Sally in St. Louis: Nelson Mandela's "Long Walk to Freedom"

      As many of you know, I am an avid reader and enjoy basically all types of literature. This summer after spending 6 weeks in South Africa I became very intrigued by Nelson Mandela and the role he played in ending apartheid. I also fell in love with South African's, their culture, and how loving they are toward outsiders and one another. I was truly amazed by their lack of bitterness from apartheid wounds. So because of all of these interests I bought Nelson Mandela's biography, Long Walk to Freedom in the airport for the 16 hour flight home. At 751 pages, I had plenty to read on the long flight home and for the remainder of the summer for that matter! With our move and starting a new job this book definitely took me longer than planned but I finally finished and decided to use it for my first book review!
     On the whole, I really enjoyed the book and am even more intrigued by Mandela and how a boy from the country became a leader in bringing the country out of apartheid and initiating the beginnings of social justice. Just the fact that he spent a third of his life in prison and yet emerged free of any bitterness or resentment is inspiring. While in Cape Town we got to visit Robben Island where Mandela was imprisoned for 18 or his 27 years. It was crazy to see the confined spaces where the prisoners lived and where they worked in the limestone quarry. One thing we learned on our tour of Robben Island is that the prisoners educated one another during their time. They would teach one another whatever subject they knew best. What a wise way to spend time in prison?!
        One thing that is unfortunate is that because Mandela gave his life fighting for freedom for his fellow-countrymen his family definitely got the shaft. He totally owns this in the book and says it is his one regret. After being in South Africa and seeing the AIDS issue first-hand, I think that this is another area where he could have had some great leadership in exposing the issue and requiring proper education on it.
         I think ultimately I enjoyed this book because I went to South Africa and was able to understand, or at least had heard of, many of the things and places her referenced. Unless you are a major history buff or have a love for South Africa too, I probably wouldn't say read it ASAP!! You can just watch Invictus and go to wikepedia for the cliftnotes! I will end with a quote from the book... "But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a glimpse of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my walk is not yet ended" (Mandela, 751).