I started reading this because some one Facebook was posting
a statement that Gandhi would have supported gun ownership rights in the US after the
latest school shooting. I found this so outrageous that I got into a debate
where the guy was posting quotes from his autobiography that meant that I
couldn't adequately respond without first having read the book. I'm not sure I
found the relevant quote but I'm very glad I read the book. I'm sorry to say
that until I read this the only knowledge I had of Gandhi was from Richard
Attenborough's 1982 bio pic. This was a great film but it leaves so much out.
I had no idea how much time he had spent in both England and South Africa. The film started in South Africa but gives you the impression that
this was a brief visit, however the book makes it clear that his last time in South Africa
was for something like ten years. Before that he's been to South Africa on a number of occasions fighting
for racial equality and he spent three years in London studying for his law degree.
campaigner
There is a lot in here about his development of ideas such
as non violence and passive resistance as well as his thoughts on vegetarianism
and health issues. You get a really good idea of him as a political campaigner
both as a lawyer and running newspapers. There is also a lot about his efforts
to set up various communes and communities.
The only weakness of the book is that it's quite hard to
follow the names of people and places as well as the non English terms. Someone
has made an attempt to add clarification the text but it's simply not possible
with every non English term. It is possible to look them us as you go (most of
them have useful pages on Wikipedia that explain them) but after a while it's a
bit difficult to keep track of.
insight
Having said that it's still a good read and very
enlightening, giving a real insight into the man and his values. The book only
goes up to the mid twenties and so doesn't cover the last twenty years of his
life but I'd recommend it all the same.
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