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Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World

Louis Fischer

4.18 · Rating details · 3,754 ratings · 191 reviews

This is the extraordinary story of how one man's indomitable spirit inspired a nation to triumph over tyranny. This is the story of Mahatma Gandhi, a man who owned nothing-and gained everything!! ...more

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Paperback, 192 pages

Published December 7th 1982 by Signet (first published January 1st 1950)

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Feb 04, 2011 Riku Sayuj rated it it was amazing

Shelves: india-history, favorites, gandhi, india, history-imperial, history

Gandhi: The Observer

To change something you love is the hardest. It requires you to set aside your love for the thing and be objective. Real change cannot be imagined otherwise. My favourite description of Gandhiji’s uniqueness of vision comes from Naipaul.

Naipaul says that Gandhi saw India like no other, he observed critically, with an impartial, almost colonial eye. And then he acted on them. And this is what made his vision of India so revolutionary. He questioned things that were taken for g Gandhi: The Observer

To change something you love is the hardest. It requires you to set aside your love for the thing and be objective. Real change cannot be imagined otherwise. My favourite description of Gandhiji’s uniqueness of vision comes from Naipaul.

Naipaul says that Gandhi saw India like no other, he observed critically, with an impartial, almost colonial eye. And then he acted on them. And this is what made his vision of India so revolutionary. He questioned things that were taken for granted, things that were assimilated into our Idea of India.

Mohandas Gandhi: Mahatma, great-souled, father of the nation, deified, his name given to streets and parks and squares, honoured everywhere by statues, his portrait garlanded in every pan-shop, hung in hundreds of offices, bare-chested, bespectacled, radiating light and goodness, his likeness so familiar that, simplified to caricature and picked out in electric lights, it is now an accepted part of the decorations of a wedding house... he is nevertheless the least Indian of Indian leaders.

He looked at India as no Indian was able to; his vision was direct, and this directness was, and is, revolutionary. He sees exactly what the visitor sees; he does not ignore the obvious. He sees the beggars and the shameless pundits and the filth of Banaras; he sees the atrocious sanitary habits of doctors, lawyers and journalists. He sees the Indian callousness, the Indian refusal to see.

Why, for instance, was Gandhi so obsessed with human waste?

This is Naipaul's explanation:

It is a correct emphasis, for more than a problem of sanitation is involved. It is possible, starting from that casual defecation in a veranda at an important assembly, to analyse the whole diseased society. Sanitation was linked to caste, caste to callousness, inefficiency and a hopelessly divided country, division to weakness, weakness to foreign rule. This is what Gandhi saw, and no one purely of India could have seen it.

No Indian attitude escapes him, no Indian problem; he looks down to the roots of the static, decayed society.

And the picture of India which comes out of his writings and exhortations over more than thirty years still holds today: this is the measure of his failure, and ours… ...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Kanika rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I just finished reading ‘The Life of Mahatma Gandhi’ by Louis Fischer and one word that can describe my feeling at the moment is awe. We were taught in school about India’s history, about our freedom struggle, about our fearless leaders and their countless sacrifices. We studied the contributions of leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Ambedkar, Lajpat Rai et al to our struggle for independence, but as we grow up and become enmeshed in the humdrum of our daily activities, these names begin to have ...more

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Mar 08, 2009 Stephanie rated it liked it · review of another edition

As I turned the last page of Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World, I felt like I should say to it, “It’s not you. It’s me.”

The fact is, I had a hard time reading this book. This is one of those books that is better than my rating would indicate. My own personal issues prevented me from fully enjoying the book.

More than anything else, I think my problems stem from Louis Fischer’s writing style, not from his subject matter. Perhaps biography writing styles were different in 1954 when this w As I turned the last page of Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World, I felt like I should say to it, “It’s not you. It’s me.”

The fact is, I had a hard time reading this book. This is one of those books that is better than my rating would indicate. My own personal issues prevented me from fully enjoying the book.

More than anything else, I think my problems stem from Louis Fischer’s writing style, not from his subject matter. Perhaps biography writing styles were different in 1954 when this was written. The current style tends to be journalistic, in which authors inject as little of their own opinions as possible, preferring to let the facts speak for themselves. Fischer, on the other hand, doesn’t hesitate to say things like, “[Gandhi was:] the greatest individual of the twentieth century, if not of twenty centuries…” (p.88).

I can’t help but roll my eyes at hyperbole like that. (Fischer does realize that Jesus is a product of the past twenty centuries, doesn’t he?) I don’t begrudge Fischer his obvious admiration for a very great man, but his constant gushing became a little tedious.

I also felt that the book would have been better titled simply Gandhi: His Message for the World. Fischer does an excellent job of expounding on Gandhi’s philosophies, to the point where dates and milestones are swept away by the force of Gandhi’s spiritual message. It would be difficult to make a timeline of the events in Gandhi’s life (especially personal ones like the birth of children) based on this book. Often, while reading the book, I would find this lack of concrete details disorienting. I realized that I, as a reader, need those sorts of particulars to tether me to a story.

Are any of these real problems? No. So Fischer tends to get excited about his subject. So the message overwhelms Gandhi’s personal story (Gandhi would no doubt approve of that). In spite of these personal stumbling blocks, Gandhi’s message of love and acceptance comes through loud and clear. ...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Miroku Nemeth rated it really liked it

Gandhi was a hero of my first teacher, my mother, and in reading this book, I now see that much of how she strove to raise me came from his example and teaching. I read a biography of the "Gandhi of the Frontier" Badshah Khan two days ago, and bought this book last night and read it in its entirety today because the example of the Muslim Pashtun leader who created a non-violent uniformed army of 100,000 Pashtun and his love and respect for Gandhi touched me deeply. As a Muslim who is tired of th ...more

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Apr 11, 2015 Elliott Bignell rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I would like to avoid making this a review of Gandhi rather than of a book about Gandhi, but for the best possible reasons that is hard to do. The author knew Mohandas Gandhi personally, visited him repeatedly and, so far as I can ascertain, reflected his philosophy in this moving account as faithfully as still water. The book, in reading, seems to melt seamlessly into the Mahatma as if you were at his feet. There are three or five men whom I would call the greatest of the last century - Gandhi, I would like to avoid making this a review of Gandhi rather than of a book about Gandhi, but for the best possible reasons that is hard to do. The author knew Mohandas Gandhi personally, visited him repeatedly and, so far as I can ascertain, reflected his philosophy in this moving account as faithfully as still water. The book, in reading, seems to melt seamlessly into the Mahatma as if you were at his feet. There are three or five men whom I would call the greatest of the last century - Gandhi, Mandela and Churchill, plus perhaps Hitler and Stalin for their negative impact - and this book touches on the lives of four, only one of whom comes out a saint. It is odd to read of a saint of non-violent change at such a time, as at the time of writing someone close to me has met death, quite probably through violence, and I am struggling with the ferocity of a vengeful inner demon. Gandhi, and his philosophy transmitted through Louis's prose, have a hand on my shoulder, and it comforts me.

Gandhi was not born a saint. He had little patience for meretricious consistency and his morality grew and matured to become the Mahatma whose gentleness pried the grip of the British talon loose. He ate meat as a young man. He was impatient and demanding with his young wife, although she stayed with him for decades, while repudiating child marriages. He possessed towering certainty and sometimes naivety, a combination which conspired to make him great but must also have made him trying. He was curiously loyal to the British Empire and characteristically did not condemn us British even when he abandond that faith. He had a faith in human nature which ultimately betrayed him in the orgy of bloodletting which accompanied partition and in the persistence of untouchability. And eventually his faith met the ultimate betrayal at the hands of a lone, deranged killer who felt only rage at Gandhi's expression of love for his "brothers", India's muslims. The saint departed; humanity lowered its flag.

Fischer examines Gandhi's love and does not agree with all that he finds, but explains its power with eloquence. A world with a few more Gandhis might be a paradise. However... One cannot forgive his exhortation for European Jews to submit to the Nazi knife and thus win honour and dignity. Most did exactly this, and it led to their eradication. This cannot, one feels, be the way, and Fischer appears to agree. Gandhi himself admitted that non-violence cannot sway the policy of the totalitarian state, but he believed in it anyway, as he saw rewards in subsequent lives. My secular soul cannot accommodate this as it knows no afterlife and sees only the waste of this life, but it cannot deny the power of the moral message: Gandhi, the better Christian than any Christian. And face to face with an Empire, he prevailed.

This is the most moving biography I have read to date, and masterfully written. If I could do the John Wayne accent, I would finish: "Truly, this man is the Son of God." ...more

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Mar 08, 2009 Leslie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Men and women and children knew, or felt, that when Gandhi fell by the assassin’s three bullets the conscience of mankind had been left without a spokesman.

Louis Fischer clearly loved Mahatma Gandhi. An entire nation loved him. How could such a tiny little man impress the world in such a way? Before I read this book I knew next to nothing about him. Only that he had strange diet practices (“Many such experiments taught me that the real seat of taste was not in the tongue but in the mind,”) was ...more

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Apr 12, 2010 Stephanie rated it did not like it

Shelves: professor-recommended

This is the type of book that had a lot of potential. What ruined the book for me was Fisher's writing style. Throughout the entire book, Fisher idolizes Gandhi. There is not one passage of criticism which is unusual considering that Gandhi can be a controversial figure. His blatant worship of Gandhi made me highly critical of his telling of Gandhi. Another thing that made me highly critical was his lack of citations. Fisher reports that he spent a total of four weeks with Gandhi before his deat ...more

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Mar 15, 2018 Terry rated it did not like it

Shelves: non-fiction

Poorly written - while Gandhi is just an extremely, overrated 'political-rock star."

His clear substantive shortcomings in sciences, economics and mathematics, for starters, leads to his myopic thinking and actions that are preoccupied mostly with subjective political ideologies and religiosity. His stubborn approaches had perhaps also contributed to the deaths thousands of people during his time. His failure then to deal with real critical issues and trends; such as: overpopulation, education, e ...more

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Mar 03, 2017 Hannah rated it did not like it

Over all I am not too pleased with this book. I'm very interested in biography and and pretty anything in that category but when I started reading this book I knew it was a mistake. Even the beginning of the book was boring. I read the first 100 pages and didn't like it. The reason I read that many pages was I was waiting for the book to get interesting but frankly it didn't. It had very small print that hurt my eyes and along with that it was flat out boring. There wasn't any cool or interestin ...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Joseph Adelizzi, Jr. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Admittedly I have a very poor memory. I read books and then what seems like just minutes later most of the information which had so thoroughly engrossed me is erased from my mind. However, Louis Fischer's book and, more so, Gandhi's life so captivatingly described therein, contains scenes, sayings, concepts, and descriptions which I'm sure will stay with me forever:

“In the midst of death life persists, in the midst of untruth truth persists, in the midst of darkness light persists.”
“Nor cou ...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Mikey B. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, india

Gandhi is a Great of the 20th century. This book is more personal as the author had met Gandhi – its focus is on Gandhi the man. It cites his speeches and how Gandhi influenced events around him. Gandhi was a doer and the method and means were everything.

Compare Gandhi with the rise of communism (Lenin-Stalin) of the same time period and there is no doubt who and which approach is the more admirable and humane. Marxism-Leninism led to the death of millions.

The book describes many aspects of not ...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Rahul Khanna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: biographies, my-library, non-fiction

I am not wise enough to write a review of a book which is a biography M.K Gandhi. Nevertheless i will write a very compelling line from this book

Mountbatten told the royal empire society on 6 October, 1948, that in India Gandhi 'was not compared with some great statesman like Roosevelt or Churchill. They classified him simply in their minds with Mohammed and Christ'.Millions adored the Mahatma, multitudes tries to kiss his feet or the dust of his footsteps. They paid him homage and rejected his ...more

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Mar 08, 2009 Lisa Butterworth rated it liked it

I Overall I really enjoyed this book, but I wish it would have been a little more linear (or something). I am glad to understand Gandhi and his life and philosophy better. I'm interested to read another biography now, from a more er. . historical perspective. ...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Travis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Simply put: One of the best books I have ever read.

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Jan 03, 2021 Cijo Mathew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a must-read book for those who wish to learn about Mahatma Gandhi from the point of view of an American journalist, who spent two weeks with the Politician-Saint (one week each on two separate occasions) and is obviously a big fan of the Mahatma. The extensive research he has done and the interviews he did with almost all the prominent leaders of the time, including the leaders of the Indian National Congress, the British Imperialist Government rulers of the time gives the book a lot of ...more

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Feb 05, 2016 Dr.J.G. added it · review of another edition

The editorial description of the book went

"This is a biography of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). He led the fight for Indian independence from British rule, who tirelessly pursued a strategy of passive resistance, and who was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic only a few months after independence was achieved."

The editorial description is notable in light of facts of history that took place around independence of India - for one thing Gandhi desperately wished to visit the newly partitioned land of The editorial description of the book went

"This is a biography of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). He led the fight for Indian independence from British rule, who tirelessly pursued a strategy of passive resistance, and who was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic only a few months after independence was achieved."

The editorial description is notable in light of facts of history that took place around independence of India - for one thing Gandhi desperately wished to visit the newly partitioned land of Pakistan in west, to make efforts to bring peace where millions were being murdered; the then premier Liaqat Ali Khan issued a flat warning to the effect that he could not guarantee security of any sort to Gandhi who was seen as leader of Hindus by Muslim League officially, even though the people then living in the new nation did not all perceive it that way (in fact people of North West Frontier Province were extremely upset about not being included in India so much so the Viceroy's tour was cut short, and their leader - called Sarhad Gandhi, "Gandhi of frontier", due to his following Gandhi and his ways, was jailed by Pakistan government almost all his life); consequently Gandhi could not visit the region so recently a part of India and now torn with so much violence against Hindus, amounting to an exodus and a massacre both. Government of India could not ignore the warning and declaration by Liaqat Ali Khan about safety of life of Gandhi, and he was pleaded not to carry on his intention (whether he actually was denied a visa as most Indian dignitaries and artists can be summarily through the history of six odd decades of Pakistan is not the question) and he went east to Bengal instead, where he was successful in bringing peace within Indian borders.

Pakistan meanwhile attacked India in the northern state of Kashmir and Jinnah pretended it was all tribal hordes, and atrocities by attackers included rapes and murders of nuns in a convent; and while this was going on, Pakistan also demanded a larger share of the treasury while flatly refusing to share the debts of India before partition (you pay what India owes, give us share of what India had) and logically as well as strategically (paying huge sums to those that are attacking you is extreme folly for any sort of statesmanship, surely?) it was obvious to see why the Indian parliament, cabinet, everyone was in agreement that such demands were ridiculous.

Gandhi insisted, however, in giving in to the demands made by Pakistan, no matter how dishonourably they behave. When it was clear this would not be done he was unhappy and went on yet another fast for clearing of his soul. Naturally the government of India gave in.

Meanwhile refugees from west had been pouring in from Pakistan and their horrendous stories were becoming known in various corners of the nation where they could find a place to rest - refugees from west went everywhere, where ever they could, from Amritsar in Punjab to Delhi, U.P., Mumbai, Bangalore, name it. One such refugee camp near an army training school town near Mumbai a volunteer helping in the camp, a local person, went from anger to determination of not letting this continue, and he went and shot Gandhi after bowing down to him in reverence first.

Epithets ascribed to this man, a lonely person who hardly ever talked to anyone even within his family, range from crazy to fanatic to Hindu fanatic. The last is merely a convenient tool to use this man's background to crucify a tremendous culture with a very ancient tradition that is identified with India, something convenient for those that would destroy this open wide and deep treasure trove of a tradition that is a democratic faith, an inclusive culture, a tolerant and secular religion, a tremendous source of knowledge of mind and spirit.

An equal parallel would be to call John Wilkes Booth a "Christian fanatic", killers of Kennedys "American fanatics", the popes who ordered murder of Elizabeth I "Catholic fanatics", and so forth.

What could one call the people in US that attacked people and shops and so forth belonging to those that looked Asian, not only innocent of the 911 attacks but often not even of Islamic faith, then? The first person to be so murdered was a Sikh, wearing his faith's attire, taken by the killer to be a 911 attacker. What sort of fanatic should one call him, the killer who did not know the difference? Ignorant is merely accurate, but to parallel an acccusation of the sort in the editorial description one would have to find something more fitting.

So much for the official description of the book. Facts in short are more along the lines of following:-

This is a biography of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). He led the fight for Indian independence from British rule, who tirelessly pursued a strategy of passive resistance, and who was assassinated by a loner crazed by the harrowing tales of refugees, only a few months after partition which accompanied independence, along with the separated part Pakistan attacking India, demanding share of treasury and refusing to share debts, while Gandhi insisted (and was followed) in his wish that those demands be met, attacks by Pakistan continuing nevertheless. Pakistan had incidentally refused to allow Gandhi to enter the new country for a peace tour to attempt to stop the massacres, declaring the government of Pakistan could not guarantee security of Gandhi's life if he visited, since the Muslim League (- which carried out a massacre of a few thousand with knives in Calcutta in 1946 on a day named Action Day by Jinnah before Gandhi broke and agreed to the demand of partition of India into a separate nation for Muslims) called Gandhi a "Hindu leader". ...more

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Jun 02, 2019 Jordan McMaster rated it it was amazing

I sense that this is one of those books that will stay with me my entire life. It is a relatively brief overview of the life and message of Gandhi, and a perfect introduction for anyone (like myself) who has never studied Gandhi before. It left me wanting more -- more Gandhi, more of his goodness, more of his strength, more of his passion, more of his love.

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May 23, 2022 Cody Allen rated it it was amazing

Gandhi was not always the spiritual hero of Indian independence that we know him as. Once upon a time, he was a struggling youngster in the midst of a chaotic world, trying to find his rightful place in it. He was born in 1869 and married his wife and life-long companion at the tender age of 13, before puberty or adulthood had yet to embrace him. His first son was born when he was 18, the same year that he sailed to London in order to study law. While in England, he adopted the local culture as Gandhi was not always the spiritual hero of Indian independence that we know him as. Once upon a time, he was a struggling youngster in the midst of a chaotic world, trying to find his rightful place in it. He was born in 1869 and married his wife and life-long companion at the tender age of 13, before puberty or adulthood had yet to embrace him. His first son was born when he was 18, the same year that he sailed to London in order to study law. While in England, he adopted the local culture as his own, yet ultimately found it empty. He had hoped to establish the foundations of a career as a lawyer, but after several years of study, he returned home the day after passing the bar. Back in India, he took his first lawsuit, but could not bring himself to speak in front of the court due to his nearly crippling shyness and gave the case to a colleague. The disappointment he felt was overwhelming, and he jumped at the chance to leave India once again. When he was 24-years-old, he traveled to South Africa to work for an Indian law firm. Again, he tried to embrace the local culture and act within it—South Africa and India were both English colonies—and again, it didn’t feel right.

Within his the first week, he had what would turn out to be a life changing experience—one that pushed him unceremoniously off a train and into the service of justice. Gandhi had been assigned to a lawsuit that required him to be in Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal province in South Africa. He bought a first class train ticket from his temporary home in Durban (a days travel south) and rode the first leg of the journey in his compartment in peace. In the remote town of Maritzburg, a white man boarded, saw Gandhi in first class, and brought the railway conductor to his train car, demanding that he remove himself and sit in the baggage car. Gandhi protested and stayed; he had a ticket that rightfully afforded him the first class seat. As a violent result, the police were fetched and he was forcibly removed, left to sit and shiver in the cold outdoor train station throughout the rest of the night. All of this was done because of the color of his skin; Indians and blacks were not equal citizens to whites.

The injustice Gandhi felt at this moment was a major catalyst for his progression into a spiritual leader fighting for Indian rights and independence. It forced him to look beyond his own personal needs and confront the terrible suffering of his impoverished and exploited countrymen and countrywomen. He began to develop his theory of satyagraha, which translates to “holding firmly to truth.” This would become his creed.

In practice, satyagraha is a method for resolving conflict, whether it be personal, communal, political, or other. Typically, conflict between opposing parties can be ‘resolved’ only by the acknowledged dominance of one contender over the other. If there is a winner, there must likewise be a loser. Even compromise rests on this conclusion, since compromises are similarly just attempts to get as much as one can at the other’s expense. Satyagraha challenges this assumption. Satyagraha is not aimed at addressing grievances, but at resolving the underlying sources of conflict, enmity, and distrust between conflicting parties. Its goal is to show one’s adversary the common values both share, and the reality that both have more to gain in harmony than in discord. “I have been convinced” Gandhi once said to a gathered crowd, “that if you approached people with trust and affection, you would have ten-fold trust and thousand-fold affection returned to you.” Satyagraha does not exclude the opponent from the solution, but rather brings them in as a participant in the search for the ultimate truth—the one that exalts both sides.

This is the foundation for all of Gandhi’s work in nonviolent resistance. Whether satyagraha took the form of large scale mass protests against the British imperialists or small scale disagreements between a husband and wife, both are examples of opportunities for finding mutual love and understanding. This is the same example followed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his campaign for equality in the United States, the same as Nelson Mandela in his quest to end apartheid in South Africa. It is possible to love one’s enemy, even as you condemn their actions against you. Eventually they will find empathy in your experience, for it is impossible to watch others endure suffering without feeling a connection to their humanity. The mirror neurons in our brains are evolutionarily wired to do this—to empathize with our fellow humans. This is what Gandhi taught, once writing that “if you want something really important to be done you must not merely satisfy the reason, you must move the heart also.”

It was around this time (the turn of the 20th century) that Gandhi stopped conforming to English culture and instead adopted non -materialism and celibacy. “In renunciation, it is not the comforts, luxuries and pleasures that are hard to give up. Many could forgo heavy meals, a full wardrobe, a fine house, et cetera; it is the ego that they cannot forgo. The self that is wrapped, suffocated, in material things—which include social position, popularity, and power—is the only self they know and they will not abandon it for an illusory new self.” Gandhi chose this new self, and in place of these material things, he substituted important relationships. In place of his highly-paid position as a lawyer, he instead cultivated his freely-given service to others.

After 20 years in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India in 1915, and his pledge of nonviolent resistance to injustice started a new chapter. By now, he was a man of 45, and ready for the challenges ahead. He began organizing poor farmers and laborers to protest heavy taxes and discrimination, preaching his methods of nonviolence and satyagraha despite pockets of violence springing up all over the country.

One of his biggest problems in liberating India from British rule was the religious division between the Hindus and the Muslims; neither wanted to see the other in power if the English were to abdicate. This was a tremendous problem and one that Gandhi meditated on for years. His solution, and what became the biggest symbolic movement towards Indian independence, was the now infamous Salt March. Salt was heavily taxed by the British, and Gandhi reasoned that boycotting the tax on a stable good like salt was the best way to bring all Indians together. Whether you were Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jain, or Jewish, you used salt. Salt was a dietary staple for both rich and poor Indians, and much like the Boston Tea Party that ignited the American Revolution (which was in response to a similarly imposed English tax on tea in the American colonies), the Salt March was Gandhi’s way of folding all of his countrymen together into one coalition and sparking the desire for revolution within them. He led tens of thousands of his followers on a 24-day, 240-mile march to the seaside town of Dandi, giving spiritually uplifting speeches at villages all along the way. Upon arrival, he lifted a handful of salt from the sea over his head and exclaimed: “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire!”

Gandhi craved a psychological metamorphosis for his people, one that would give them inner freedom first and then hopefully outer freedom as well. Once the nation acquired individual dignity, he believed, they would insist on better living conditions and nobody would be able to hold them in bondage. While the result of the Salt March was 60,000 arrests, including Gandhi himself, (he spent a total of 2089 days in Indian jails—almost six years—and 249 days in South African prisons), the ultimate result was promising. The Salt March inspired his people with hope for a better future, one they could collectively attain. British imperial rule was put on the clock, eroding faster and faster with every passing season, until India eventually won their long-sought and well-earned independence in 1947.

By this point in his life, Gandhi owned only a few bowls and spoons, his sandals, a watch, a book of songs, and his glasses. He had given up everything else, including himself, to the causes of his people. First, Mahatma Gandhi changed himself. Then, he changed the world. ...more

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Sep 11, 2010 Tori rated it it was ok

Shelves: non-fiction, for-genj-book-club-2010, biographies

Occasionally there comes along a person who can captivate the hearts and minds of the people around him. Rarely does someone come along that can captivate an entire country. Rarer still a person who can capture the attention of the world. Mahatma Gandhi appears to be one of the latter.
I was intrigued when I picked up Louis Fischer's Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World. I knew next to nothing about Mahatma Gandhi, and was interested in reading a biography with an unbiased view - no pre-con Occasionally there comes along a person who can captivate the hearts and minds of the people around him. Rarely does someone come along that can captivate an entire country. Rarer still a person who can capture the attention of the world. Mahatma Gandhi appears to be one of the latter.
I was intrigued when I picked up Louis Fischer's Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World. I knew next to nothing about Mahatma Gandhi, and was interested in reading a biography with an unbiased view - no pre-conceived notions, no opinions, just the book and me. It was an enjoyable way to read a biography. If only the book itself was more interesting.
The writing style was my main hurtle with the novel. It felt over simplistic. There was no variation, no depth: it didn't draw you in. At any given point I could have set the book aside and never picked it up again. The thought that came to my mind was that it felt somewhat like the reading comprehension tests that we've all come across in school.
The ending was a flop. It was, like most biographies, his death. But there was no information on how people felt about his passing, what changes took places because of a national icon suddenly being gone, etcetera. Actually, there were one or two instances where I thought Lewis Fischer passed over important information, while at others he mentioned things that were completely trivial, or that had already been mentioned before.
One thing that sets this book apart from other biographies is the fact that the author actually went and talked to Gandhi. Therefore, he didn't have to get his information second hand (Though three reference pages in the back do show that he did research his subject).
The author obviously thought that Gandhi was a great man. But truthfully, Gandhi confuses me. He was a visionary, and someone who was able to captivate the hearts and minds of many. But for all that, he was often near sighted at times. Having his views, he expected everyone else to embrace them. He was also contradictory at times, especially in his theology. He called himself a Hindu, a Moslem, a Jew, and a Christian - all at the same time. That is physically impossible, as I'm sure you can imagine.
But that's who he was. He took what he wanted from everything - religions, books, you name it - and that was that for him. He'd read a book and pull out meanings that the author didn't really have in there, and ignore the rest of the message.
That's where Gandhi failed. He didn't realize the impossibility of some of these religions, and therefore the whole world, living in peace. No matter how much he had everyone's attention, and sometimes even affection, he couldn't break down their religious principles and ideas. Most religions just don't work that way.
I realize, looking back now, that I got a rather good view of Gandhi from reading this book. Maybe not so much of his personal life, but definitely his beliefs and mindset. And so, Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World does get it's main purpose done though the fact that it doesn't do so in an engaging manner is regrettable. If you're trying to research Gandhi, this book might be a good one for you to pick up.
...more

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Jun 04, 2008 Jared rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I have to admit that it took me three tries to finish this book. I think I started it at least two years ago. The first two times I got about 100 pages in and lost steam. The content was mostly interesting, but I was getting bogged down by a lot of the political details. I started over once again from the beginning, convinced that reading this biography would be "good for me." This time, after about 200 pages, I couldn't get myself to read anything else until I finished.

Gandhi has to be one of t ...more

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Jan 17, 2018 Heidi rated it liked it

Shelves: school-readings

Gandhi's life is one I've been itching to learn more about for a long time, and his life surprises me in many ways. I knew little of how he got his point across to people, and was especially surprised by his beliefs (I didn't know he wasn't completely Hindu, nor that he was inspired by the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5).
While there are things I disagreed with on Gandhi's views, I did appreciate his dedication and drive to do what he believed right, and for the best of others. He did much of ...more

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Jul 21, 2020 Raman Sihag rated it it was ok

The author way of writing- 0 star. He go on writing single sentence into paragraphs. Very 4 5 6 words the ‘commas’. It’s confusing. Not at all clear and easy to read.
About content - 2 stars. No criticism. It’s plain. Not analytical in multiple dimensions. Just goes on praising & praising.
Errors- many factual errors indeed. For eg- he wrote “ Bhagat Singh fired pistol rounds in legislative assembly after throwing bombs”. This is Absolutely false. He never fired and didn’t intent to hurt anyone th ...more

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Aug 12, 2009 Galazzoboy rated it liked it

Although I was not very fond of the last half or so of the book, the first part in which Ghandi's philosophies and beliefs were explained intrigued me. The story of Ghandi and all his inspiring achievements is a truly riveting tale of devotion and real faith, which is something rarely seen today. Greed, desire, corruption.... none of these things penetrated the seemingly invincible barrier that was built in his highly disciplined mind. He had unbending faith in both himself and in his countrymen ...more

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Jan 08, 2015 Arafat rated it liked it · review of another edition

I had been planning to read about Gandhi for a very long time. Finally, I got hold of this book, which is written very well. However, the writer has compromised his status as a biographer in his bid to write about Gandhi. He has overlooked many events in Gandhi's life (esp. the paradoxical views of Gandhi in a lot of matters). Overall, the book is great as it makes you walk and talk with Gandhi in a virtual setting but lacks an incisive description of many aspects of Gandhi's life. Because of th ...more

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Jul 16, 2014 Simon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

For a 620-page book on Indian politics this is remarkably readable. It's also pretty even-handed and gives a good idea of the man as well as the Mahatma. Fischer doesn't gloss over some of Gandhi's less appealing aspects (his relationships with his own sons, for example), but you can see why he inspired a devoted following. What mainly come through are his compassion and determination.
I like the way Fischer handles the ending, too. ...more

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May 15, 2019 Reece Willcox rated it liked it

Very interesting, just had hard time getting through it. I wasn’t a huge fan of author’s writing style.

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Sep 17, 2019 Alee rated it it was ok

Interesting but very one sided and pretty dated

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Sep 13, 2017 Jennifer rated it liked it

Great biography on the amazing and inspiring life of Ghandi.

"He always tried to exalt the individual; hence 'it has always been a mystery to me,' he wrote in his autobiography, 'how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow-beings.'

"Bramacharya, 'fully and properly understood,' he wrote in 1924, 'means search after Brahma,' or God. It 'signifies control of all the senses at all times and all places in thought, word, and deed.' It includes yet transcends sexual restraint ...more

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Jul 01, 2020 Charlie Canning rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I had the good fortune to read Louis Fischer's biography of Gandhi recently and came across this extraordinary paragraph:

"Gandhi did not expect to eradicate white prejudices. 'Prejudices," he wrote in the Times of India of June 2, 1918, 'cannot be removed by legislation . . . . They yield only to patient toil and education.' Nor did he hope to end segregation quickly. The Indians, he declared, 'feel the ostracism but they silently bear it.' His quarrel with the South Africans was 'for feeding th

I had the good fortune to read Louis Fischer's biography of Gandhi recently and came across this extraordinary paragraph:

"Gandhi did not expect to eradicate white prejudices. 'Prejudices," he wrote in the Times of India of June 2, 1918, 'cannot be removed by legislation . . . . They yield only to patient toil and education.' Nor did he hope to end segregation quickly. The Indians, he declared, 'feel the ostracism but they silently bear it.' His quarrel with the South Africans was 'for feeding the prejudice by legalizing it.' At least the laws must be just, he pleaded. He did not anticipate fair administration of the laws; the whites would always be favored. But once the principle of legal equality was established he would be content to let life work out its complicated pattern and trust good citizens to brighten it. If, however, the Indians supinely accepted their 'inferiority' they would lose dignity and deteriorate morally. So would the whites who imposed the inferiority." (25)

Gandhi understood that legislation alone was not about to change people's deep-seated fears and prejudice. Real change could only be accomplished through something he called "soul force." This was an activation of will on the spiritual level that called for resistance to evil in every fiber of your being. You simply chose not to participate. Often this involved protest in the form of civil disobedience. If the authorities locked you up for not obeying an unjust law or paying an unreasonable tax, so much the better. Time in jail would give you the opportunity to pray and to fast - two of the most effective weapons in fighting injustice and raising consciousness.

Race relations in America have followed a similar path. The Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s did not end discrimination against Black people - the new laws only provided a legal framework for justice. The courts, law enforcement and society at large were supposed to do the rest.

The disheartening thing about race relations in the United States that the Black Lives Matter movement has laid bare is the poor job that White America has done with the end game in the fifty years since Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Kennedys and Lyndon Johnson.

Gandhi's genius was in recognizing that empowering the oppressed was only one part of the equation. It was equally important to make the oppressors aware of their responsibility in perpetuating the injustice. ...more

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Oct 06, 2019 Shireesh Pareek rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

In a time when people are not leaving any stone unturned to demonize Mahatma Gandhi all due to fake news fed to them via WhatsApp messages and Facebook posts,it becomes all the more necessary to read about the man.
The most extensive biography about Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi or Bapu. This book is in three sections first deals with the birth, schooling,family,his going to law school,his time in South Africa and his rise to fame. Second section deals with his ret ...more

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About Louis Fischer

Louis Fischer

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Foreign correspondent and analyst of world affairs.

Fischer worked as an European correspondent first in Berlin later in the Soviet Union. The works he wrote during his stay in the Soviet Union are criticised for its apologism and the denial of the Ukraine famine.

Louis Fischer first visited Gandhi in 1942 and again in 1946.

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