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Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India
A highly original, stirring book on Mahatma Gandhi that deepens our sense of his achievements and disappointments—his success in seizing India’s imagination and shaping its independence struggle as a mass movement, his recognition late in life that few of his followers paid more than lip service to his ambitious goals of social justice for the country’s minorities, outcasts, and rural poor.“A revelation. . . . Lelyveld has restored human depth to the Mahatma.”—Hari Kunzru, The New York TimesPulitzer Prize–winner Joseph Lelyveld shows in vivid, unmatched detail how Gandhi’s sense of mission, social values, and philosophy of nonviolent resistance were shaped on another subcontinent—during two decades in South Africa—and then tested by an India that quickly learned to revere him as a Mahatma, or “Great Soul,” while following him only a small part of the way to the social transformation he envisioned. The man himself emerges as one of history’s most remarkable self-creations, a prosperous lawyer who became an ascetic in a loincloth wholly dedicated to political and social action. Lelyveld leads us step-by-step through the heroic—and tragic—last months of this selfless leader’s long campaign when his nonviolent efforts culminated in the partition of India, the creation of Pakistan, and a bloodbath of ethnic cleansing that ended only with his own assassination. India and its politicians were ready to place Gandhi on a pedestal as “Father of the Nation” but were less inclined to embrace his teachings. Muslim support, crucial in his rise to leadership, soon waned, and the oppressed untouchables—for whom Gandhi spoke to Hindus as a whole—produced their own leaders. Here is a vital, brilliant reconsideration of Gandhi’s extraordinary struggles on two continents, of his fierce but, finally, unfulfilled hopes, and of his ever-evolving legacy, which more than six decades after his death still ensures his place as India’s social conscience—and not just India’s.
449 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 29, 2011
128 people are currently reading
2715 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Lelyveld
12 books22 followersJoseph Lelyveld was executive editor of The New York Times from 1994 to 2001, and interim executive editor in 2003 after the resignation of Howell Raines. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, and a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
March 11, 2012
This book deserves a 5-star rating because of its content. I'm giving it 4 stars simply because it was not a compelling read. It's the kind of book I'm very glad to have read, though.
A friend who read the same book was irritated that Gandhi's faults were portrayed. Perhaps she thought the author set out to discredit Gandhi. Now that I have read the entire book and know more about Gandhi, I remain impressed with him. Yes, he managed his own public relations very well. Yes, he was more than quirky when it came to diet and control of biologic urges. Yes, he contradicted himself over and over and over again. Yes, he was a poor negotiator. However. He grew over time. He maintained a clear sense that caste was harmful. He held tight to his view that the spiritual and the political were absolutely linked. He held both the Hindus and the Muslims to better behavior. He must have had opportunities to "sell out," to become corrupt, but he never did. All these things make him the rare person.
I learned more about the history of India, about other political figures who were also working for the Dalits and for Indian independence. I also learned that Gandhi, because of his emphasis on village self-sufficiency, was instrumental in promoting sustainable agriculture in India.
A friend who read the same book was irritated that Gandhi's faults were portrayed. Perhaps she thought the author set out to discredit Gandhi. Now that I have read the entire book and know more about Gandhi, I remain impressed with him. Yes, he managed his own public relations very well. Yes, he was more than quirky when it came to diet and control of biologic urges. Yes, he contradicted himself over and over and over again. Yes, he was a poor negotiator. However. He grew over time. He maintained a clear sense that caste was harmful. He held tight to his view that the spiritual and the political were absolutely linked. He held both the Hindus and the Muslims to better behavior. He must have had opportunities to "sell out," to become corrupt, but he never did. All these things make him the rare person.
I learned more about the history of India, about other political figures who were also working for the Dalits and for Indian independence. I also learned that Gandhi, because of his emphasis on village self-sufficiency, was instrumental in promoting sustainable agriculture in India.
May 11, 2021
This is a book on Gandhi, but this is not just another book on the father of the nation. All other books treat the political narrative as an inalienable part of Gandhi’s personal life. Have you ever come across a book on Gandhi which does not mention the Simon Commission or the Cabinet Mission? That’s how this volume becomes special in biographical narrative. It aims to amplify his life’s account by dwelling on incidents and themes that have often been underplayed. It takes a fresh look to understand and gets fascinated by the long arc of his strenuous life. Through this effort, Gandhi is expressed in vivid colours with all the frailties of a human being rather than the demigod which most historians portray him as. Gandhi bhakts may get stung at first by the mild whiff of criticism they are not accustomed with, but this is a good read for them. Joseph Lelyveld is a Pulitzer prize-winning American journalist and author. This book is banned in Gujarat on account of a reference to Gandhi’s sexual preferences.
Lelyveld follows a nuanced approach to analyse Gandhi’s life in South Africa and comes to the conclusion that the leadership skills and strategy that he would develop later in India to perfection was honed there. When he arrived there in 1893 as a British-trained attorney, he aligned himself only with the well-to-do Indians. His initial protest movements against the local government were against racial laws that discomfited the entire Indian community. Majority of the Indians in South Africa were ‘indentured labourers’ who exclusively worked for a master – which could also be an enterprise or industry – and was in a state very near to slavery. In fact, this system was adopted by the whites to find a suitable workforce when slavery was made illegal. Gandhi kept them at arm’s length, refusing to associate with them. So, his movements lacked mass appeal. Slowly, he became aware that such storms in a teacup were not going to force the hand of the racist government. It was only in 1913, just a year before his permanent return to India that he identified the labourers as brothers and organized a mass satyagraha in protest against a racial law that fined labourers who continued to stay in South Africa after the lapse of their work contract. Also, the government revoked recognition to marriages conducted according to Hindu or Muslim rites. The labourers lined up behind Gandhi with great zeal. Coal mines, plantations, sanitation and all aspects of Natal’s economy ground to a halt. Even though many were killed and hundreds imprisoned or deported, the government had to concede both demands. The aristocrats among Indians opposed Gandhi for roping in the lowly labourers and expelled him from the Natal Indian Congress which was founded by Gandhi himself. However, the immense success of the strike convinced him of the way forward in India. Another curious fact noted in this book is Gandhi’s total disregard for native blacks. He often calls them by the local derogatory epithet of kaffirs. In the several thousands of pages Gandhi wrote in or about South Africa, the names of only three black natives are mentioned. Of these three, he had met only one – John Dube, a Zulu aristocrat. With this background, it is a little surprising that the native regime which came to power after apartheid recognized Gandhi as one of the architects of modern South Africa.
Hindu-Muslim unity, struggle against untouchability and village industries were the three pillars of the Hind Swaraj Gandhi dreamed of. Lelyveld gives a truly revealing account of his crusade against untouchability in particular. There is no doubt that Gandhi meant each word he uttered against this heinous practice found only in India. He practiced what he preached by freely interacting with untouchables and sharing in their burden to clean up society’s waste. Still, he always stopped short of going the whole hog. His double standard in the case of Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924 is especially jarring. The Shiva temple at Vaikom in Kerala, like the numerous temples in the state, had barred its doors to the lower castes. Not only that, use of the thoroughfare around the temple was denied to them. Blocking this crucial pathway in the centre of the town had put the untouchables to immense hardships. They rose up in protest and demanded that the roads be opened to all. Even though temple entry itself was not on the table, the Brahmins who administered the shrine refused to budge. Surprisingly, Gandhi demurred to intervene and even denied them permission to use satyagraha methods which had borne fruit elsewhere. The book devotes a considerable portion to describe the love-hate relationship between Gandhi and Ambedkar. Gandhi respected Ambedkar, but granted him no space to maneuver. His logic of attributing divine agency in human affairs infuriated Ambedkar. Gandhi’s constant effort to arrive at a solution acceptable to all parties on the untouchability issue irked and frequently tested the patience of Dalit leaders.
Gandhi is credited with the achievement of ensuring mass participation in the freedom struggle by replacing the debates and petitions of elite legal luminaries towards the British. There is only one way in which the masses can be mobilized in India – religion. The same thing applies now and did a century ago too. Lelyveld gives examples to prove that Gandhi was not averse to exploit religion in his work in South Africa. In the 1913 Indentured Labourers’ strike, the protestors chanted slogans such as ‘Victory to Ramchandra’ (Jai Shriram?), ‘Victory to Dwarkanath’ and ‘Vande Mataram’. Gandhi then wrote in newspaper articles that they were taking part in a religious war. Gandhi’s plan to opt for mass participation alienated Muslim professionals because of his inclination to pamper the highly religious among them. Also, in a legislative system where the representation would be a reflection of the numerical superiority of Hindus, they rightly apprehended trouble ahead. His advocacy of the cause of Khilafat is the foremost among them. This was an issue that took place in distant Turkey and had no direct political concerns in India. But the Indian Muslims, who thought they were part of a global Muslim brotherhood transcending national frontiers, considered the Ottoman sultans as their caliph. Gandhi supported this thoroughly divisive demand and for a short time it seemed that Hindu-Muslim unity had been achieved at the grass roots level. Swami Shraddhanand, the Arya Samaj leader, was allowed to address the faithful in Delhi’s renowned Jama Masjid. But it faded as quickly as its meteoric rise. Gross violence in the protests persuaded Gandhi to quietly backpedal on the issue. This drove the Muslims into a frenzy that resulted in nationwide communal clashes. On Gandhi’s attempt to communal amity in Noakhali after a pogrom on its Hindu minority, the author finds that ‘an impartial accounting of Gandhi’s four months in Noakhali would show no political or social gains’. The rupture he hoped to forestall had occurred. By June 1948, one million Hindu refugees fled to India and by 1970 that number had swelled to five million.
The book’s subtitle ‘Gandhi’s struggles with India’ amply justifies and provide a clear hint of the special perspective Lelyveld assumes throughout in the book. Usual versions of Gandhi’s life typically drip with reverence to him who can never be wrong and morally invincible. This book sheds the sheen around the semi-mythic personality projected on to the national mindscape. Here we see an individual who is rock solid on his convictions, but usually unable to produce the results he wanted. He strove for unity among Hindus and Muslims, but finally harvested a bitter communal violence that shocked the world. He declared a crusade against untouchability which remained a thorny issue even long after Gandhi succumbed to an assassin’s bullet. On village work, he acknowledged his failure to recruit the corps of self-sacrificing satyagrahis and doubted the potential of the few dozen he had drawn at Sevagram.
Readers would be astonished at the magical pull Gandhi exerted on his adherents. We also learn about his weird experiments on celibacy and tests on his ability to ward off temptation by sleeping naked with his grand-niece. Lelyveld boldly examines other red herrings in Gandhi’s gigantic literary wealth. It was for suggesting a homosexual liaison with a South African architect named Hermann Kallenbach that the book was banned in some Indian states. The book is a must-read for students of Indian history and Gandhism by showing a lesser known aspect of Gandhi as a deeply fallible human being. It presents a critical narrative of the father of the nation in his experiments with truth. It includes a good collection of rare, early photographs of Gandhi, especially in South Africa. The chapter on Gandhi’s stay at Noakhali and his experiments on brahmacharya involving Manu Gandhi open up a vista which no Indian author dares to unveil.
The book is most highly recommended.
Lelyveld follows a nuanced approach to analyse Gandhi’s life in South Africa and comes to the conclusion that the leadership skills and strategy that he would develop later in India to perfection was honed there. When he arrived there in 1893 as a British-trained attorney, he aligned himself only with the well-to-do Indians. His initial protest movements against the local government were against racial laws that discomfited the entire Indian community. Majority of the Indians in South Africa were ‘indentured labourers’ who exclusively worked for a master – which could also be an enterprise or industry – and was in a state very near to slavery. In fact, this system was adopted by the whites to find a suitable workforce when slavery was made illegal. Gandhi kept them at arm’s length, refusing to associate with them. So, his movements lacked mass appeal. Slowly, he became aware that such storms in a teacup were not going to force the hand of the racist government. It was only in 1913, just a year before his permanent return to India that he identified the labourers as brothers and organized a mass satyagraha in protest against a racial law that fined labourers who continued to stay in South Africa after the lapse of their work contract. Also, the government revoked recognition to marriages conducted according to Hindu or Muslim rites. The labourers lined up behind Gandhi with great zeal. Coal mines, plantations, sanitation and all aspects of Natal’s economy ground to a halt. Even though many were killed and hundreds imprisoned or deported, the government had to concede both demands. The aristocrats among Indians opposed Gandhi for roping in the lowly labourers and expelled him from the Natal Indian Congress which was founded by Gandhi himself. However, the immense success of the strike convinced him of the way forward in India. Another curious fact noted in this book is Gandhi’s total disregard for native blacks. He often calls them by the local derogatory epithet of kaffirs. In the several thousands of pages Gandhi wrote in or about South Africa, the names of only three black natives are mentioned. Of these three, he had met only one – John Dube, a Zulu aristocrat. With this background, it is a little surprising that the native regime which came to power after apartheid recognized Gandhi as one of the architects of modern South Africa.
Hindu-Muslim unity, struggle against untouchability and village industries were the three pillars of the Hind Swaraj Gandhi dreamed of. Lelyveld gives a truly revealing account of his crusade against untouchability in particular. There is no doubt that Gandhi meant each word he uttered against this heinous practice found only in India. He practiced what he preached by freely interacting with untouchables and sharing in their burden to clean up society’s waste. Still, he always stopped short of going the whole hog. His double standard in the case of Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924 is especially jarring. The Shiva temple at Vaikom in Kerala, like the numerous temples in the state, had barred its doors to the lower castes. Not only that, use of the thoroughfare around the temple was denied to them. Blocking this crucial pathway in the centre of the town had put the untouchables to immense hardships. They rose up in protest and demanded that the roads be opened to all. Even though temple entry itself was not on the table, the Brahmins who administered the shrine refused to budge. Surprisingly, Gandhi demurred to intervene and even denied them permission to use satyagraha methods which had borne fruit elsewhere. The book devotes a considerable portion to describe the love-hate relationship between Gandhi and Ambedkar. Gandhi respected Ambedkar, but granted him no space to maneuver. His logic of attributing divine agency in human affairs infuriated Ambedkar. Gandhi’s constant effort to arrive at a solution acceptable to all parties on the untouchability issue irked and frequently tested the patience of Dalit leaders.
Gandhi is credited with the achievement of ensuring mass participation in the freedom struggle by replacing the debates and petitions of elite legal luminaries towards the British. There is only one way in which the masses can be mobilized in India – religion. The same thing applies now and did a century ago too. Lelyveld gives examples to prove that Gandhi was not averse to exploit religion in his work in South Africa. In the 1913 Indentured Labourers’ strike, the protestors chanted slogans such as ‘Victory to Ramchandra’ (Jai Shriram?), ‘Victory to Dwarkanath’ and ‘Vande Mataram’. Gandhi then wrote in newspaper articles that they were taking part in a religious war. Gandhi’s plan to opt for mass participation alienated Muslim professionals because of his inclination to pamper the highly religious among them. Also, in a legislative system where the representation would be a reflection of the numerical superiority of Hindus, they rightly apprehended trouble ahead. His advocacy of the cause of Khilafat is the foremost among them. This was an issue that took place in distant Turkey and had no direct political concerns in India. But the Indian Muslims, who thought they were part of a global Muslim brotherhood transcending national frontiers, considered the Ottoman sultans as their caliph. Gandhi supported this thoroughly divisive demand and for a short time it seemed that Hindu-Muslim unity had been achieved at the grass roots level. Swami Shraddhanand, the Arya Samaj leader, was allowed to address the faithful in Delhi’s renowned Jama Masjid. But it faded as quickly as its meteoric rise. Gross violence in the protests persuaded Gandhi to quietly backpedal on the issue. This drove the Muslims into a frenzy that resulted in nationwide communal clashes. On Gandhi’s attempt to communal amity in Noakhali after a pogrom on its Hindu minority, the author finds that ‘an impartial accounting of Gandhi’s four months in Noakhali would show no political or social gains’. The rupture he hoped to forestall had occurred. By June 1948, one million Hindu refugees fled to India and by 1970 that number had swelled to five million.
The book’s subtitle ‘Gandhi’s struggles with India’ amply justifies and provide a clear hint of the special perspective Lelyveld assumes throughout in the book. Usual versions of Gandhi’s life typically drip with reverence to him who can never be wrong and morally invincible. This book sheds the sheen around the semi-mythic personality projected on to the national mindscape. Here we see an individual who is rock solid on his convictions, but usually unable to produce the results he wanted. He strove for unity among Hindus and Muslims, but finally harvested a bitter communal violence that shocked the world. He declared a crusade against untouchability which remained a thorny issue even long after Gandhi succumbed to an assassin’s bullet. On village work, he acknowledged his failure to recruit the corps of self-sacrificing satyagrahis and doubted the potential of the few dozen he had drawn at Sevagram.
Readers would be astonished at the magical pull Gandhi exerted on his adherents. We also learn about his weird experiments on celibacy and tests on his ability to ward off temptation by sleeping naked with his grand-niece. Lelyveld boldly examines other red herrings in Gandhi’s gigantic literary wealth. It was for suggesting a homosexual liaison with a South African architect named Hermann Kallenbach that the book was banned in some Indian states. The book is a must-read for students of Indian history and Gandhism by showing a lesser known aspect of Gandhi as a deeply fallible human being. It presents a critical narrative of the father of the nation in his experiments with truth. It includes a good collection of rare, early photographs of Gandhi, especially in South Africa. The chapter on Gandhi’s stay at Noakhali and his experiments on brahmacharya involving Manu Gandhi open up a vista which no Indian author dares to unveil.
The book is most highly recommended.
March 17, 2013
I heard about the controversy surrounding Great Soul before I ever got a copy in my hands. So the main question I had was “Is this going to read like a Jackie Collins novel, or is this a factual biography?” The main objections from the State Assembly in Gujarat, which resulted in their vote to ban the book, involved suggestions that Gandhi had a gay relationship, and that Gandhi made racist comments. For brevity, and since many readers would prefer to draw their own conclusions from the evidence (mostly Gandhi's own letters), I won't include mine here. My summary of these issues and full review of the book is at greatnonfictionbooks.blogspot.com But I can say that Lelyveld writes fairly and honestly about Gandhi. The author shows Gandhi as a political operator. The man was a lawyer long before he was a saint. This is a complete biography and not just a discussion of sex and race. Lelyveld presents his material in a sensitive, accurate manner, without the extremes sensationalism or worship.
April 14, 2011
'To err is human, to forgive is divine'
Reading Joseph Lelyveld's sensitive and informative biography of the life of Mahatma Gandhi is enriching in many ways: the quality of writing is first class, the manner in which he shares the entire spectrum of the life of one of the greatest contemporary philosophers of man is both learned and involving, and the ability to discuss the human aspects of a man who has been all but officially canonized takes great courage. GREAT SOUL: MAHATMA GANDHI AND HIS STRUGGLE WITH INDIA is most assuredly an apt title for this new study of the life of Gandhi because as soon as the book appeared it was banned in India and in other places where Gandhi's influence is considered akin to heavenly. And that is sad, because a careful reading of this book simply reveals those controversial aspects of a man whose life was anything but understandable as he was living it, and bringing to readers' attention the aspects of Gandhi that allow us to see that indeed he was very human, struggling with not only attempting to unite Hindus and Muslims, but also with racism and pacifism and vegetarianism, the South African cultural influence on his thoughts and so forth.
The primary reason for the censorship and reader condemnation of this book seems to center on the discussion of Gandhi's long-term intimate relationship with the German Jewish bodybuilder Hermann Kallenbach. Yes, there are 'love letters' between the two men, but Gandhi managed to cope with the central focus of his affection with a similar focus on his wife and his young nieces, etc. What Lelyveld seems to be doing is examining the relationship between Gandhi's approach to South Africa and India, working to define how this great thinker arrived at his concept of satyagraha. 'This is defined as resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, a philosophy firmly founded upon ahimsa (nonviolence). This concept helped India gain independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.' The relationship with Kallenbach is simply an aside.
How a man who gave so much of himself to the welfare of society could be condemned for an intimate relationship with another man is a conundrum. The only solution to understanding the importance of this book is to read it. And it deserves to be read!
Grady Harp
Reading Joseph Lelyveld's sensitive and informative biography of the life of Mahatma Gandhi is enriching in many ways: the quality of writing is first class, the manner in which he shares the entire spectrum of the life of one of the greatest contemporary philosophers of man is both learned and involving, and the ability to discuss the human aspects of a man who has been all but officially canonized takes great courage. GREAT SOUL: MAHATMA GANDHI AND HIS STRUGGLE WITH INDIA is most assuredly an apt title for this new study of the life of Gandhi because as soon as the book appeared it was banned in India and in other places where Gandhi's influence is considered akin to heavenly. And that is sad, because a careful reading of this book simply reveals those controversial aspects of a man whose life was anything but understandable as he was living it, and bringing to readers' attention the aspects of Gandhi that allow us to see that indeed he was very human, struggling with not only attempting to unite Hindus and Muslims, but also with racism and pacifism and vegetarianism, the South African cultural influence on his thoughts and so forth.
The primary reason for the censorship and reader condemnation of this book seems to center on the discussion of Gandhi's long-term intimate relationship with the German Jewish bodybuilder Hermann Kallenbach. Yes, there are 'love letters' between the two men, but Gandhi managed to cope with the central focus of his affection with a similar focus on his wife and his young nieces, etc. What Lelyveld seems to be doing is examining the relationship between Gandhi's approach to South Africa and India, working to define how this great thinker arrived at his concept of satyagraha. 'This is defined as resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, a philosophy firmly founded upon ahimsa (nonviolence). This concept helped India gain independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.' The relationship with Kallenbach is simply an aside.
How a man who gave so much of himself to the welfare of society could be condemned for an intimate relationship with another man is a conundrum. The only solution to understanding the importance of this book is to read it. And it deserves to be read!
Grady Harp
April 27, 2021
Its not a hagiography, and tackles various facets of Gandhi sensitively and frankly. A must read to know a little more about Gandhi - the man!
April 17, 2013
This book was a chore to complete. The physical book was dry and irritating to read. The audiobook was read by such a cynical voice (a Vincent Price sound-alike) that it was almost unbearable. The author seemed to spend an amazing amount of effort digging through every possible piece of Gandhi correspondence/historic record and grabbing anything that was remotely negative, conflicting, or exploitable. I kept alternately reading and listening to the book, hoping there would be some kind of message that would justify such an airing of criticism and "dirty laundry".
At the very end of the last chapter, the author finally admits that although Gandhi wasn't successful at changing the masses of India during his lifetime, that his ideas still remain as inspiration.
In my opinion, that falls way short of the mark. The author wasted all that effort pointing out how HUMAN Gandhi was, and how he wasn't born "a saint", then didn't tie that humanity into a relevant summary or lesson.
My summary for a book endlessly pointing out every mistake, inconsistency, and failure of a man whose positive message still lives on today, would be that if a man so "flawed" as Gandhi could bring so much inspiration to the world by example, then any one of us can do the same - you don't have to be born a saint. That striving to always be lifting others up, we can make lasting change in the world. That Gandhi's whole mission was to inspire everyone to live in a way that lifts others up, as opposed to beating them down.
The author gets 2 stars for bringing me to that conclusion on my own. A conclusion that is only possible when you choose to look for the GOOD in people and events.
At the very end of the last chapter, the author finally admits that although Gandhi wasn't successful at changing the masses of India during his lifetime, that his ideas still remain as inspiration.
In my opinion, that falls way short of the mark. The author wasted all that effort pointing out how HUMAN Gandhi was, and how he wasn't born "a saint", then didn't tie that humanity into a relevant summary or lesson.
My summary for a book endlessly pointing out every mistake, inconsistency, and failure of a man whose positive message still lives on today, would be that if a man so "flawed" as Gandhi could bring so much inspiration to the world by example, then any one of us can do the same - you don't have to be born a saint. That striving to always be lifting others up, we can make lasting change in the world. That Gandhi's whole mission was to inspire everyone to live in a way that lifts others up, as opposed to beating them down.
The author gets 2 stars for bringing me to that conclusion on my own. A conclusion that is only possible when you choose to look for the GOOD in people and events.
August 6, 2011
An interesting biography of Gandhi and his thought over his long life. The general outline wasn't new--his activism for Indians in South Africa, his return to India determined to develop his iodeas of simple ascetic living and achieving the end of untouchability. However, his inner conflicts between his political and his spiritual roles are explored at length. The author doesn't flinch from portraying Gandhi's tendency to egoistic insistence on his particular ideas of truth-- at the same time his subject's incredible demands on himself. He must have been a difficult man to live and to work with!
Politically it's hard to tell if his actions made the ultimate independence and partition of India more difficult, or if he ameliorated the horrendous struggles. His tragic but seemingly inevitable assassination in 1948 may have for a time at least brought all Indians together in the realization they had to rise above sectarian conflict--and for decades they did, until more recent flare-ups of Hindu-Muslim violence.
Spiritually he lives on in small pockets of selfless service to others in India and elsewhere.
The writing is rather cumbersome, but the book is well worth reading.
Politically it's hard to tell if his actions made the ultimate independence and partition of India more difficult, or if he ameliorated the horrendous struggles. His tragic but seemingly inevitable assassination in 1948 may have for a time at least brought all Indians together in the realization they had to rise above sectarian conflict--and for decades they did, until more recent flare-ups of Hindu-Muslim violence.
Spiritually he lives on in small pockets of selfless service to others in India and elsewhere.
The writing is rather cumbersome, but the book is well worth reading.
January 20, 2012
Some readers have been upset by the fact that Lelyveld treats Gandhi not as a saint but as a complex human being, both flawed, and wonderfully courageous and persevering. The book covers Gandhi's adult life, from his arrival in South Africa to his assassination, concentrating on the great themes of that life: opposition to injustice and inequality, non-violence, and Indian independence. Like all of us, he was a man of his time and places and sometimes failed to live up to his own ideals, never, for example, extending his struggle for the rights of Indians in South Africa to the much larger and worse off black population. But his fights against the caste system and against Hindu-Muslim violence as well as for Indian independence make for an inspiring life, no less so because Lelyveld includes the man's inconsistencies and peculiarities. This is all that a good biography should be.
April 24, 2017
A fascinating, insightful biography. Rather than telling the story of Gandhi's entire life, Lelyveld focuses on pivotal episodes that shaped the great man's philosophical, political, and spiritual views. This is not the Gandhi superbly portrayed by Ben Kingsely in the hagiographic but wonderful motion picture. Lelyveld has been criticized for his "all too human" portrait of Gandhi but I find it refreshing. Gandhi's eccentricities, flaws, weaknesses, and considerable naivtee in some important matters makes him all the more admirable and interesting. It is difficult to follow Lelyveld's discussions of India's vastly complicated Hindu caste system, but this subject seems to be a challenge for any writer.
March 19, 2012
A very interesting read. Lelyveld does a good job of humanizing Gandhi instead of the mindless hero-worship of many other biographies. He talks about Gandhi's triumphs as well as his not so stellar human moments. Also describes some of the acts and ideas espoused by Gandhi that were just plain bizarre (Gandhi's treatment of his own family, highly unusual views on celbacy, and strange fascination with human excrement). Overall a good read.
May 15, 2020
At almost 300 pages Joseph Lelyveld has done a commendable job at covering ‘Mahatma’s’ life. He has left out many personalities which I felt a bit disappointing.
He has tried to build a narrative which is more realist than idealist in exploring his life.
I can only compare it to the other 2 books that Ramachandra Guha has written on Gandhi.
I felt Mr Guha was taken over by Gandhi’s grandness and sometimes became his greatest fan. While the author here can sometimes be called critical of Gandhi he offers a new perspective to his life choices.
It would be a great balancing act if you were to read Mr Guha’s books on Gandhi and this one as well.
This book was banned in Gujrat for hinting that Gandhi had a gay relationship with one of his close friends.
It has some details which were even left out in Mr Guha’s books.
He has tried to build a narrative which is more realist than idealist in exploring his life.
I can only compare it to the other 2 books that Ramachandra Guha has written on Gandhi.
I felt Mr Guha was taken over by Gandhi’s grandness and sometimes became his greatest fan. While the author here can sometimes be called critical of Gandhi he offers a new perspective to his life choices.
It would be a great balancing act if you were to read Mr Guha’s books on Gandhi and this one as well.
This book was banned in Gujrat for hinting that Gandhi had a gay relationship with one of his close friends.
It has some details which were even left out in Mr Guha’s books.
December 6, 2018
Gandhi was a mixture of a saint and politician, and as this book points out he was probably a better saint than politician. Most of his real troubles started with his belief that the troubles of the nation were somehow divinely connected to his own purity and inner life. Truly a remarkable individual, but also largely a failure in his stated causes.
October 3, 2021
Great! "
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2013
By sheer coincidence, I read this about a month after finishing Malcolm X A Life of Reinvention. Both are recent, heralded biographies of 20th-c. liberation/anti-colonial leaders. Both are critical, sometimes sharply so, of their subjects as both men and politicians, but ultimately sympathetic. The books are not otherwise comparable: Marable was both a scholar and an activist, hence the political scope and immense detail of his Malcolm book, whereas Lelyveld's reporting background equips him more for vivid images and enticing connections than for archival organization or theoretical analysis.
My comparison is meant to get at tone, which is maybe the most important thing in the Lelyveld. He isn't awed by Gandhi's personal sanctity or political ingenuity; rather, he treats them as facts and tries to understand how they functioned. Lelyveld's Gandhi was capable of effecting communal transformation, but didn't do so predictably or consistently, because of the limitations of Gandhi's human frailty and of any human politics. When Lelyveld invokes "tragedy" as a category for Gandhi's lapses, I hear less Aristotle than Reinhold Niebuhr, whose contemporary, contrarian reading of Gandhi in the concluding chapters of Moral Man and Immoral Society bears rereading in light of Lelyveld's reporting. The point, for Niebuhr as well, is not to tear Gandhi down but to see him in a realistic light.
If I were a serious student of Gandhi (either as a scholar or a latter-day acolyte) I'd probably find much to critique here, as the Gujarati government evidently did. (The BJP leadership comes in for a drubbing toward the end of Lelyveld's book; I have to wonder whether that too was a factor in the ban.) As it stands, one of my major takeaways from this book is how little I truly know about either Gandhi or India in general. That's always a very good feeling. More things to learn!
That said, one place where Lelyveld, to my eyes, suffers most seriously by comparison to Marable is in his undertheorized handling of the relation between politics and religion. What intrigues me most about Gandhi and Malcolm both is how they understood their political and religious programs of national liberation as a coherent whole. African-American studies has developed methodologies and literatures that make it very easy to see those two realities together; Marable, as one of the deans of Af-Am in his lifetime, had all the relevant strings to his bow. Lelyveld does not. He writes well and thickly about political alliances and confluences of interest, but tends to treat religious scenes as local color. He recognizes the connections Gandhi drew between the national life and that of prayer and celibacy, but at just those moments of connection he finds Gandhi most opaque. That's probably a consequence of Lelyveld's implicitly Weberian theory of politics and religion—but is that Gandhi's fault?
Still: Terrific writing, consistently interesting to this relative neophyte, that left me feeling less ignorant but wanting more. That's most of what I ask from a book of popular nonfiction.
My comparison is meant to get at tone, which is maybe the most important thing in the Lelyveld. He isn't awed by Gandhi's personal sanctity or political ingenuity; rather, he treats them as facts and tries to understand how they functioned. Lelyveld's Gandhi was capable of effecting communal transformation, but didn't do so predictably or consistently, because of the limitations of Gandhi's human frailty and of any human politics. When Lelyveld invokes "tragedy" as a category for Gandhi's lapses, I hear less Aristotle than Reinhold Niebuhr, whose contemporary, contrarian reading of Gandhi in the concluding chapters of Moral Man and Immoral Society bears rereading in light of Lelyveld's reporting. The point, for Niebuhr as well, is not to tear Gandhi down but to see him in a realistic light.
If I were a serious student of Gandhi (either as a scholar or a latter-day acolyte) I'd probably find much to critique here, as the Gujarati government evidently did. (The BJP leadership comes in for a drubbing toward the end of Lelyveld's book; I have to wonder whether that too was a factor in the ban.) As it stands, one of my major takeaways from this book is how little I truly know about either Gandhi or India in general. That's always a very good feeling. More things to learn!
That said, one place where Lelyveld, to my eyes, suffers most seriously by comparison to Marable is in his undertheorized handling of the relation between politics and religion. What intrigues me most about Gandhi and Malcolm both is how they understood their political and religious programs of national liberation as a coherent whole. African-American studies has developed methodologies and literatures that make it very easy to see those two realities together; Marable, as one of the deans of Af-Am in his lifetime, had all the relevant strings to his bow. Lelyveld does not. He writes well and thickly about political alliances and confluences of interest, but tends to treat religious scenes as local color. He recognizes the connections Gandhi drew between the national life and that of prayer and celibacy, but at just those moments of connection he finds Gandhi most opaque. That's probably a consequence of Lelyveld's implicitly Weberian theory of politics and religion—but is that Gandhi's fault?
Still: Terrific writing, consistently interesting to this relative neophyte, that left me feeling less ignorant but wanting more. That's most of what I ask from a book of popular nonfiction.
May 2, 2015
Fact is humans are not perfect in this realistic world and that goes for Gandhi. I found the writing very dry and monotonous. I have not read any other books of Joseph Lelyeld and this is going to be my last book by this author.
In South Africa Gandhi defended wealthy Indians and till much later he hardly supported the working Indian labourers but never supported the local African natives and thus portrays Gandhi as racially prejudiced. I find Gandhi an interesting person though I do not agree with his many religious, ideological and political views. Gandhi worked hard for religious peace, equality and basic necessities of life for every individual in India. However India is very far from achieving any of his ideologies and sanitation is the very last priority of the Government and public. India is still divided in many ways. This was my first book on Gandhi and it seems family was not important as he spent very short years with his wife and children, which brings up a question as to why he would be called a Mahatma. I believe Gandhi was a great person for that time and place in history who worked tirelessly to help the poor but I will not be reading another Gandhi’s biography in the near future.
February 2, 2022
Gandhi is a complicated subject to cover and overall Lelyveld does an okay job. I'm not sure there's a better option available so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I had two frustrations with the book.
First of all, Lelyveld avoids pronouncing a judgement on what happened in Gandhi's more problematic relationships (Kallenbach especially) Lelyveld presents several sources that might be interpreted either way and leaves it to the reader to decide the case. While I can easily understand the choice it's a frustrating decision to a reader.
The book also suffers from an assumption that the reader knows more about the timeline of history than I do. So tracking the events of the book vs events I'm more familiar with was an effort, exacerbated by what felt to me like a tendency to avoid mentioning dates in the book (the fault on that may lie as much with me as with the author)
First of all, Lelyveld avoids pronouncing a judgement on what happened in Gandhi's more problematic relationships (Kallenbach especially) Lelyveld presents several sources that might be interpreted either way and leaves it to the reader to decide the case. While I can easily understand the choice it's a frustrating decision to a reader.
The book also suffers from an assumption that the reader knows more about the timeline of history than I do. So tracking the events of the book vs events I'm more familiar with was an effort, exacerbated by what felt to me like a tendency to avoid mentioning dates in the book (the fault on that may lie as much with me as with the author)
December 22, 2013
I found the book to be boring at times and insightful at others. There are many things I learnt here about Gandhi that helps provide perspective of why his detractors hated him as much as they did. What I completely failed to understand here is how with all his failings, his open hypocrisy, his obnoxious personal habits, his religious superstitions, his political wilyness, his constant changes of stance, his insensitivity to the needs of those close to him and his massive ego he still came to be revered among the masses as a "Mahatma". That's the part that's missing in this book, and that's what makes it one sided despite the generous concessions by the author to Gandhi's greatness at the end of each chapter.
Currently reading
January 12, 2020I just started reading this big volume, but even the first forty pages produced a fascinating view of the complicated man. I am at a spot where the author refers to Naipaul's observation about Gandhi that he was really an European at heart. I had such a suspicion, but never could pinpoint the fact.
November 30, 2011
For me, this was a terribly unsatisfying book. The author spends all of his effort nit-picking at Gandhi, trying to humanize him. Underneath this devotion to setting the record straight, there is a distinct whiff of hostility. Gandhi deserves better.
May 12, 2025
My knowledge of Mahatma Gandhi was limited pretty much to his time in India and his famous hunger strikes while attempting to bridge the hatred between Muslims and Hindus.
Author Joseph Lelyveld expands my limited knowledge by exploring Gandhi’s time in South Africa where he was a lawyer beginning a law practice after spending time studying in London. It is here that Gandhi begins his transformation to the leader millions would become familiar with during his time in India.
This is not a quick review of Gandhi’s life but an exhaustive history of his time in South Africa and India. It gave me a much better understanding of the man and the problems he faced especially in India. Too many people treat Gandhi as a kind of saint today. Lelyveld amply illustrates that Gandhi was a man given to bouts of depression, jealously and anger. He was also a man who was so stubborn he would drive his followers to despair occasionally.
The end of this book focuses on the end of Gandhi’s life via assassination. While tragic, Lelyveld explains how this was probably a blessing for the leader as he neared the end of his life. The horrible clashes between Muslims and Hindus overwhelmed Gandhi and caused him to wonder if much of his life’s work had been in vain. The bloodbath of ethnic cleansing was so pervasive it threatened to undo Gandhi’s lifelong philosophy of non-violence. His assassination made Gandhi a martyr whose philosophy resonates to this day.
In many ways, Gandhi’s love for everyone reminds me of the late Desmond Tutu who I was privileged to know. In many passages of this book, I could visualize Archbishop Tutu saying the same words. Both had a remarkable dry sense of humor. Tutu saw incredible racial violence yet still was able to remain optimistic publicly while I suspect he wrestled with depression like Gandhi.
Sadly, I fear both men if alive today would be discouraged by the violence that has recently wracked both countries.
Author Joseph Lelyveld expands my limited knowledge by exploring Gandhi’s time in South Africa where he was a lawyer beginning a law practice after spending time studying in London. It is here that Gandhi begins his transformation to the leader millions would become familiar with during his time in India.
This is not a quick review of Gandhi’s life but an exhaustive history of his time in South Africa and India. It gave me a much better understanding of the man and the problems he faced especially in India. Too many people treat Gandhi as a kind of saint today. Lelyveld amply illustrates that Gandhi was a man given to bouts of depression, jealously and anger. He was also a man who was so stubborn he would drive his followers to despair occasionally.
The end of this book focuses on the end of Gandhi’s life via assassination. While tragic, Lelyveld explains how this was probably a blessing for the leader as he neared the end of his life. The horrible clashes between Muslims and Hindus overwhelmed Gandhi and caused him to wonder if much of his life’s work had been in vain. The bloodbath of ethnic cleansing was so pervasive it threatened to undo Gandhi’s lifelong philosophy of non-violence. His assassination made Gandhi a martyr whose philosophy resonates to this day.
In many ways, Gandhi’s love for everyone reminds me of the late Desmond Tutu who I was privileged to know. In many passages of this book, I could visualize Archbishop Tutu saying the same words. Both had a remarkable dry sense of humor. Tutu saw incredible racial violence yet still was able to remain optimistic publicly while I suspect he wrestled with depression like Gandhi.
Sadly, I fear both men if alive today would be discouraged by the violence that has recently wracked both countries.
October 1, 2022
As a kid, growing up in central India of the 80s/90s, Gandhi and his books were a big part of our school curriculam. This inspite of the fact that ours was a English medium Convent school run by Malayalam speaking Christian missionaries from Kerala.
Numerous of his life-stories were a part of our English-101 & Hindi-101 courses, all through our school life, like gospels or the Panchtantra story-kinda, life-lessons imparting on the Mahatma-Noble Soul- and then as a part of Modern-Indian-History, his role was discussion as the Father of the Nation & all his famous movements - South Africa, Chauri Chaura, Jalainwala Bagh, Daandi, Kheda, Quit India & finally Partition of India & his assasination.
I remember, we stood in silence for a minute @ year on 30th Jan, during mid-day at school for a minute of silence.
Over the years, the Bollywood Munna Bhai series, re-ignited the interests on Gandhi.
With all this mytholizing of Gandhi's life - almost like what was done in the 1982 Hollywood movie "GANDHI" as well, I had lots of Questions around him (which were never addressed anywhere)
1. Why did he drink Goat milk? Why not Cow or Buffalo Milk?
2. What was the whole sleeping nude with young-Manu all about?
3. What made him fight with Ambedkar over the Communal Award?
4.Why Ambedkar sparred with him, so much so that today the Dalits love Ambedkar but hate Gandhi?
5.Why does the South Africans today don't hold a high regard for him?
All of these questions are very well answered by this book.
The author here have highlighted all of Gandhi's philosophy (most of which never worked, many other worked only under the British)
Many memoriable lines in this book stand out.
Like when Gandhi met Musolini, next when he wrote a letter to Hitler. And what Hitler had to say on "What to do with Gandhi".
I would say, this is a mandatory book on anyone intersted in knowing the real Gandhi & all his dilly-dallying stance on sexuality, lust, religion, dalits, high-caste-hindus, inter-caste & inter-religion marriage, pakistan etc etc...
Highly recommended book (and I now understand why this made the Indian govt ban the book when it was released in 2012)
Numerous of his life-stories were a part of our English-101 & Hindi-101 courses, all through our school life, like gospels or the Panchtantra story-kinda, life-lessons imparting on the Mahatma-Noble Soul- and then as a part of Modern-Indian-History, his role was discussion as the Father of the Nation & all his famous movements - South Africa, Chauri Chaura, Jalainwala Bagh, Daandi, Kheda, Quit India & finally Partition of India & his assasination.
I remember, we stood in silence for a minute @ year on 30th Jan, during mid-day at school for a minute of silence.
Over the years, the Bollywood Munna Bhai series, re-ignited the interests on Gandhi.
With all this mytholizing of Gandhi's life - almost like what was done in the 1982 Hollywood movie "GANDHI" as well, I had lots of Questions around him (which were never addressed anywhere)
1. Why did he drink Goat milk? Why not Cow or Buffalo Milk?
2. What was the whole sleeping nude with young-Manu all about?
3. What made him fight with Ambedkar over the Communal Award?
4.Why Ambedkar sparred with him, so much so that today the Dalits love Ambedkar but hate Gandhi?
5.Why does the South Africans today don't hold a high regard for him?
All of these questions are very well answered by this book.
The author here have highlighted all of Gandhi's philosophy (most of which never worked, many other worked only under the British)
Many memoriable lines in this book stand out.
Like when Gandhi met Musolini, next when he wrote a letter to Hitler. And what Hitler had to say on "What to do with Gandhi".
I would say, this is a mandatory book on anyone intersted in knowing the real Gandhi & all his dilly-dallying stance on sexuality, lust, religion, dalits, high-caste-hindus, inter-caste & inter-religion marriage, pakistan etc etc...
Highly recommended book (and I now understand why this made the Indian govt ban the book when it was released in 2012)
November 29, 2023
It's hard not to five-star any serious book about Gandhi. Joseph Lelyveld's redux is a good revisionist take on the Mahatma: not in any sense debunking, but going over old ground from a fresh angle. There is no hagiography here, no spiritualism: rather the pragmatic realism of Gandhi's project, his choices, and circumstances.
In the process the development of his life and attitudes are respectfully reconstructed, as well as its inconsistencies. Lelyveld takes the Attenborough biopic to task, but it was this image rather than the shrewd nationalist and politician that has given the Mahatma a lasting legacy (and why Lelyveld, an American journalist long involved with South Africa in its late apartheid years, felt drawn to writing about him.)
His less-reverential attitude earned him some backlash in India, however, when the State of Gujarat banned the book for insinuating Gandhi had homosexual affiliations with Jewish admirer Herman Kallenbach and British clergyman Charles Andrews. Although this would have violated Gandhi's vow of celibacy, a platonic relationship is likely. Then, too, it's also a projection of religious gay-bashing paranoia and reflects Gujarat's militant nationalism.
For Gandhi fans it's a juicy joy in itself to read, from his experimental farm days in Tolstoy and Phoenix to his wrangle with Untouchable leader Ambedkar and the violence of the wartime "Quit India" campaign. Gandhi was taken to ask by Untouchable and Muslim leaders for his "white liberal" paternalism regarding minorities, and its somewhat justified. Yet no one can be what they aren't, and Gandhi went as far as a Hindu could go without renouncing Hinduism altogether: a denial of identity his critics were unwilling to make for themselves, and a vast improvement over the rightwing Hinduism strangling India now.
The book also lightly passes over the "Quit India" movement and its striking at India's wartime underbelly with Gandhi's endorsement. There is no hint that Gandhi deliberately encouraged its violence, but he didn't explicitly denounce it, either, and was therefore enough security risk for the British to confine him at the Agha Khan palace. The effects of the great Bengali Famine during the war, blamed on the British squeezing India for the war effort, is nicely bypassed in favor of recounting the Hindu-Muslim rivalry that finally split the country: "Divide and run," as critics of post-colonial Britain called it. Gandhi considered this his own personal great failure, though it was beyond the limits of one man to control, no matter how inspired and charismatic.
A good read indeed for Gandhi devotees.
In the process the development of his life and attitudes are respectfully reconstructed, as well as its inconsistencies. Lelyveld takes the Attenborough biopic to task, but it was this image rather than the shrewd nationalist and politician that has given the Mahatma a lasting legacy (and why Lelyveld, an American journalist long involved with South Africa in its late apartheid years, felt drawn to writing about him.)
His less-reverential attitude earned him some backlash in India, however, when the State of Gujarat banned the book for insinuating Gandhi had homosexual affiliations with Jewish admirer Herman Kallenbach and British clergyman Charles Andrews. Although this would have violated Gandhi's vow of celibacy, a platonic relationship is likely. Then, too, it's also a projection of religious gay-bashing paranoia and reflects Gujarat's militant nationalism.
For Gandhi fans it's a juicy joy in itself to read, from his experimental farm days in Tolstoy and Phoenix to his wrangle with Untouchable leader Ambedkar and the violence of the wartime "Quit India" campaign. Gandhi was taken to ask by Untouchable and Muslim leaders for his "white liberal" paternalism regarding minorities, and its somewhat justified. Yet no one can be what they aren't, and Gandhi went as far as a Hindu could go without renouncing Hinduism altogether: a denial of identity his critics were unwilling to make for themselves, and a vast improvement over the rightwing Hinduism strangling India now.
The book also lightly passes over the "Quit India" movement and its striking at India's wartime underbelly with Gandhi's endorsement. There is no hint that Gandhi deliberately encouraged its violence, but he didn't explicitly denounce it, either, and was therefore enough security risk for the British to confine him at the Agha Khan palace. The effects of the great Bengali Famine during the war, blamed on the British squeezing India for the war effort, is nicely bypassed in favor of recounting the Hindu-Muslim rivalry that finally split the country: "Divide and run," as critics of post-colonial Britain called it. Gandhi considered this his own personal great failure, though it was beyond the limits of one man to control, no matter how inspired and charismatic.
A good read indeed for Gandhi devotees.
July 11, 2019
A telling of the story of the life of Gandhi which draws attention to the conflicts between his various roles. These include the contrast between his initial emphasis on securing the rights only of high-class (non-indentured) Indians in South Africa and his later claim to have always been focused on the lower castes. Lelyveld also covers the difficulty Gandhi had convincing his followers (many of them high-class Hindus in Congress) that better treatment for untouchables was a prerequisite for independence and his gradual acceptance that it would instead be something of a "post-requisite". Also featured is his disagreement with the Untouchable leader Ambedkar over whether granting guaranteed representation would protect their rights (Ambedkar) or formalize and make permanent their separation from caste Hindus (Gandhi). Gandhi's work for Indian independence and fasts against communal violence during partition are also covered in detail. What emerges is a nuanced portrait of a great man with deep eccentricities whose role as a political leader necessitated a flexible emphasis on objectives that he saw as related (inependence, untouchability, Hindu-Muslim relations, diet and home production) but many of his followers viewed as separable.
July 6, 2019
"My heart weeps for this great soul" ...
On every account he lived by his word till his last breath which qualifies this great soul, the title Mahatma......
A very well written account of Ghandhis struggle for India. His early mission in South Africa and back in India for Indias Independence from the Colonial power is captured in detail by this author, which shed more lights on Ghandhis certain political manoeuvres with the British and also the communal forces of that time.
A must-read for every Indian to truely understand to value the freedom they enjoy in
India even in the climate of uncertainty ...
On every account he lived by his word till his last breath which qualifies this great soul, the title Mahatma......
A very well written account of Ghandhis struggle for India. His early mission in South Africa and back in India for Indias Independence from the Colonial power is captured in detail by this author, which shed more lights on Ghandhis certain political manoeuvres with the British and also the communal forces of that time.
A must-read for every Indian to truely understand to value the freedom they enjoy in
India even in the climate of uncertainty ...
July 13, 2020
A brilliantly researched and lucidly written critical view of Mahatma Gandhi's life and career, Great Soul is extremely insightful and provides a much needed history lesson without glossing over the uncomfortable facts of the great man's life. The book provides a view into the unseen nukes and crannies of Gandhi's life, thereby shedding light into the quirks of the man the world reveres, even after decades of his death. For its objective take on Gandhi's life, viewed through the lens of India's freedom struggle, Great Soul will remain one of the most memorable books I ever read.
September 20, 2023
I don’t think that the authors title of “Great Soul” was very fitting for this book. I feel the author spent just about every chapter trying to convince us of Gandhi’s humanness than helping us discover his greatness. I now know more about Gandhi’s sexual/asexual nature, his self absorbed personality and how he managed his image than about what made him great. What is my feeling about Gandhi by the end of the book? Pity. It’s not something I was expecting.
November 30, 2021
I read this book because it was banned in India for implying anything less than Gandhi was an absolutely perfect human being. Granted, he was still awesome, but the author goes into his various failures as a politician, his weird sexual vows, and the historical context in which they were viewed at the time and how his myth has evolved. It is a pretty dense read so be ready for it.
July 30, 2017
An excellent all encompassing look about Ghandi - not exactly a biography but an in depth analysis of his actions and beliefs. I learned a tremendous amount; I found the 20 years Ghandi spent in South Africa to be the most interesting.
January 21, 2018
This book has shown a light on the unmentionable past actions and words of the worlds beloved Mahatma Gandi. Even though it is written as a piece almost against the leader, it was interesting to see the other side of the coin.
May 26, 2018
For those who think Gandi is the only real hero of India will struggle with this book as will those who think that Gandi's actions had little to do with India's independence. This was an interesting read.
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