kuniga.me > Books > Long Walk to Freedom

Long Walk to Freedom

Audiobook. This is an auto-biography recounting Mandela’s life including his childhood in the Transkei (today’s Eastern Cape), his days as lawyer in Johannesburg, his anti-Apartheid activism, membership in the ANC (African National Congress) and eventual imprisionment at Robben Island in Cape Town.

Overall interesting insights into the life of a private citizen of a culture I knew nothing about, and during Apartheid. However, I found it contained too much personal details and he’s often enumerating names of his political sphere, which I found tedious.

I was expecting to get more insights into the Apartheid, in particular why it ended and how much individual contribution leaders like Mandela and de Klerk had, but I don’t feel like I got this from this book. I’d like to read a more focused and neutral book on it.

The one thing I didn’t know is that Mandela was willing to use violence to fight against the government, and was involved in large acts of infrastructure sabotage through an arm of the ANC called uMkhonto weSizwe.

I bought this audiobook to listen during the long roadtrip across Southern Africa.

Rating: 4/5.