25. Long Walk to Freedom

This book was a long, long walk. It had a lot of pages, for starters, but also it was extremely detailed. Who knew that Mandela was so verbose?  There was so much to love about this book and, ultimately, I am going to recommend it, but there were some places I really felt like some significant editing would not have hurt and could have improved the experience of reading it substantially.  
But, really, I feel like a jerk even suggestion that after everything Mandela endured that maybe he shouldn't ramble on quite so much...

A couple of thoughts that pertain to reading this at this particular moment in time.

1. Relating to Shelter At Home.  Being on pretty strict quarantine is not the same as being in prison. It is not even remotely the same and I am definitely not even going to think that comparison after reading this book.

2. Relating to Politics and Handing Things Over to the Next Generation. Mandela served one term to help transition the country out of apartheid and then he stepped down.  He was acutely aware that while he was radical when he was young and was an icon for the anti-apartheid movement, making him uniquely qualified to bring the country together in a time where unity seemed impossible, he nevertheless stepped aside with the express intention of letting younger leaders step up.  This is the mark of a true leader, in my opinion, because leading isn't supposed to be forever, it is supposed to be until the next person is ready to take over that role. Success is passing the torch and watching as others thrive. I think this relates to how I feel about the current election cycle.

Thanks for the recommendation, Wendy. I would definitely not have invested the time to read this one if it hadn't been part of the list this year. Despite lulls at times, it was worth the read.

Recommend.

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