A book to pull me along

Wow, how long since I did a real book review? A long time.

I got this book from my dad for my birthday in April. True to form, Dad did not stick with an easy book. He has a history of book gifts just outside my usual preference of woman-authored or at least woman-focused novels. Just enough to pull me along to be a little smarter and a little more thoughtful. The Long Walk to Freedom took me two months (well, a little more, actually) to finish. It took me some time to digest. But it was never, ever boring. I read at the gym, I read while dinner was cooking, and I read on the way to Pioneer Trek. Also while neglecting numerous other duties, of course.

A major theme was the sacrifice made by Nelson Mandela. He sacrificed his place in his family to fight for freedom. If my husband wanted to do that, I can pretty much guarantee you I would have a big, fat fit. (Which is pretty much what Mandela's first wife did; their marriage broke up over his commitment to the struggle.) And yet, somebody had to do this. Somebody really had to step up to the plate.

Mandela himself looks back and says that being the father of a family is a greater joy than being the father of a nation, a joy he had too little of. But what would South Africa be without this tremendously committed, intelligent, humane leader? What would I do if my husband were meant to be that man? Or what would he do if I were meant to be that woman? It's a hard question.

I do believe that there are things that are worth sacrificing that much for. In theory I think I could do it, whether I was the freedom fighter or the spouse. It's when I start thinking about application that it begins to freak me out.

The book contains excerpts from several of Mandela's major speeches for the ANC, for his trials and at the time of his release. It's worth having in your library just for those. There are jewels among his words that shine as brightly as the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. Intercultural harmony is now needed as urgently on the world stage as in the United States, if not more. It might behoove us to learn to think about it on a more global scale, and Mandela's words are a great starting point.

The cover quotes a Boston Globe review stating this book should be read by every person alive. They might actually be right about that.