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Summary: Long Live Mahatma, Long Live the Nation
Review: Gandhiji was a person who believed in the dignity of man and left us all a legacy of ahimsa, love and tolerance. His life was guided by a search for truth. In the 'My Experiments of the Truth', Gandhiji stressed that truth was god and his aim in life was to achieve truthfulness in thought, word and deed. Ahimsa, to him was the highest virtue. By non violence, Gandhi meant not merely the absence of violence but also loving concern for all life. He believed that truth could be known only through tolerance and concern for others and that find a truthful way to solutions required constant testing. He taught that to be non-violent required great courage. He adopted Satyagraha based on principles of courage, non-violence and truth. This method was used to fight for India's independence and to bring about social change. The book has exceptional revelations of Gandhiji's own life, his experiences, his beliefs and the stepping stone of his career. A widely read and an inspiring collection, Gandhiji's Autobiography gives a glimpse into the Indian culture and living on path towards Truth & Non violence. A pick for every one who believes in peace n calm.
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Summary: great man, good book
Review: I am a huge fan of Gandhi and what he stood for. I was a little let down by this book, however, because I was hoping for more explicit wisdom and accounts of courageous events. This book gives a great view of what he is like as a person and not so much what he is like as a revolutionary or politician. I enjoyed it in this respect. It is a very interesting book and I would read it again.
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Summary: A Gandhi Introduction.
Review: I approached this book with some trepidation as my Indian friends are divided in their attitude to Gandhi (some regard him almost as a saint, others are far more ambiguous). There's no doubting Gandhi's place as a major figure in twentieth century history, but would learning more about him create a good or disappointing image?I would start with a word of caution. This book only covers Gandhi's life from 1869 to 1921. Therefore I treated this book as an introduction to the man, a preparation for further reading. I suppose an equally legitimate method would be to adopt an opposite approach and start with a biography then finish with this book. I reflected that any comments I made here might only serve to reveal my ignorance of Indian culture and history - I'm sure I missed (or misinterpreted) many nuances. Full appreciation of this book may only be possible if you are either Indian or have a better knowledge than mine. Nonetheless, I found it an easy book to read - the short chapters helped me keep up a good pace. Indeed Gandhi's style is to pick episodes from his life and reflect on them. Although the book is written chronologically, it very much has a "dipping in and out" feel rather than a linear narrative. I was left with the impression that this man was no saint (and would have been horrified at the very thought). There were aspects of his character I found puzzling or frustrating: I've never been impressed by anyone who advocates physical self-denial after having produced a litter of offspring; much of the book is devoted to dietetics - a subject Gandhi was so obsessed with it affected his health very badly; and his treatment of his children was, well to be charitable, distinctly odd. I felt that there was a large amount of self-righteousness in the man, and an obsessive delight in self-denial. Yet withal, should we expect any human to be without fault, and how should Gandhi's faults be judged when compared with his role in securing Indian independence - without Satyagraha would it have been even more bloody than it was? That might be a better mounument to him than this book.
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Summary: My all-time favorite book
Review: I first read this book in the spring of 1998 when I was home with a cold and fever, and I can say that it is one of the best things that ever happened to me. The events described in the book are a hundred years old, but Gandhi has a way of describing their essence which is timeless, and will grip you in a way that makes them entirely relevant to today's world. It made me wonder how the world might have been if people today only followed his ideas. But this is no boring lecture on politics or nonviolence. In fact quite the opposite - it is the sparkling story of a very special man told in his own words. We learn about truth and non-violence in the best way possible, by observing Gandhi's actions as he goes about matters small and big. It brought Gandhi to life in a very special way. I always admired his principles, but now feel closer to Gandhi the man. This is a first-hand account that cannot be ignored. My only regret was that the book ended much too soon (mid 1920's) and there was nothing to cover the rest of his life. I can think of no person of any age who would not be greatly enriched by this book. For the interested, I found the companion book "Satyagraha in South Africa" (also by Gandhi) to be just as good.
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Summary: Not what I expected
Review: I had high expectations of this book and I was disappointed. I believe Ghandi was one of the greatest, moral, and just citizens of the ages. But the book itself is fairly dull. I found the majority of it to be Ghandi obsessing on political beaurocracy, name dropping, and discussing his diet ad-infinitum. He comes across as quite a humourless man which makes the autobiography read like a dull textbook. I struggled to finish it. Its also disappointing because it was written before Ghandi achieved arguably his greatest achievements. I advise the reader with only a casual interest in Ghandi to pick up something else.
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Summary: Extraordinary Book Written by an Extraordinary Man
Review: I have always admired Mr. Gandhi, but really knew very little about him. This book tells of his early life, something most biographies skip choosing to focus on his life in India. Great historical detail of colonial India, living in England and South Africa. A must read for anyone interested in Mr. Gandhi or that period of history. The book has also influenced greatly the way I view life. A very spiritually uplifting book, even for non-Hindus.
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Summary: One of those books that can profoundly affect you
Review: I have had misgivings about Gandhi, his thoughts, and his actions. I believe, after I have read this book, that unfortunately, I had a very superficial knowledge about this great person. I still do not agree with many of his policies, do not see him as absolutely infallible, and certainly do not wish to deify him. However, these views have been instilled in me by Gandhi himself as he points out in this marvellous book, that he does not think that he is always correct. He mentions, time and again, that what he says and does, is only his opinion. But he sincerely practices what he preaches, and shares his ideas with all of us in the hope of making the world better. His humility, straight-forwardness, and love of truth touches us all. A truly great man and a very inspiring book.
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Summary: Reflection of his personality
Review: I have red the original version of this book - written by Gandhi in Gujarati, and two things are most noticeable: First is that he is very honest. He didn't try to hide things to make them look nice and good, neither he tried to exaggerate them to look spectacular and dramatic. He just put them as they were. Second is that his language is very simple, a reflection of his philosophy. His aim was to convey his thoughts, not to produce literary work, so he used simple style and simple words. He wanted reader to see what he had to say, not how it was said.
A great work.
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Summary: Great Book - We need to use this book in our lives
Review: I reckon most of the books written are good books. They serve the purpose of satisfying the curiosity of one and many. It is only ones in a blue-moon that a book is written that can profoundly affect your life (if you use it). I strongly state that this is one of those books. This is not only a must read, but should be read daily and its principles applied.
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Summary: Excellent Autobiography
Review: I started reading this book for a honors paper in school expecting to find a boring read. I admit that some parts, it was a boring read. However, it was the book as a whole that stood out for me. The rest of the book was great and you will forget those boring sections in the book. I was expecting an autobiography where the euthor embelishes his acts and himself. However, I found something quite different. Ghandi is truthful throughout the whole book. It takes a lot of courage to put down all your faults and mistakes you have made during life onto paper and then to have it published for millions of people to read. I do not know if I could do that myself. This is the ultimate read for those who wish to find more about Ghandi. The book does not finish his whole mission in freeing India but the book is very imformative on Ghandi's life and what he went through(obviously, Ghandi did write the book himself). I learned a lot about Ghandi that I did not know before and it shows the reader his/her own faults in their life. I've related my life to Ghandi's in more ways than one and you learn more from this book than just about Ghandi's life. This autobiography is one of the best autobiographies ever written and I recommend it to anyone who wants a good read. I was surprised wit the book, reading it for a school paper. I recommend it to anyone who wants a good read.
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