophers debating over the scopes of justice. As a student of his , discombobulated, mulling over his students’ philosophical explanation, upon reading Mandela’s autobiography, it dawned upon me that justice means equality. In other words, I applied understanding The Republic by Aristotle to Mandela’s book. For instance, for Plato and Socrates, justice is fulfilling one's appropriate role, and consequently giving to the city what is owed.* In a simple way, I want to illustrate the virtue Nelson Mandela believed in my life. I want that life in some aspects is “FAIR”. That’s why, without malice, without this air of pride and pompousness, I want to respect people regardless of their skin color , sex , and race ; I respect in action people with deeply-seated religious beliefs despite I have this Richard Dawkins’s –desire to change the world; I empathize “the destitute” despite that giving alms is not my principle except for “the needy”, but bringing them to their senses that capitalism is an evil, that living in this world is consummate “survival of the fittest”.

Mandela applied his rude awakening to equality to understanding the people he got along with . With this belief, he became a freedom fighter, stalwart, determined, humble with undefeated fighting spirit. That was Nelson Mandela, and in the end, despite the travails he had gone through, he made it to his final walk to FREEDOM.

Obviously, my long review of this book indicates my feeling of fulfillment. I am glad that I finished it after a short while. I do not regret having laid it aside on my study table. Just I let the time permit.

Thanks to my student ( Sr. Angela ) for picking it among the books in a book store, without the idea that I had longed to read it ; she had granted my wish. If I were a pantheist, I would exclaim ,”What a divine intervention!” ^_^