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An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth
by Mahatma Gandhi

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/873384.An_Autobiography_or_The_Story_of_My_Experiments_with_Truth?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1179092837m/873384.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/873384.An_Autobiography_or_The_Story_of_My_Experiments_with_Truth?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/57637.Mahatma_Gandhi">Mahatma Gandhi</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14406166?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 3 of 5 stars Mohandas Ghandi, the Mahatma, did not set out to become a legend, or a hero. He just wanted to practice law to earn a living. He went to South Africa, counter to his caste's norms, to pursue a job. In South Africa, where he had a job opportunity, he discovered that the ruling class considered him a "coolie barrister" and not worthy of sharing a sidewalk with whites. At one point he was ordered by a judge to remove his turban because hats were not to be worn in the court room. He argued that a turban is not a hat. He lost the argument, and chose to leave the room rather than remove the garment.
 
 He summed up his situation thusly: “I saw that South Africa was no country for a self-respecting Indian, and my mind became more and more occupied with the question as to how this state of things might be improved.” Don't we all face such situations? I know I do. 
 
 This book is the journal of his efforts to improve the lot of the self-respecting Indian, and along with that, of all self-respecting people who are abused anywhere. Much of his account was written while he was in jail. My sufferings are so much less than his.
 
 For all who like the quote "We must be the change we want to see in the world," this book provides a foundation of deeper understanding of the man and his values. It is not a light read. His writing style is a bit ponderous, and of course, it is a bit dated with references to servants and such. While it lacks the drama and brevity of Martin Luther King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail, it is still a landmark autobiography.
 
 It is a book for the patient reader. Perhaps my greatest takeaway, beyond his accounts of being bullied and standing up to it, is his statement that much of what he did was an experiment in truth. That is, in fact, the subtitle of the book. Shouldn't we all be experimenting with truth?
 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/734075?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Dan's review
rating:
bookshelves: biography, history, philosophy
recommended for: patient readers

Mohandas Ghandi, the Mahatma, did not set out to become a legend, or a hero. He just wanted to practice law to earn a living. He went to South Africa, counter to his caste's norms, to pursue a job. In South Africa, where he had a job opportunity, he discovered that the ruling class considered him a "coolie barrister" and not worthy of sharing a sidewalk with whites. At one point he was ordered by a judge to remove his turban because hats were not to be worn in the court room. He argued that a turban is not a hat. He lost the argument, and chose to leave the room rather than remove the garment.

He summed up his situation thusly: “I saw that South Africa was no country for a self-respecting Indian, and my mind became more and more occupied with the question as to how this state of things might be improved.” Don't we all face such situations? I know I do.

This book is the journal of his efforts to improve the lot of the self-respecting Indian, and along with that, of ...more

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