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Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India Audiobook
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(3.02) - 261 listener ratings
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A highly original, stirring book on Mahatma Gandhi that deepens our sense of his achievements and disappointments—his success in seizing India’s imagination and shaping its independence struggle as a mass movement, his recognition late in life that few of his followers paid more than lip service to his ambitious goals of social justice for the country’s minorities, outcasts, and rural poor. Pulitzer Prize–winner Joseph Lelyveld shows in vivid, unmatched detail how Gandhi’s sense of mission, social values, and philosophy of nonviolent resistance were shaped on another subcontinent—during two decades in South Africa—and then tested by an India that quickly learned to revere him as a Mahatma, or “Great Soul,” while following him only a small part of the way to the social transformation he envisioned. The man himself emerges as one of history’s most remarkable self-creations, a prosperous lawyer who became an ascetic in a loincloth wholly dedicated to political and social action. Lelyveld leads us step-by-step through the heroic—and tragic—last months of this selfless leader’s long campaign when his nonviolent efforts culminated in the partition of India, the creation of Pakistan, and a bloodbath of ethnic cleansing that ended only with his own assassination. India and its politicians were ready to place Gandhi on a pedestal as “Father of the Nation” but were less inclined to embrace his teachings. Muslim support, crucial in his rise to leadership, soon waned, and the oppressed untouchables—for whom Gandhi spoke to Hindus as a whole—produced their own leaders. Here is a vital, brilliant reconsideration of Gandhi’s extraordinary struggles on two continents, of his fierce but, finally, unfulfilled hopes, and of his ever-evolving legacy, which more than six decades after his death still ensures his place as India’s social conscience—and not just India’s.
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"A must-read for all who have even the slightest interest in Gandhi - especially those who have seen the Ben Kingsley - Attenborough movie. For anyone interested in the history of partition of India and Gandhi's role in it, the book by H. M. Seervai (an eminent jurist in India) should be really helpful (Partition of India - Legend and Reality, Emmenem Publications, 1989)."
— Pranab (5 out of 5 stars)
Awards
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One of the 2011 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Nonfiction
Great Soul Listener Reviews
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" A not always sympathetic biography of the 'Mahatma',good in parts but a bit hard going in others,very detailed though ! "
— Richard, 2/5/2014 -
" Pretty good, a somewhat refreshing more human portrayal. Unfortunately I read this in a great many small chunks separated by days or weeks. I'll be re-reading in the future. "
— Larry, 1/31/2014 -
" A interesting, well-written book about Gandhi the man and the politician, not the icon. The author clearly admires the inspirational, idealistic Gandhi: at the same time the book is unsparingly candid about Gandhi's(many) personal shortcomings. Also an invaluable history of India's lurch toward indepedence. Recommended. "
— Steve, 1/18/2014 -
" Fantastic insight into someone who achieved great things. His path was truly windy and he reinvented himself on the way. Seeing his failings alongside his accomplishments made this book more impactful. "
— Mary, 1/16/2014 -
" As an admirer of Mahaatma Gandhi I looked forward to reading this book but when I finished it I felt that perhaps I had learned more about Gandhi than I wanted to know. Lelyveld acknowledges Gandhi's weaknesses as well as his strengths and makes very clear that he was a flawed human being although his achievements have influenced India and the world. I'm glad I read the book, but a little sad about losing some of my illusions too. "
— Adele, 1/13/2014 -
" This book was designed to increase readership by the garbage that it presented as facts. "
— Gil, 1/10/2014 -
" Removed some of the deification of Gandhi for me. Showed a complex figure with continually evolving views. In many ways the author was not complementary of Gandhi. It left me wanting to read a more traditional biography of Gandhi. "
— Ron, 12/31/2013 -
" Well, that was interesting. I knew very little about Ghandi previously, always nice to learn something new. "
— Ellen, 12/28/2013 -
" A really interesting biography of Gandhi. I haven't read any of the other biographies of him (or his autobiography), so I'm unable to compare it to those, but I thought it was a well-balanced portrayal of a fascinating, complicated man. "
— Anna, 12/1/2013 -
" For me, this was a terribly unsatisfying book. The author spends all of his effort nit-picking at Gandhi, trying to humanize him. Underneath this devotion to setting the record straight, there is a distinct whiff of hostility. Gandhi deserves better. "
— Mark, 11/22/2013 -
" Clearly meticulously researched but really dragged for me. Had to force myself to read it. That said, I learned quite a bit from reading this. Of course I found his weaknesses to be the most interesting, along with his philosophical positions on food and sex. "
— Colleen, 11/6/2013 -
" A very good, very thought-provoking book. "
— Tim, 10/31/2012 -
" Heavy book; many pages; difficult reading but interesting. Learned a lot about Gandhi that I never knew. "
— Sandi, 9/11/2012 -
" Interesting aspects, boring aspects. At times, the author seems to have a serious bone to pick with Gandhi, but at other times, he provides interesting analysis or simply story-telling. "
— Michael, 9/8/2012 -
" I kind of wish that I hadn't read this book. I pictured Gandhi as a benevolent, altruistic saint and after reading this book feel a little disillusioned. It was good to become reacquainted with some of the achievements of his singular life, however. "
— Carrie, 11/10/2011 -
" Ghandi's life is inspirational and the hope of his transcendent humanity is only diminished by the fact that the vast, vast majority of us cannot perform at his level. Spirituality is vital, but economics hits us where we live. His stubbornness ultimately proves his virtue and his failure. "
— Mike, 8/27/2011 -
" An excellent and seemingly evenhanded analysis of Gandhi's character, personal struggles, and impact on India and the 20th Century. "
— David, 5/9/2011 -
" Ghandi's life is inspirational and the hope of his transcendent humanity is only diminished by the fact that the vast, vast majority of us cannot perform at his level. Spirituality is vital, but economics hits us where we live. His stubbornness ultimately proves his virtue and his failure. "
— Mike, 4/10/2011 -
" A very good, very thought-provoking book. "
— Tim, 3/14/2011
About Joseph Lelyveld
Joseph Lelyveld is the author of several books, including Move Your Shadow: South Africa, Black and White, which won the Pulitzer Prize. He spent nearly four decades as a reporter and editor at the New York Time and served as executive editor from 1994 to 2001.
About Mark Bramhall
Mark Bramhall has won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration, more than thirty AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has repeatedly been named by AudioFile magazine and Publishers Weekly among their “Best Voices of the Year.” He is also an award-winning actor whose acting credits include off-Broadway, regional, and many Los Angeles venues as well as television, animation, and feature films. He has taught and directed at the American Academy of Dramatic Art.