It is hard to grasp that a little boy who grew up in a tribal setting in South Africa would become the driving force to eliminate apartheid and would subsequently become the president of South Africa, and a man who changed history and shaped the 20th century. Nelson Mandela was fortunate in that he was allowed access by a flawed system to an education, an education that he would then use to dismantle that very system. There is no ambiguity that Mandela and his struggles symbolized freedom to the world and to South Africa. He was a great man. But being a great man doesn't translate to being a great writer. To me, the reason to read is for enjoyment and entertainment, and yes, education. But I like my knowledge presented to me in an engaging fashion. Therefore nonfiction has never been my genre of choice. The fact of the matter is life doesn't necessarily have a narrative. Life has a beginning, a middle, and an end, that is true. But not every life is worth or worthy of a book. Great historical figures, as well as annoying celebrities, are an exception.

Yet to have a biography or autobiography there needs to be more then this beginning, middle, and end. There needs to be insight as to how that time was filled. As a reader I didn't want just a dry telling of the facts, I wanted to know Mandela's feelings. I wanted to know his beliefs, his loves, his despair at spending 27 years of his life incarcerated. His feelings when Winnie went a little crazy, instead of a press release. This is what I desired, and instead I got brief glimpses of his life amid a struggle with no narrative, nothing to grab you and make you feel invested in his journey. Just a dry telling of the facts and figures that would make a statistician cry from sheer boredom. Flat, emotionless writing with so many names and acronyms, I wasn't sure if I could finish the book without loosing my mind.

To be fair, I will say that I was fairly ignorant of what the history in South Africa was, I kind of dropped that African history class in undergrad due to surly students and an indifferent TA that reminded me of Eric Stoltz. I did work on the play "Master Harold"... and the Boys about institutionalized bigotry and racism in Port Elizabeth during apartheid, but I can honestly say I don't remember anything about it other then how long it took me to paint that set. Therefore learning more about this time did hold some fascination for me and also underscored the fact that the world will basically turn a blind eye if you're killing your own people, Pol Pot, Stalin, early Hitler. But the fact that the government was just as bad if not worse then Nazi Germany and that this lasted not just a few decades but for almost an entire century is staggering. The travel bans, the pass books, the government did everything they could to push down the natives. The fact that the government was Boer, aka the Dutch who came and settled in South Africa, who are most known for that lovely Boer War, has made me draw the conclusion that the Boers are Bastards... I think this would make a catchy bumper sticker, don't you? Or Afrikaners suck. Your choice.

This is the world that Mandela grew up in. I liked that we saw his journey and how he questioned things. He thinks like I do in some respects. If he didn't know about something he would go out and find out everything about it before making a decision. He'd read and read and read till he came to his own conclusions. But this was a bit lugubrious to read about his reading. I don't want to be doing battle with my books. Really I don't. I take a certain glee in writing the reviews later... but that doesn't make up for the previous torture the book has inflicted on me. What I wouldn't have given for maybe a little bit about his family, his feelings about not being there for them instead of a day by day breakdown of one of his trials that lasted years, but felt like millennia. While nothing makes up for the life he lost locked behind prison walls, I can definitively say that I felt every single year he was locked away with him.

With this book there is also a final question to be asked. How much did this book sanitize Mandela's image? The book was rushed to publication for his taking office as president with the help of his co-author, not, in my mind, ghostwriter as some have said, if it was ghostwritten, it would have been actually better written, so therefore, what was tweaked? What was taken out and what was kept in? In fact many people believe that Mandela was chosen as the image for anti-apartheid because his hands we clean. While he advocated the taking up of arms, he himself didn't.

There were little things in the book that disturbed me, such as his having a picture on the wall of the winter palace to commemorate the uprising that killed the Tsar and his family. How could anyone want to hang on their wall a reminder of the death of innocent children? Even if you are a communist, seriously? No. Just no. He also worshipped Castro, which recent articles have said wasn't talked about in the book, I just think they didn't finish the fifty million page opus of dullness, because Mandela clearly states his admiration of him. There are just so many thoughts spinning in my head about using one bad political model to fight another one... I just want to clear my head, get ride of the lugubriousness of this text, wipe away the cobwebs and have a real author come in and write about Mandela. With his passing I want a truly great writer of biographies to come along and do justice for Mandela, and maybe find a little bit of the truth... or at least don't varnish over things like Winnie.

The Last Word: "Ended"

I had skipped over this book by Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) many times thinking I had read it. The other day I checked my records and was surprised to discovered I had recorded it to read but had not read it. I now have corrected that mistake.

The book is well written. It covers Nelson Mandela’s life from childhood to becoming the president of South Africa. The author also describes the history of South Africa and the various local tribes so I have a better understanding of the situation. The writing is a bit dry at times and very little personal emotion is displayed. Mandela’s high ideals and his fight for freedom comes through loud and clear in the book. The book is about the fight for civil rights. This is an excellent memoir. It held my attention throughout the book.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is twenty-nine hours and thirty-nine minutes. Michael Boatman does a good job narrating the book. Boatman is an actor and audiobook narrator. I am glad I read this as an audiobook as I would never had been able to pronounce the African names.

On the cover of my copy it says, "Should be read by every person alive." - Boston Sunday Globe
That pretty much perfectly sums this book up.

من أحلى كتب السير الذاتية التي قرأتها، وأكثرها صلة بنضالنا في العالم العربي من أجل الحرية والديمقراطية. تبدأ مع طفولة المتناضل الأفريقي الأشهر نيلسون مانديلا، وتنتهي بتوليه الرئاسة في بلده، لكن نهاية الكتاب هي في الحقيقية بداية، فهي وعد باستكمال طريق النضال الطويل نحو الحرية..

لن أتحدث طويلا عن الكتاب، لكني سأنقل بعض العبارات والمقاطع منه التي أراها الاهم، أو الأشد صلة بواقعنا العربي، أو -وهو الأغلب- المقاطع التي تحمل افكارا استغربت أن تصدر عن مناضل مثله، وعلى سبيل المثال خلافه مع بعض من قادة "المؤتمر" على فكرة المقاومة المسلحة والعنف.. وفي ذلك يقول مناديلا عن فترة بداية مقاومة الأبارتايد في جوب افريقيا:

"الحكومة والشرطة كانت قد اتخذت التدابية لمنع اي اجتماع سلمي وتجريمه، وكانت الامور تسير تجاه حكم بوليسي. وبدأت أرى أن الاحتجاجات القانونية ستصبح مستحيلة في الوقت القريب فإن المقاومة السلمية تكون فعالة إذا تمسك من تقاومهم بنفس القوانين التي تتمسك بها أنت وإلا فلا فاعلية لها. وبالنسبة لي كان عدم العنف استراتيجية فقط ولم يكن مبدأً أخلاقيا. فلا يوجد خيار أخلاقي في استعمال سلاح غير فعال."

وفي موقف آخر يقول:

"لا نستطيع هزيمة الحكومة عسكرياً، ولكن بوسعنا جعل حكمها صعبا."

وهي فكرة شجاعة من مانديلا، ولها منطق وجيه، لكنها مخيفة، وحتما كانت السبب وراء العديد من أحداث العنف الدموية التي يسردها الكتاب فيما بعد، وإن كان البادئ في تلك الحالات كان غالبا سلطات الدولة القمعية.
لكني اتساءل.. ماذا لو كان مانديلا قد تعامل مع قضيته بسلمية غاندي، هل كانت ستجدي؟ هل كان المصير سيختلف؟
ومع ذلك فإن اللجوء إلى العنف كان الحل الأخير الذي اضطر إليه المؤتمر، بعد محاولات مستمرة لحل القضية سلميا فشلت جميعها لتعنت السلطة في التعامل مع السكان الأصليين والمنظمات التي تمثلهم.

على أن سنوات السجن التي تقارب الثلاثين قد صقلت فكر مانديلا، وقد تطورت آرائه بشكل كبير، إذ اكتشف لاحقاً انه أحياناً ما تكون المفاوضات هي الحل للخروج من المشكلة، بد��ا عن صراح طويل الأجل يستنفذ الطاقات بلا جدوى حقيقية.. وكان هذه الفكرة من المفاجآت بالنسبة لي في هذا الكتاب.. فلم اتصور مناديلا كمفواض، بل كمناضل، ولم أكن أعرف أنه شارك في مفاوضات طويل الأمد إلى خذا الحد..
على أن مانديلا ظل رافضاً لوقف العنف ضد السلطة، طالما اقتنع ان السطلة لن تنفذ تعهداتها.. وكان مصرا على أن يرتبط وقف العنف بتنفيذ خطوات جدية من جانب السلطة.. حيث لم يكن تطور فكر مانديلا وقبوله بالمفاوضات بديلا عن النضال على الأرض، لاسيما عند النظر إلى هذا النضال، ليس كطريقة للحل، بل كورقة من أوراق المفاوضة.
وفي ذلك يقول:

"كنت أود إفهام الحكومة أنه رغم رفضي العرض فإني اعتقد أن المفاوضات وليست الحرب هي السبيل للحل."

كما يؤكد مانديلا على أن الأولوية للحلول السلمية، فحتى العنف لم يلجأ إليه إلا كحل أخير:

"الشروط التي تريد الحكومة فرضها تسبب لي الدهشة، لأننا لم نسلك طريق العنف إلا بعد أن سدت أمامنا جميع .طرق المقاومة"

ولنتأمل هذا الرأي الذي يقوله مانديلا هنا (وكان ذلك في مناسبة انضمام اشخاص جدد للمؤتمر، مع ملاحظة ان مانديلا لم يكن قد تعرض للسجن بعد):

"وكان عديد ممن انضموا للمنظمة الجديدة قد فعلوا ذلك لأسباب شخصية منها الغيرة والرغبة في الانتقام. وكان اعتقادي دائماً أن على المقاتل من أجل الحرية أن يكبت كثيرا من المشاعر الشخصية التي تجعل منه فرداً مستقلاً بدلاُ من جزء من حركة جماهيرية، واعتقدات أن كثير من تلك الآراء والتصرفات غير ناضجة. ورغم تعاطفي مع آراء الأفارقة والقوميين فقد كنت اعتقد أن النضال من اجل الحرية يتطلب من الإنسان القبول بآراء وسيطة وتقبل نظم قاومها حينما كان أحدث سنا."

"ليس هناك أي تعارض لتأييدي الكفاح المسلح وتمسكي بالمفاوضات، فالكفاح المسلح هو الذي أتى بالحكومة إلى حافة المفاوضات."

أي أن مانديلا يربط بين الاثنين، ولا يرى الكفاح المسلح غاية، بل وسيلة للوصول إلى المفاوضات، فالمفاوضات بالنسبة له هي الأساس.
وعن رأيه في أساليب المقاومة داخل السجن:

"وكنت أرى أن مجرد الاضراب عن الطعام داخل السجن أمر غير واقعين فلكي يكون فعالاً يجب أن يعلم به العالم الخارجي، وكانت الاتصالات شبه مستحيلة في تلك السنوات. وبالنسبة لي كان الاضراب عن الطعام أمراً سلبياً يضر بصحة أجسادنا الضعيفة، واستدعاء للموت. وكنت دائماً أفضل أنواع المقاومة الأكثر ايجابية ونضالاً كالاضراب عن العمل والتباطؤ ورفض أعمال النظافة وتلك أعمال تضر بالسلطات ولا نعاقب بها انفسنا. ..."

ثم يعود مانديلا للتأكيد على نقطة هامة في النضال ضمن مجموعة.. إذ رغم اختلاف أعضاء المؤتمر على العديد من الأفكار إلا أن القرار ما إن اتخذ حتى يلتزم به الجميع.

"... ولكن اقتراحاتي لم تلق تأييدا، وكان متى اتخذ القرار اؤيده تماما."

ثم يخرج مانديلا منتصراً من السجن، وتبدأ مفاوضاته مع الحكومة، وتظهر مشكلة جديدة..

"كانت هناك المشاكل الفلسفية أيضاً، فإنه بالإمكان توحيد الحركة أثناءالحرب مع العدو المشترك، لكن إيجاد سياسة على مائدة المفاوضات أمر مختلف، فإنه كان علينا أن ندمج مجموعات عديدة في المؤتمر وأيضاٌ آراء مختلفة."

مما يذكرني بمرحلة ما بعد الثورة التي تمر بها دول الربيع العربي أو أي دولة تخرج من حالة حراك جماهيري كبير على الأرض ضد عدو مشترك.
وقد توصل مانديلا إلى حل تلك المشكلة جزئياً من خلال مؤتمرات جماهيرية واسعة، لكن لم تكن تلك نهاية المشكلات..
فقد نكثت الحكومة بوعدها في مرحلة ما، وتسببت في مذبحة كبيرة، وقام مانديلا يخطب في الجماهير فلاحظ ما يلي:

"كانت اللافتات التي حملها المتجمهرون تنادي باستعمال السلاح والتخلي عن المحادثات، وتفهمت عواطف الجماهير التي كانت تريد إسقاط الأبارتايد وكانت قد سئمت المفاوضات، وكان العمل الجامهيري في تلك اللحظة طريقاً وسطاً بين المفواضات والكفاح المسلح."

ويقصد بالعمل الجماهيري هنا حركة واسعة من المظاهرات والاضرابات التي نظمها المؤتمر في البلاد.

ومن المثير للاهتمام حقاً ان مانديلا أجرى عدد من الاجتماعات مع مسؤولي الحكومة بشكل سري، ولم يكن ذلك خداعا للجماهير، ولكن لإعطاء الفرصة للحكومة للتفاوض دون ضغوط الرأي العام للبيض الذين كانوا يرفضون التفاوض مع الأفارقة.. فمانديلا كان مفاوضا بارعا، فضل مساعدة الخصم من أجل الوصول إلى تسوية مقبولة من كافة الأطراف على أن يضغط على الحكومة من اجل الدخول في مفاوضات علنية تتوقف بعد قليل تحت ضغط الرأي العام، فتصل البلاد بذلك إلى طريق مسدود..

ومن اللافت للنظر كذلك الطريقة التي تعامل بها المؤتمر مع الجماهير في فترة الانتخابات، التي دخلها المؤتمر لأول مرة كمنظمة شرعية.. إذ نظم المؤتمر مؤتمرات جماهيرية واسعة لتوعية الجماهير "مؤتمرات الشعب"، وصاغ برنامجه بشكل مفصل ليشرح رؤيته، لافتاً النظر إلى أنه لا يريد للمؤتمر أن يكسب تعاطف الجماهير وأصواتهم عبر تذكيرهم بما قدمه لهم في فترة النضال، ولكن عبر طرح رؤيته للمستقبل، فالنضال لا يجب في رأي مانديلا أن يكون الإنجاز الوحيد الذي على اساسه يكسب المؤتمر أصوات الجماهير ويصل إلى البرلمان.

كما يلفت مانديلا الأنظار إلى أمر آخر:

"وشعرت أيضاً أننا يجب أن نخبر الشعب بما لن نستطيع عمله. فقد كان الجميع يشعرون أن الحياة يمكن أن تتغير في أعقاب انتخابات ديمقراطية حرة. ولذلك كنت أخبر الجماهير أنهم يجب ألا يتوقعوا أن يتملكوا سيارة مرسيدس ويكون لديهم حوض سباحتهم الخاص بعد الانتخابات، فكنت أقول لهم انه لن يكون هناك تغيير مفاجئ سوى احترامهم لأنفسهم كمواطنين في أرضهم وأنهم قد ينتظرون خمس سنوات لتؤتي الخطة ثمارها، كما كنت أقول لهم إن عليهم أن يعملوا بجد إن أرادوا حياة أفضل " فلن نفعل ذلك لكم ولكنكم أنتم الذين ستحققونه بأنفسكم"."

وفي الخاتمة المؤثرة التي كتبها مانديلا منهياً بها قصة صراع طويل، يقول:

"لم أفقد الأمل أبداً أن التغيير لابد آت، ليس فقط بسبب هؤلاء الأبطال، لكن بسبب شجاعة النساء والرجال العاديين من شعبي، فلا يوجد أحد يكره شخصاً بسبب لونه او خلفيته أو دينه، فإن الناس لابد أن يتعلموا أن يكرهوا، وإن كانوا قادرين على تعلم الكراهية فلابد وأنهم قادرون على تعلم الحب. ففي أحلك أوقات السجن حينما كنت ورفاقي نساق إلى حافة القدرة على الاحتمال كنت أرى وميضاً من الإنسانية في أحد الحراس، ربما لمدة ثانية، لكن كان ذلك الوميض يطمئنني."

الحق أن قصة كفاح جنوب أفريقيا، ومانديلا تحديدا، من أروع قصص الكفاح، تكاد تكون أسطورية، وأرى فيها الكثير من ملامح الربيع العربي، وإن كان الفارق الأساسي (بخلاف أن ما يجري في العالم العربي ثورات وانتفاضات وليس مجرد صراع من أجل الحقوق المدنية) أن مانديلا لم يفكر في الانتقام من نظام سابق، بل وسعى للتأكيد في كل مناسبة، وفي كل موضع من هذا الكتاب على أنه لا يرغب في طرد البيض من البلاد ولا في الانتقام منهم، بل في أن يكونوا شركاء للأفارقة في الوطن (وربما يعود هذا لمسألة الفرق بين الثورة والكفاح من اجل الحقوق المدنية كما أسلفت)..
ويتجلى الفارق الثاني في أن كفاح جنوب أفريقيا كان منظم من قبل عدد من المنظمات، ولم يكن حركة جماهيرية غير منظمة، مما أعطى الأفارقة القدرة على ترتيب أنفسهم بشكل أفضل، وجعل من الممكن التفكير بشكل عملي وفي حلول المشكلات بشكل أكثر حكمة في المواقف التي تحتاج إلى تعامل دقيق.

الخلاصة: أنصح كل عربي بقراءة هذا الكتاب، فما احوجنا الآن إلى استخلاص العبر من تجارب من سبقونا، لا سيما لو كانت متشابهة في كثير من جوانبها مع ظروفنا.

n  "Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished."n

I'm not one for writing long reviews: I simply lack the patience, and usually end-up writing a concise review before jumping to the next book. However, every now and then, when I do come across something special, I find it inexcusable to move away hastily, before properly conveying my acclamation. 'A Long Walk To Freedom', it turns out, is very, very special. If I used all my highlights, the quotes alone could've made a lengthy review. Without any doubt, this is the best, and most impactful book I've read this year so far.

"Nurture, rather than nature, is the primary molder of personality."

"It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another."

"I wondered—not for the first time—whether one was ever justified in neglecting the welfare of one’s own family in order to fight for the welfare of others. Can there be anything more important than looking after one’s aging mother? Is politics merely a pretext for shirking one’s responsibilities, an excuse for not being able to provide in the way one wanted?"

Nelson Mandela is a person who needs no introduction. Aside from being one of the main political leaders who guided South Africa away from Apartheid, he was a man of morals, of vision, and above all, someone capable of seeing and understanding all human beings as equals. Even with all that making his life story a worthy read, it is reasonable for a reader to be hesitant in selecting between one of the other biographies of him and this autobiography. After all, more often than not, autobiographies tend to be subjective, somewhat distorted by the narrator's personal opinions. Don't let that be the reason why you stay away from this masterpiece. 'A Long Walk To Freedom', in my opinion, is as objective as it could get, without any of the author's personal views altering the reality of the events. And that is saying a lot, considering he spent almost three decades in prison, while his family was facing a continuous struggle, under a government that depended on racial discrimination.

"A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness."

"I was seven years old, and on the day before I was to begin, my father took me aside and told me that I must be dressed properly for school. Until that time, I, like all the other boys in Qunu, had worn only a blanket, which was wrapped around one shoulder and pinned at the waist. My father took a pair of his trousers and cut them at the knee. He told me to put them on, which I did, and they were roughly the correct length, although the waist was far too large. My father then took a piece of string and cinched the trousers at the waist. I must have been a comical sight, but I have never owned a suit I was prouder to wear than my father’s cut-off pants."

Journey starts with Mandela's family background, and early childhood memories. These early parts are relatively uneventful but provides a good understanding of the average African's aspects of life. Then we move on to his education, where he dives deeper to explain the education system at that time, and the limited facilities available to a student. Despite encountering numerous difficulties, he does not dawdle around those limitations, as, at the time, he had assumed those to be the accepted conditions of life for an African child. His political life only starts when he moves to Johannesburg, where he starts working while pursuing his higher education.

"I have always thought a man should own a house near the place he was born, where he might find a restfulness that eludes him elsewhere."

"In love, unlike politics, caution is not usually a virtue."

"After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one’s person."

The next few parts sets the overall direction of his life, where he joins politics, meets like-minded individuals, and becomes more and more active in the political arena. Usually, I prefer to stay away from books on politics, but the this book managed to keep me immersed even across completely political chapters. The logical, yet empathetic narrative kept me engaged, and I did not feel like skipping a single part. Again, I think this is due to the undistorted representation of events. Had the writing been influenced by any anger, it would have felt like a long criticism. The objective nature of the narrative completely shifts the book away from being a rant, to what feels like a great analysis. But what came after these political movement chapters were the most interesting one's for me, which were about his prison life. In these parts, the focus rapidly moves away from the external factors, and to the development of internal character of Mandela, where he spends most of his time contemplating a methodology for reaching a long-lasting peace.

"At pollsmoor I first understood the truth of Oscar Wilde's haunting line about the tent of blue that prisoners call the sky."

"To a narrow-thinking person, it is hard to explain that to be 'educated' does not only mean being literate and having a B.A., and that an illiterate man can be a far more 'educated' voter than someone with an advanced degree."

"While Mr. Sidelsky imparted his views of the law, he warned me against politics. Politics, he said, brings out the worst in men. It was the source of trouble and corruption, and should be avoided at all costs."

I believe, Mandela's character will teach most readers about humility and humbleness on a level that is only paralleled by characters like Lincoln, Gandhi, and MLK Jr. Though his part in uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) does deviate significantly from aforementioned characters, the underlying system of belief is more or less identical. Even after all he had gone through, Mandela's not being overly critical towards the opposition is commendable. He always addresses the issues of the system, not the individuals who are forced to act.

"The hurly-burly of city life has a way of erasing the past."

"There is little favorable to be said about poverty, but it was often an incubator of true friendship. Many people will appear to befriend you when you are wealthy, but precious few will do the same when you are poor. If wealth is a magnet, poverty is a kind of repellent. Yet, poverty often brings out the true generosity in others."

I believe this book should be read by every person, no matter where your interests lie. But the catch is, you'll have to be patient with this, and ready to invest the time it requires to make it to the end. Even if you find the middle parts too political, or too slow, don't give up. Unlike with fiction, don't be in a hurry to get to the end. It gets better, and better, and better, all the way to the end. You'll be glad you've done so, for, it is the journey not the destination that matters with this one, literally. The phenomenal reading experience, and the life experiences the book offers are well worth the long time it warrants.

"A mother’s death causes a man to look back on and evaluate his own life. Her difficulties, her poverty, made me question once again whether I had taken the right path. That was always the conundrum: Had I made the right choice in putting the people’s welfare even before that of my own family?"

"To humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate."

"The passing of the regent removed from the scene an enlightened and tolerant man who achieved the goal that marks the reign of all great leaders: he kept his people united. Liberals and conservatives, traditionalists and reformers, white-collar officials and blue-collar miners, all remained loyal to him, not because they always agreed with him, but because the regent listened to and respected all different opinions."

After a really, really long walk (took me 30+ hours to finish this), I'm glad to say, this book checked all the boxes for me, not just a few, all the way from writing style to the contents. I was never a fervent follower of politics, or social movements, but, once I started re-living the author's experiences with this book, I kept going for hours each time. I'm still surprised how I made it to the end without skipping a single sentence. A Long Walk to freedom has indeed been a long journey, but it has easily made it to my all-time-favorites, and all-must-read shelves. Irrespective of one's reading choices, this is a book one must read in his life time, and I urge every single one of your to add this to your reading list.

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."

n  "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."n

n  The air of one's home always smells sweet after one has been away.n

I didn't end up going to South Africa like I wanted - their stupid Visa system is just... anyway! This ended up being a good read regardless, but a very very long one and although I understand how that was necessary given this man's complex political life, it was still a true hustle for me to finish, even in audio format. I do not recommend it unless you're into politics at least a little bit, because the lingo can be challenging and you might need to stop and read on a few things before proceeding to understand what he did.
His diligence, grit, dedication, persistence... given his circumstances, are and will always be an inspiration. His humility coupled with all that truly inspiring. I really get upset with how South Africa is in the modern day towards the whites, which I personally believe is not in alignment with his dreams.

What a guy! What a book. Really impressed with the book and my appreciation and understanding of Nelson Mandela and his relevance to the end of Apartheid is greatly enlarged. I virtually knew nothing about Nelson Mandela prior to this book so it was at least a great perspective. What I have come to learn though is how much of a controversial figure he was to an extent. I'm not taking away anything from his greatness or his morality either as I now consider him one of the greatest people in the 20th century without a doubt. There certainly are parts of his story that were left out and just the fact that this book is an AUTObiography, written during a particularly politically charged time, prior to his office, makes me realize that this book is somewhat framed in a way that would positive. I feel some guilt even trying to play devil advocate for a man that achieved monumental changes for the world. Nonetheless I would deeply like to read more about Nelson and that turbulent time in South African history. I would also really like to read about his actual term in office which the book did not cover.
In regards to the writing of this book, Nelson was a extremely good story teller. I think it's a cultural thing that African people often have from passing down stories to their family. He is an excellent speaker, obviously and recollects vivid details of his past. Besides him being very private about many of his personal life, never saying anything disrespectful or crass, he was though refreshingly honest about his shortcomings as a person and his mistakes in his life. That stems from him being a deeply humble and introspective man. I was in awe of a man off that magnitude to reveal deep regrets and shortcomings of himself throughout the book as a man, a father, a husband and a citizen.
The book had many little insights into the varied African cultures, from an African perspective as opposed to the amazed or annoyed tourist. This was my biggest takeaway especially during the chapters of him travelling around Africa. A standout scene of his African upbringing is the ritual of circumcision as a right of passage for boys. Like in other books about Africa that I've read, there is a huge sense of pride that Africans from all around the country have for their people and their land. Mandela might even go a step further and not just for his tribe or his country (or political party) but rather his race and the continent as a whole to an extent. In his later life Mandela would then practically fight for the rights of all people really in any aspect. He kind of embodied the very act of fighting for people's rights and freedoms. A massive takeaway in hindsight that even the editor mentioned at the end of the book was how Mandela and this book can serve as an example of how people's image can drastically change over time regardless whether their morals have changed or not.
Mandela's nickname is Madiba which many people called him for his entire life. He received his English name Nelson when he was at school from a teacher. His school life showed the massive gap between the countryside African boy and western education and his struggle to close that gap.
A word that Mandela brought up several times was one that I had heard from a South African friend of mine many years ago. This was a racial slur with a K and ending on ir which didn't seem to have any crass sexual meaning but rather a racial connotation that is even illegal to say nowadays in south Africa. During Nelson's time, the white folks would drop the slur with no second thought.
Because he lived so long in such a poor country, Mandela witnessed the deaths of many of his family members which was terribly sad. The death of one of his eldest son, while he was in prison was by far the safest scene of the book and almost brought me to tears as his friend would silently comfort his friend by sitting by his side and holding his hand. Grown men comforting each other in truly dark times is something that is very moving to me.
I knew very little about Mandela's political career or what he even did before prison. Mandela was a lawyer which he used his knowledge of the law to survive the countless encounters with the law. Without that knowledge, he would have been lost. Although his main political party that he was affiliated with was the ANC (African national congress). He was mostly socialist and nationalist but he did have some very hairy ties with the communist party. Like many things in his lifetime, it's not like there was a wide variety of options or choice. In desperate times, you get help from where you can and do what you have to. Doing what you have to do with no other choice is the easy way to explain his actions when he was in hiding from the government. But I don't think it's actually far from the truth. When the system itself is not fair, there is little to no way that you could possibly get a fair result within the rules. In order for one to do a revolution, break the rules and make grand changes and that's what must have happened. I found it very fascinating that Nelson Mandela openly differed from Gandhi, who was still alive at the time, and his peaceful methods to change his country.
The book was not a biography of Apartheid so I'm not sure I got a good grasp on what it was. There were a lot of important political figures mentioned in the book in regards to it's policies but from the perspective of this book at least it is already existing racial ideas that are put into law. A manifestation of the divisiveness and oppression of black people. In hindsight, viewing it from the 21st century, it seems absolutely barbaric and one can deeply empathise with the desperate actions and fight that Mandela lead.
I personally was surprised and interested with the hindsights of Mandela's personal life which he doesn't really talk about in regards to relationships but more in regards to his hobbies and lifestyle. He is a reserved and patient man (emphasised in the chapter he talks about playing chess in prison) and also a man that took care of his health throughout his life, always being involved in some sort of sports, especially boxing.
The vast majority of the book was abou this life in prison and this book was written shortly after he finally was released from prison which had almost up to then been half of his life. And he was no spring chicken when he went nor when he came out in 1990. After 27 of prison, Mandela was 72 when leaving prison. He narrowly escaped the death penalty while in court to defend himself but then was sent to Robin Island, an island with a prison on it in South Africa. Luckily for him, something that surly changed his life tremendously for the better was that he was locked in with his comrades that were part of the movement. I think his story would have been vastly different if Mandela was hidden away alone. He certainly had an extremely difficult life in prison facing so much injustice and racism as all the wardens were white and all the prisoners were black. Literally, all of them. He does not talk about torture but something that made his time in prison even harder is that Mandela does not bend to pressure or break his moral values. He is a man of principle and that's ultimately what made him so successful in his achievements but also what made life hard. I honestly can't say that his life overall was a good one because of this. A sad truth about how morality and good is often punished in unfair environments.
Off the top of my head, one of the most difficult parts about a long time in prison, besides the daily labour, was not being able to communicate and be with your family. This is something you will never get back. All his conversations with his wife and family were extremely limited, short and incredibly censored as many topics would be straight up prohibited. This made the conversations constantly interrupted by guards. What a nightmare. Not to mention the pain of not being able to touch your loved ones either. No wonder his marriage fell apart ultimately after prison as well. It's simply devastating the damage to relationships. Mandela also mentions something that I've seen Solzhenitsyn say before too, in regards to the twist of time. How the day seems to go by so slowly and yet years seem to pass by too quickly. In a place with no clocks or calendars, time starts to become a blur. Prison also had some completely unusual and unreasonable rules like no whistling allowed. In these extreme conditions of limited interaction with the world, something that I assume really helped to stimulate his mental health was the debates that he would have with his friends. They would enjoy to debate all sorts of religious, philosophical and political topics for fun. One topic that stands out was whether tigers ever existed in Africa.
It's quite amazing to see that Mandela had the ability to see the humanity in his wardens while in prison. There was a story about a particularly cruel warden that as he was leaving, had wished Mandela good luck. AT first it had thrown him off but he would later use it as an example of how evil is just a consequence for a system that rewards bad behaviour. Even when he left prison after decades, he someone incomprehensibly managed to compose himself in a way that wasn't enveloped in hatred for those who did him wrong.
After decades of keeping a staunch political position, somewhat maintaining a public presence and also becoming sort of the figurehead or symbol of the political movement, the South African government was forced to negotiate with him as international pressures were building. Particularly from the African countries surrounding South Africa. The negotiations took much longer than one would imagine as Mandela could not except freedom and negotiate with the government to abandon his party or even imply that he had turned his back on them as the public perception of it would be extremely sensitive with the violence that was increasing. It would continue to increase even after he left and a civil war almost broke out. Mandela would then travel the world, and for the first time in America to drum up international support to his cause as even western leaders were sympathetic to his cause but not sufficient to stop any sanctions on the current South African government. Two stand out political figures that showed great hospitality and even an ongoing friendship were Margaret Thatcher and President George H Bush. Bush in particular he had admiration while still being ABLE to disagree on most political matters. A completely foreign concept in this decade at least. Finally after 45 years of violence on the streets between the two sides, there was an election in which the ANC finally won and he became president. This is was when Nelson Mandela became president in 1994. The book ends here and it unfortunately doesn't cover Mandela's even bigger achievement and demonstration of his character which is that he finished his term in office after 4 years and then DID NOT continue as the leader of the country. This might seem disappointing in some aspects and completely normal in other aspects too but it's actually spectacular as it was completely out of the ordinary to have a powerful African leader leave office during election. I think it might even be the first time ever. Something that none of the surrounding African leaders like Robert Mugabe could do. This to me is the ultimate demonstration of character and what he stood for.

Цього січня Мішель Обама своїм «Становленням» нагадала мені, що я майже два роки тому так і не продовжила читати автобіографію Нельсона Мандели. В мене тоді була оформлена підписка на букмейті, встигла прочитати десь третину, а коли підписку не поновила - до книги теж не повернулась.
⠀
І от одного зимового дня я верталась від клієнта додому через центр, на телефоні сідала батарея і перспектива тролейбусної поїздки без чтива мене не привабила. Тому заскочила в «Книгарню Є» на Свободи з думкою, що заслужила нову книжкову покупку. А походжаючи у відділенні з біографіями зрозуміла, що біографію якусь так точно можу собі дозволити, бо, здається, вдома з цього жанру нечитаного немає (хех, ніколи я ще так не помилялась

الكتاب الاهم في حياتي منذ فترة لارتباطات عدة كونها تمثل السيرة الذاتية الاكثر صدقا علي الاطلاق من وجهة نظري في كل السير الذاتية التي قرأتها - و ايضا لانها من الاعمدة الرئيسية التي اعتمد عليها في كتابة رسالة الماجستير الخاصة بي وهي في المؤتمر الوطني الافريقي و دوره في مقاومة السياسة العنصرية للبيض في جنوب افريقيا من عام 1948 الي عام 1976 .
بداية كي تتضح لكم اهمية الكتاب هناك عدة مسلمات علي ان اذكرها لاوضح لكم اهمية الكتاب كوثيقة تاريخية للعالم بأسره .
كان في جنوب افريقيا في نهاية القرن التاسع عشر عدد من القوي الاستعمارية منهم البرتغاليين و الهولنديين و الالمان و الانجليز حدث صراع في نهاية هذا القرن بين الانجليز و الهولدنيين في حروب البوير ثم حدثت هجرة كبري لمن خسروت من الالمان و البوير الهولنديين .
كل ذلك تم بين البيض انفسهم - اضف علي ذلك وجود اضطهاد لكل الاجناس الاخري التي تسكن جنوب افريقيا منهم السود و الملونيين و الهنود - ضم تاريخ جنوب افريقيا اكبر قدر ممكن من الصراع ضد العنصريات في اي مكان اخر فقد ناضل فيها غاندي قبل ذهابه الي الهند و ناضل فيها مانديلا و مبيكي و القس توتو و العديد من قادة حزب المؤتمر الوطني الافريقي و الحزب الشيوعي الافريقي و المؤتمر الهندي و حزب انكاثا .
قام اتحاد جنوب افريقيا عام 1910 بين البيض و بعضهم البعض و سارا معا يشرعان اكبر حملة قوانين تضطهد اجناس غير بيضاء .
في عام 1912 تكون المؤتمر الوطني الافريقي و لكن ليس بهذا الاسم و شق طريقه يناضل ضد العنصرية و الابارتيد و البانتوستانات - فالعنصرية قوانينها واضحة اما الابارتيد فهو النظام المشرع ضد الاجناس كلها من غير البيض اما البانتوستانات فهي اوطان محلية للسود عاش عليها اكثر من 87 % من السكان وهم سود و هنود وملونيين وكانت مساحتها 13 % فقط من مساحة جنوب افريقيا .

استمرت الامور وهنا نعود الي الكتاب ونتحدث عن بعض التعليقات علي الترجمة في البداية : المترجمة فاطمة نصر قديرة في اللغة الانجليزية و متمكنة الا ان الكتاب حقيقية لم يراجع بالقدر الكافي الذي يساوي اهميته هذا اضافة الي طباعته الرديئة من دار الهلال وكونها الطبعة العربية المصريةاالوحيدة لمدة تقترب من 15 عام الي ان طبعته مرة اخري مكتبة الاسرة ولكنني لم اتحصل عليها حتى الان - نشرت الكتاب ايضا دار العبيكان فيي السعودية دون اي اشارة الي اسم المترجم .
الكتاب مليء بالاخطاء الاملائية و النحوية و اخطاء الطباعة اضافة الي عدم المام المترجمة بالكثير من احداث جنوب افريقيا الامر الذي افضي الي نوع من الضعف اعتري الكتاب و بنيته .
الا ان الاسلوب فعلا ممتع .
تبدأ المترجمة بمقدمة للكتاب صدرتها بعنوان سيرة ذاتية ام وثقية سياسية كنت ارغي في ان يقدم للكتاب احد الاجلاء في تاريخ جنوب افريقيا لاعطاء الكتاب وزنا و شهرة و ايضا لقراءة المخطوطو قبل الدفع بها الي المطابع بكل هذه الاخطاء الغريبة .
نعود للكتاب و يتحدث مانديلا في الجزء الاول عن طفولته لللريف و عن اختيار اسم له عند التحاقه بالمدرسة و عن اسمه قبلها وه ماديبا اي العظيم الشأ،ن و قد كان ابن ملك رحلت عنه ثروته .
وفي الجزء الثاين يتحدث عن ذهابه الي جوهانسبرج وعن رعاية احد اقرباءه له و يحدثنا عن مشاعره المتناقضة بخصوص البيض فتارة يري فيهم المصحلون العظماء و السادة المتخمين بالعبقرية و النبوغ و تارة تتكشف لهم حقائقهم فيعرف ان لا هم لهم الا مصالحهم و ليحترق كل السود و الاخرون .
ثم في الجزء الثالث ثتناول طريقه الذي بدأه نحو الحرية و كيفية اتامه لتعليمه ثم يحدثنا هن هروبه هو و ابن من رعاه ثم انضمامه لربطة الشباب في حزب المؤتمر عام 1943 و كيف غيروا سياسات الحزب من السلمية الي بدء التفكير في الصراع المسلح ضد البيض و ضد نظام الابارتيد و في احداث مشوقة يصل بنا الي عام 1948 وهو العام الذي سيطر فيه الحزب الابيض القومي الذي سن كل القوانين الممكنة ليحيل حياة كلا من السود و الملونيين و الهنود الي جحيم .
ثم ينتقل الي جزء رابع محدثنا عن اضطهاد الشرطة له في عمله و زواجه من فتاة اولي و انجابه ثم طلاقه
ثم ينتقل الي جزء خامس يحدثنا عن حظر الحزب و بدء التضييق علي رجال الحزب و الصراعات ضد البيض ثم ينتقل الي حظر الحزب عام 1960 محدثنا عن تخطيطه للهروب مرة بعد مرة ذاكرا تفاصيل غاية ف الامتاع و التشويق ثم يحدثنا عن خطة مانديلا و عن تأسيسه لحركة الرمح الاسود وهي الجناح الفعال الحربي للمؤتمر ثم القبض عليه و محاكماته العديدة و السحن عليه مدي الحياة و ينتقل في جزء اخر الي معاناته داخل جزيرة روبن السوداء و الجحيم هناك
ثم ينتقل لجزء جديد و نقله الي جزيرة روبي و بداية الامل في التفاوض
يحدثنا عن التحادث مع العدو و الاشكاليات المملة الطويلة حتى الافراج عنه و اجراء انتخابات برلمانية بناء على صوت واحد فرد واحد
وحصوله علي جائزة نوبل مع دي كلارك ثم نجاحه في ان يكون اول رئيس لجمهورية جنوب افريقيا بعد القضاء على النظام العنصري .

هناك ريفيو ادق قريبا
محمد عطية
مارس 2013

The autobiography of Nelson Mandela: Long walk to freedom. What an extraordinary, inspirational man he was. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison and was kept there for 27.
As a leader,one must sometimes take actions that are unpopular or whose results will not be known for years to come. There are victories whose glory lies only in the fact that they are known to those who win them. This is particularly true of prison, where one must find consolation in being true to ones ideals, even if no one else knows it.
This is a long book but worth reading.
No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
there are way too many beautiful quotes in this book. I highly recommend reading it.

I tried reading this book SO many times right after it was published - but found myself so upset and saddened, that I realised I was simply not emotionally ready to deal with the contents. So - it sat on my shelf for nearly 10 years, before I felt ready and healed enough to pick the book up again.

It was, for me, a riveting read. I sobbed my way through a great many of the sections, I learned so much about the history of my country and the genesis of the African National Congress and its original noble and lofty ideals.

The wisdom, strength, fortitude and humanity of Nelson Mandela - our Madiba - radiated from every page. I felt very enriched after closing the last page of the book. I also felt an immense sense of bereftment, anger [ because of the realisation about just how MUCH had in fact been censored and kept away from me, whilst growing up, by the Apartheid government] and also sadness. It took me months to process all of the information, but it certainly provided me with another layer of knowledge and perspective so as to better understand the psyche of the people of our Rainbow Nation. A must-read.

Recently, I was teaching a class where the students read an essay about the reconciliation meetings that were done in South Africa.
tAnd my students did not know, or claimed not know, who Mandela was.
tSad, but true.
tAs time goes on, we forgot. We are a nation that has been, and in many ways still is, affected by 9-11, but the average college freshman who is currently 18 was 5 then. There are people whose understanding of apartheid, if they have one, is one of distance and this happened last generation.
ttIt’s the nature of time, but we do fight against it. We read the words of those who lived it.
tThis is why Mandela’s book should be read. Because we should know, beyond doubt that we should know.
tBecause Mandela’s book is honesty. He doesn’t really excuse, but explains the radical steps that he had to take. He re-considers them and shows why such steps were considered. He doesn’t hide what he was – either in the past or when he was writing the book. Understanding his power, knowledge is power. And that type of power changes the world.
tThat is why we, as the human race, should remember not to forget.