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117th out of 857 books
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1,227 voters
Unbowed
Hugely charismatic, humble, and possessed of preternatural luminosity of spirit, Wangari Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and a single mother of three, recounts her extraordinary life as a political activist, feminist, and environmentalist in Kenya.
Born in a rural village in 1940, Wangari Maathai was already an iconoclast as a child, determined to get an e...more
Born in a rural village in 1940, Wangari Maathai was already an iconoclast as a child, determined to get an e...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
October 3rd 2006
by Knopf
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This is not the most artfully or lyrically written book but it deserves 5 stars for the tale it tells..It's a story of one of the few true heroes of our generation. And to overcome the formidible obstacles that are put in the path of an African woman from a developing nation, by men, culture, tradition and the vestiges of colonialism to reach the hieghts of leadership and effectiveness that she has is simply astounding. It is a story that needs to be shared with all that want to know what one pe...more
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The first half, about her childhood and even her experience as a university student in the U.S., lacked depth. The book became more captivating as I read on, but only because the subject matter became more interesting (her experiences in Kenya after she returned from university, Kenya's recent political history). Unfortunately, her writing style throughout is pretty dry; she probably should have worked on the book with someone. She also appears self-congratulating at times, which is annoying but...more
Nov 09, 2008
Marcy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who revere courage against all odds
Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977 in Kenya. Her saving of Kenya's forests won her the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.
Not only did Wangari Maathai found the Green Belt Movement, but she has fought continuously for human rights in her country. A corrupt undemocratic government has constantly tried to keep her down, in the press, and even through imprisonment. Wangari has never given up. She is revered by the people of Kenya, as she is all over the world. She fights for what is rig...more
Not only did Wangari Maathai found the Green Belt Movement, but she has fought continuously for human rights in her country. A corrupt undemocratic government has constantly tried to keep her down, in the press, and even through imprisonment. Wangari has never given up. She is revered by the people of Kenya, as she is all over the world. She fights for what is rig...more
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beyond inspiring. i can't even speak to what she writes about; i think it is already too late for me to build the fortitude to challenge (and shift) the orientation of my government's moral compass. "but it is never too late," i'm sure maathai would say. and maybe she's right; we are all so comfortable believing that we are not the ones who can make a difference that it makes it infinitely harder to gather momentum for those who are willing to try.
r.i.p. wangari maathai; she died last friday at...more
r.i.p. wangari maathai; she died last friday at...more
Wangari Maathai wrote a beautiful memoir that reveals the hardships she faced - as a woman, as an environmentalist, as a supporter of democracy, as a Kikuyu - as she tried to recognize and address the problems of Kenya. The current neoliberal capitalist economy has left Kenya without the ability to support itself. Deforestation and its devastating effects, along with the production of cash crops for consumption by the globalized world, have crippled its people and forced them to be reliant on fo...more
Wangari Maathai is certainly a commendable and tenacious woman who overcame many obstacles in Kenya to become an activist in ecology. This subsequently led to political agitation and imprisonment in attempts to make her country become more of a liberal democracy.
She could easily, during her upbringing in the 1940’s and 1950’s have remained illiterate in rural Kenya. She describes well her school attendance and her higher education in the United States. I found her stories about the relationship...more
She could easily, during her upbringing in the 1940’s and 1950’s have remained illiterate in rural Kenya. She describes well her school attendance and her higher education in the United States. I found her stories about the relationship...more
The date July 7 or 7/7 is a significant one for Maathai's movement. It's called Saba Saba in KiSwahili. I'd like to note here that I was reading this book on Saba Saba.
Before reading this, my only exposure to the Kikuyu was Mike Resnick's Kirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia. Although I think that the Kirinyaga stories are powerful fiction, I am only now grasping that they are a dis-service to the Kikuyu in some important ways.
From a cultural standpoint, I appreciated learning that there are Kikuyu st...more
Before reading this, my only exposure to the Kikuyu was Mike Resnick's Kirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia. Although I think that the Kirinyaga stories are powerful fiction, I am only now grasping that they are a dis-service to the Kikuyu in some important ways.
From a cultural standpoint, I appreciated learning that there are Kikuyu st...more
I rarely read memoirs but I have long been an admirer of the late Prof Wangari Maathai and her work, so I decided to pick this one up. It was a compelling read and I almost had to pinch myself so I would remember this was not a novel! It's hard to imagine that anyone could live through and overcome some of these trials and tribulations and not give up!
I especially enjoyed the description of her childhood and her years in school.These experiences shaped her and would influence her throughout the...more
I especially enjoyed the description of her childhood and her years in school.These experiences shaped her and would influence her throughout the...more
The main theme between Three Cups of Tea and Unbowed were similar: Fixing a broken system that was doing wrong to its people. In one case, the people were neglected and forgotten. In the other, the people were exploited or trampled. Both protagonists in the books were headstrong, to say the least, and accomplished some amazing good on a large-scale level. But their ego also separated them at times from even those closest to them.
While reading Maathai's memoirs, I was really amazed at how often t...more
While reading Maathai's memoirs, I was really amazed at how often t...more
When Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, questions were raised regarding her choice by the Nobel Committee. Why should an environmentalist receive a prize that was identified with peace and human rights, voiced the critics. Reading Maathai's memoir sets the record straight, and justifying her selection for the award. In this fascinating and very personal account, she paints a vivid picture of her life, embedded in the realities of Kenya before and since independence. Her e...more
Teton Co Library Call No: BIO MAATHAI W
Marisa's Rating: 3 Stars
Read this as part of the book group "A Revolutionary Book Group" - a very interesting life story. As with a lot of memoirs of non-writers, I feel the writing was a bit dry, maybe too straight forward. However, her story more than makes up for it. Maathai was born in Kenya to a large polygamist family in rural village. Her childhood sounds idyllic - and sets the tone for the rest of her journey. As deforestation created through coloni...more
Marisa's Rating: 3 Stars
Read this as part of the book group "A Revolutionary Book Group" - a very interesting life story. As with a lot of memoirs of non-writers, I feel the writing was a bit dry, maybe too straight forward. However, her story more than makes up for it. Maathai was born in Kenya to a large polygamist family in rural village. Her childhood sounds idyllic - and sets the tone for the rest of her journey. As deforestation created through coloni...more
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Reading Unbowed by Wangari Maathai was definitely uplifting and inspiring. She put me in her shoes and made me realize things about myself. This woman is truly a strong woman role model to not only myself but the other people who have read this book as well. Her spirit is very humble and always optimistic. I like to believe the reason why she carries those traits are because of the way she grew up. Wangari was born in the rural village of Kenya in 1940. Throughout her whole life she has always...more
Wangari Maathai has an interesting story of growing from a Kikuyu child to a Nobel Peace Prize winner. I grew up surrounded by stories of the Swahili and Turkana peoples of Kenya because of friends we had living there, but I didn't know much about the Kikuyu or the forests. I learned a lot about the socio-political history of Kenya, how to work toward change (be "patient and committed," she would say), and how much one person can accomplish. I also feel like I saw education from a different pers...more
Jul 29, 2010
Bookguide
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in the environment and Africa.
Fascinating autobiography (in Dutch, title "Ongebroken") of the founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, which encourages local women to set up cooperative tree nurseries and plant narrow ribbons of trees in villages. The trees help prevent soil erosion, create shade and an area of vegetation which goats can graze so that women can help feed their families. Wangari Maathai looks back fondly to her village roots and the way of life before the plantations encouraged the destruction of the loca...more
Wangari Maathai is one of the most inspirational, down to earth, women activists I've ever come across. Unbowed is the story of her life, from childhood to American Education to her grassroots movement back home in Africa, and it is beautifully written. She touches base on so many different topics and issues, that this is not just a book on environmental activism. I was first introduced to the works of Maathai a few years ago while taking an African Development class at the University of Winnipe...more
This was a really excellent memoir. Wangari Maathai (who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004) is an amazing woman with a very compelling and inspiring life story. Maathai was one of the first--if not THE first--activists to realize and communicate the connections between environmental justice, democracy, and economic justice, via the Green Belt Movement she founded. In a way, because of the personal component, I found this memoir a more effective vehicle for her ideas than her more recent...more
I have mixed feelings about this book. Superficially, the way it's told makes me sometimes feel as though Maathai isn't being totally straightforward about everything, or that some parts are a slightly too strong justification of things she did that were unpopular. I got tired of that, a little. But then again, perhaps she approaches storytelling from a way that I don't know how to appreciate.
On the other hand, it's a crazy amazing story of starting small and making HUGE change in the world, sim...more
On the other hand, it's a crazy amazing story of starting small and making HUGE change in the world, sim...more
While the writing sometimes falters, and the story sometimes stalls, this is a moving, challenging autobiography of a woman who said "yes" to the demanding situations that confronted her. She tackled deforestation and soil erosion with creation of the Green Belt Movement, and stood for the environment, for public parks, for the rights of women. She faced public ridicule, imprisonment, tear gas, beatings, and endless threats with grace, courage, and apparent good humor.
Two long quotes:
"I don’t...more
Two long quotes:
"I don’t...more
While I appreciated the introduction to Kikuyu culture and a bit of an introduction into Kenya's political climate over time, I missed having a narrative path to follow in Maathai's autobiography. Without a sense of Story to draw me through Maathai's life, I felt like I was tracing the bullet points version of her major achievements plotted along a timeline. History lessons and timelines are something I tend to avoid, and I felt myself turning away from what was a challenging life well-lived.
My...more
My...more
This autobiography about Wangari Maathai. She had led an inspiring life as an environmentalist, nobel peace prize recipient, academic, politician, feminist, human rights activist, mother, etc.
If you are interested in women's rights, the environment, Kenya, planting trees, preserving green spaces, women in politics, women in academia, human rights, etc. you will find something in this book to inspire you. I liked hearing about her experiences studying in the U.S. The content is interesting, but...more
If you are interested in women's rights, the environment, Kenya, planting trees, preserving green spaces, women in politics, women in academia, human rights, etc. you will find something in this book to inspire you. I liked hearing about her experiences studying in the U.S. The content is interesting, but...more
I was assigned to read this for a leadership program, only knowing that the book was vaguely about an environmentalist. This has turned out to be an amazing read and an outstanding inspiration. The story itself is captivating, as are the continuous achievements and fights Wangari Maathai undertook: the forming and nurturing of the Green Belt Movement, her fight for democracy, an end to poverty, and unification of Kenya. Environmentalism had not been a major interest in choosing this book, but I...more
There is a lot of interesting history in this book, but I found the writing "clunky." I don't think it's reasonable to put this down to "it's not her native language" when the author is highly educated and had the means and opportunity to have this edited for style. That said, I also found the early parts of the memoir cliche and trite. Maathai promotes the "pre-colonial Eden" view of Africa that is neither true, nor particularly interesting to me. However, this is, after all, a memoir, and it m...more
I was reading about the Election in the UK, and according to the BBC, this is apparently Gordon Brown's favourite book (You know, that guy who's been Prime Minister, "president" of the UK for the last three years.).
I looked Wangari Maathai on wikipedia, and she has a chemistry/biology background and was a certified genius as a child. So much so the Catholic Church plucked her out of Africa and sent her to the USA to study as a Catholic diplomat of sorts.
She has been very influential in Environme...more
I looked Wangari Maathai on wikipedia, and she has a chemistry/biology background and was a certified genius as a child. So much so the Catholic Church plucked her out of Africa and sent her to the USA to study as a Catholic diplomat of sorts.
She has been very influential in Environme...more
Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, was born in humble circumstances (to her father's fourth wife) in Kenya, during the British occupation. Educated in Kenya and the United States in the biological sciences, her professional life begins with teaching at the University of Kenya. She becomes an environmental activist, starting the Green Belt movement to prevent environmental degradation by using volunteer women to plant trees, and in doing so, her actions threaten the establishment....more
I think Wangari Maathai might be my definition of a hero. What an amazing story she has to tell. And what a role models she is for everyone, but particularly Africans and women.
I've really tempted to give this 5 stars, but the writing is not always great. Actually, I really liked her writing: very earnest, very honest, very personal, and very enthusiastic. There is no objective professor coolly judging events, there is a person who is passionate about here beliefs and will fight for them over e...more
I've really tempted to give this 5 stars, but the writing is not always great. Actually, I really liked her writing: very earnest, very honest, very personal, and very enthusiastic. There is no objective professor coolly judging events, there is a person who is passionate about here beliefs and will fight for them over e...more
I just reviewed another book about Wangari Maathai - a children's book called Planting the Trees of Kenya, which I loved. This memoir isn't wonderfully written, but I still gave it a 4 because the story of the author is so inspiring...it makes one want to make a difference! Wangari and I went to the same small college in Kansas in the 60's...she was a mighty senior when I was a lowly freshman...she died yesterday in Kenya, mightily honored (and also despised by many politicians in her homeland)...more
Maathi passed away recently and this is how I came to know about her, even though she had won a Nobel prize in 2004 for environmentalism, and her establishment of the Green Belt Movement. I enjoyed most the early section of the book that traces the origins of her deep love of nature and how miraculously she received a science education, unlike most girls of her generation. She tells the story of Kenya's days under the yoke of the English, very dispassionately, without hatred, but detailing the h...more
Follows the life of a Kenyan civil rights and environmental activist from her childhood subsistence framing on the slopes of Mount Kenya, though her schooling in Kenya, the United States and Germany to her career as an activist and politician. Doctor Maathai's life an accomplishments are nothing short of stunning, and the book does a great job of explaining the politics and history surrounding her activities.
I found the writing itself a little bland, especially in the middle third, when she was...more
I found the writing itself a little bland, especially in the middle third, when she was...more
Wangari Maathai was an amazing woman. I really enjoyed reading this book, mostly because it was the right book at the right time. I will be traveling to Kenya in January to learn about food justice initiatives there, and I read this book to get more background on the geographical area of Kenya, the environmental movement, and the political history. To that end, the book was very useful, as Maathaia's life weaves in and out with each of those threads. Additionally, Wangari Maathai recently passed...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great African Reads: May/June: Kenya | "Unbowed" | 35 | 49 | Jul 02, 2012 01:45pm | |
| Wangari & Green Belt Movement | 1 | 21 | Feb 03, 2008 11:56pm |
a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya. In the 1970s, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. In 1984, she was awarded...more
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“In trying to explain this linkage, I was inspired by a traditional African tool that has three legs and a basin to sit on. To me the three legs represent three critical pillars of just and stable societies. The first leg stands for democratic space, where rights are respected, whether they are human rights, women's rights, children's rights, or environmental rights. The second represents sustainable and equitable management and resources. And the third stands for cultures of peace that are deliberately cultivated within communities and nations. The basin, or seat, represents society and its prospects for development. Unless all three legs are in place, supporting the seat, no society can thrive. Neither can its citizens develop their skills and creativity. When one leg is missing, the seat is unstable; when two legs are missing, it is impossible to keep any state alive; and when no legs are available, the state is as good as a failed state. No development can take place in such a state either. Instead, conflict ensues.”
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6 people liked it
“Education, if it means anything, should not take people away from the land, but instill in them even more respect for it, because educated people are in a position to understand what is being lost. The future of the planet concerns all of us, and all of us should do what we can to protect it. As I told the foresters, and the women, you don't need a diploma to plant a tree.”
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5 people liked it
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