Nelson Mandela: A Life Inspired

by Gillian Kendall, Wyatt North

Nelson Mandela’s legacy is known worldwide, and his life has been widely documented. His memory is preserved in statues, paintings, feature films, history books, and biographies. Yet to many Americans, Mandela may be somewhat unknown.

Many people around the world consider Mandela one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century. He received hundreds of honors during his lifetime—among them the Nobel Peace Prize—for his work in helping free the peoples of South Africa from the oppression of apartheid.

He earned the respect and love of people from all walks of life.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Amazon, Ebooks, Biography Memoir, Memoir

207 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2014

Reviews

[Trish]

I felt this read like a school report - a collection of facts presented in a simple manner without depth.

[Brandi]

I felt like this was missing a lot. It was a biography by definition, but felt very rushed and jumped around quite a bit.

[Bryan Spellman]

25 of 75 for 2015. Let me start off by saying that I have not read Mandela's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom nor have I seen the recent movie about his life. I consider myself a reasonably intelligent man, somewhat up to date on world events, so the man was not unknown to me, nor was the general gist of his story. Kendall and North's biography filled in a lot of the blanks, however, giving me a more complete picture of what Mandela's life was like, both in prison and as a free man, well, relatively free man. One could say that even after the fall of apartheid and Mandela's election as leader of the ANC and the RSA, he was never completely free. If I have quibbles about this book it is that the book feels more like a feel-good read than a deeply researched biography. I'm a fast reader, admittedly, but the fact that I could read a biography of one of recent history's most influential men in two days leaves me feeling that I wasn't reading a truly academic study. Learning that the publisher specializes in inspirational biographies, largely of Roman Catholic saints and leaders (they already have a book out on Pope Francis), explains to me at least why the book reads more like a Sunday School lesson than a text for a university history class. That said, the book did deepen my knowledge of Mandela's life and mission, and was thoroughly enjoyable. I give it three stars only because I was expecting so much more.

[Trevor]

A couple of things to mention, I obtained this book free through a Bookbub promotion and I rarely read autobiographies/biographies.

This man and his life are truly inspiring. I grew up and lived most of my life until his death with this man in the news at regular intervals, so in some ways I felt I already knew his story.

This is a rather short but precise book about his life. It covers everything he did and achieved in an easy to read way but for me it seems to lack indepth detail. Then what can I expect from 190 or so pages? Surely his life and achievements deserves so much more!

For someone with a passing interest or little knowledge of his life this is a decent book to start with but for me it felt little more than an overview of someone I already knew quite a bit about.

[Michael]

There's nothing overly wrong with this book, but left me feeling like I just touched the surface of Mandela's life. Being 200~ pages it is to be expected that it wasn't a full and comprehensive history of the man. However it was the execution that really let this book down. The facts were all there but felt fragmented and at times forced. This book would be great for the skimmer, the grab a bit of info and move on type reader. If you are looking to know the man and understand his mind, you may want to grab another biography instead. All that said, I downloaded this book free on Amazon and can't complain about the price for the knowledge gained.

[Heather]

Nelson Mandela was an amazing man. Nelson Mandela: A Life Inspired tells the story of his life from childhood through death. It is well written and told in a way that draws you into the story. I highly recommend reading this book to learn more about Mandela and also South African history.

[Rick Colburn]

Intreging

This book is a good in depth history of Nelson Mandela and the struggles that he faced fighting Apartheid. Also learned more about his private life.

[Emily]

As a biography of Nelson Mandela, this book does its job. I now know more about Mandela than I did before. I appreciated some of the connections between his early life and later habits or characteristics, but the writing is a bit too factual for my taste. It is organized and informative, but it just didn’t intrigue me. It felt rushed and somewhat superficial at times, a collection of researched information that lacks some personality. A personal touch would help; Mandela’s story is probably best told by him. So, if you’re looking for personality, I assume his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom is probably the better book (can’t recommend it, though, since I haven’t read it), but if you’re looking for a short but comprehensive and factual account, A Life Inspired is a good choice.

[Wendell Hennan]

This read like a documentary of the life of Nelson Mandela, factual and accurate, but sadly lacking on much insight to him personally. I was expecting his character to be front and centre rather than just taken for granted.

[Costumegal]

Good for learning about the facts/timeline of Mandela's life, a bit repetitive in places.

[Richard R., Martin]

Nice brief biography about Nelson Mandela.

[Connor G.H.]

A biography

The author presents an unbiased and factual picture of Nelson Mandela. This is a good book for someone interested in Nelson Mandela and his convictions.

[Keithy]

This book was so wonderful!!!!

[Jim Dankosky]

Interesting material. Can’t say the same for the writing.

[Rachel]

great read

Very informative. Would be keen to learn more. I appreciate this brief look into Madiba’s life. I recommend to anyone

[Carol]

I was not particularly impressed with the way this was written. Maybe factual, but didn't get to the "real man" or present the facts in a clear and engaging way

[Jerry Dugan]

I give points in that I learned about Nelson Mandela's political life, some of the struggles in his married lives, and his prison life. I ding this book because there was a lot of repetition and was formatted like a series of graduate papers slapped together for a book. That may not be the actual case, however that was the impression I got. I often asked myself, "Didn't we already cover this?!" and "Wait. What? Where are we in the timeline?"

[Karla Renee Goforth Abreu]

The information in this book provides an overview of Mandela's life. The book does not detail any personality or provide in-depth insight on the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa. As a "primer" for a biography of Mandela and his ideology, it is just right. The book reads like a long essay, briefly touching on the many causes, imprisonments, and endurance of a man who pursued freedom for his country and people.

[Sheila Siler]

An interesting summary of Mandela's life.

This was a good accounting of a life I have always heard about but didn't really know. Growing up knowing only the "headlines" about Nelson Mandela this was a good book to get a little deeper and see beyond the headlines. I don't usually read much involving politics, but this was a good one to read without being overwhelmed.

[Michael]

Brings you up to speed

After watching a movie about Nelson Mandela, about ruby and the world cup I wanted to understand more about Nelson's life so I read Wyatt North's book about Mandela. It was only about 95 pages but pack with his life from beginning to end. Now that's worth reading. Thanks Wyatt North.

[Steve]

Good, Short Read

I found this book helpful in understanding the life of Nelson Mandela. I knew very little about and gained more appreciation for his life and work. Wyatt North has produced another excellent and enlightening book at a reasonable price.

[Vishal Shah]

A book that shows the hardship that South African, Indian and other minorities had to go through to get their rights to better food, education, a better life which they couldn't have. A look into the Late Nelson Mandela's personal life as well his three wives, children and his interests.

[Victor H Fisher Jr]

A fascinating story of a man's war against apartheid.

A fascinating Man. His wish to make a better life for his people and for them to have the equal rights In their Country and Africa.

[helen francis]

Africa's greatest treasure

What a remarkable man. Nelson Mandela gave up so much of his own life for the betterment of so many Africans. I don't know what would have happened in Africa without him. He truly deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.

[Edgar Negrón Rabell]

Una excelente introducción a la vida y obra de Nelson Mandela, bastante comprimida pero lo suficientemente interesante como para luego desear conocer más sobre este gran defensor de los derechos humanos y la libertad.

[Justin]

It was OK. I learnt a few new things, but not many. There were lots of spelling and grammar mistakes and some errors relating to language, naming and culture in South Africa. You'll learn a few things about a remarkable man but it won't be the most accurate account you can read.

[Naty]

This book was written in a"rush". It was more a summary of his life than a biography. As interesting as Mandela's life was, this book fails explore any of the fascinating facts in detail. I it's autobiography time!

[Mag Akers]

Very interesting read, hadn't realised this much about his life.

[Liz Wood]

Another Ghandi

Great men of peace help us as we individually and collectively grow toward a more humane and human environment. Mandala teaches us to live what we believe.

[Caroline]

To my shame, I never knew much about Nelson Mandela and reading this was an attempt to remedy that. A decent introduction to one of the twentieth century's greatest leaders.