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Long Walk to Freedom

by Nelson Mandela (also rec’d by James Mattis & Richard Branson)

This story of Mandela’s life is incredibly engrossing. As he recounts those 27 years in prison on Robben Island, what struck me is how someone can go through all this and maintain a sense of peace and equanimity even toward the people who put him there. One passage in the last chapter shocked me: ‘My commitment to my people, to the millions of South Africans I would never know or meet, was at the expense of the people I knew best and loved most.’ Despite all the great things he did, he’s awar...

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