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An Autobiography  By  cover art

An Autobiography

By: Mohandas - Mahatma K. Gandhi
Narrated by: Bill Wallace
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Publisher's summary

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always."
--Gandhi

In 1999, this book was designated as one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century" by HarperCollins Publishers.

A holy man to Hindus, a hero to Muslims, and a criminal to the British, Mohandas K. Gandhi was an inspiring figure of the 20th century, a man whose quest to live in accord with God’s highest truth led him to initiate massive campaigns against racism, violence, and colonialism.

From his youthful rebellion against vegetarianism, to his successful law practice in South Africa, his struggle with his own sexual excesses, and his leadership of the movement to free India from British rule, Gandhi describes the story of his life as a series of spiritual “experiments” and explains how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance, which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and inspired countless other nonviolent struggles.

Public Domain (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about An Autobiography

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Narration disappointment

It would be hard to exaggerate how disappointed I am in this audio. Bill Wallace's voice, diction, and pacing - while probably excellent for many other narrations - take my mind so far away from Gandhi's words that I feel like I'm listening to the reading of a cookbook. I've tried to make myself relax and listen "past" his voice. I've been so eager to enjoy it: I thought I'd be able to get used to the narration. However, it's so disconnected from the subject of the reading that I can't get past it.

I'm glad others have been able to enjoy what I'm sure is an amazing book. My best advice is to make sure you listen to the sample. I obviously got so excited about the book that I forgot to sample it, and thus I set myself up for disappointment.

Maybe I was hoping to hear Ben Kingsley. :)

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44 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Narrator kills this wonderful book!

I am East Indian and have read this book before, I wanted to reread this book for a long time but simple did not have the time. With my long daily commute this audiobook was the perfect solution, but I was not prepared the terrible job Bill Wallace does with all the Hindi and Sanskrit words. He could not even correctly pronoun city names or basic geography without me cringing, this take away from the life lessons which are shared by Gandhiji. It shame and sad someone better was not picked to read this book.

Save your money and don't listen to this book, buy the actual book and read it.

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great book, Good enough narration.

The book itself is awesome, needless to say, just like the man who wrote it. Narration is good enough. Bill Wallace tried hard to imitate Gandhi's voice and I would say succeeded for most part. However, the narration clearly fell short of the mark when pronouncing the names of Indian leaders or villages. Considering that this book is a real treasure to own, I would have loved to see this book narrated by someone who can bring more nativity to the listener. John Lee from 'The White Tiger' would have been a perfect fit.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Story of the most historical figure

M.K Gandhi revolutionized the Indian independence struggle, but this book is more about what made his principles and personal beliefs. Most of the book is about his struggles as a kid and his profession as a lawyer. The three quarter of the book is about his journey back and forth to South Africa and his struggle to get rights and fight against inequality for Indians in South Africa. Indian independence is just the last 5 hours or so of the book. The most striking thing which I ever knew about Gandhi was his personal life and his diet which is very well described in the book.

Finally a word for the narrator. I wish the narrator had a better control over the hindi names and words. He would pronounce certain words and I would think for few minutes until I made the link with what actually he meant. He would pronounce 'mussalman' (people who follow Islam) as musclemen, which would sound ridiculous in the context.

Overall a must read for anyone who is interested in world politics and history. A great political and historical figure who has inspired many freedom fighters and an epitome of humility.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Insightful and Informative without being boring

From Gandhi's lips to my ears! Gandhi wrote this account in a manner that revealed some of his short comings and most of his accomplishments. I enjoyed the book but was at times a little lost regarding some of the events because Gandhi recounted them as if the reader were already familiar with them. He has always been one of my heros but here he reveals aspects of himself that were disappointing to me. In the final analysis he, like all heros, had his flaws and short comings as any human being does. He manages to show himself as conflicted at times, yet able to prevail in spite of that. Sometimes he shows himself to be stubborn and arrogant, yet at other times flexible and tollerant - If you have always admired Gandhi, be prepared to see him in the raw at times. Having said that, there were times when I had the feeling he was glossing over or slanting things in his favor. He was far more complex a person than I had imagined and this book shows it. Well worth the listen and a good historical account of the times.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Narrator is Distracting

The narrator has really sharp "s" sounds that hurt my ears when I listen to this audiobook. Makes for a very distracting and painful experience.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great content, awful narration.

Mr wallace needs practise.
He totally butchered a masterpiece with his complete inability to pronounce the simplest native words, let alone the complicated Sanskrit based words/phrases.
What an utter shame!! Because the content is fantastic and really spoke to me inspite of the narrator.
Highly recommended!!!

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Power of Truth

This was a very enjoyable and “eye opening” book. As a Christian, I was never taught on other religions except Judaism. I believe it is ignorant to disregard other religions. The country of India holds approximately 1 billion people itself.

This book gives you good insight into Hinduism culture, and along the way Gandhi searches to find the truth in other religions, such as Christians, Muslims, and sub groups of those whom practice different customs.

The book teaches that in the end, truth always prevails. No matter what religion you are, God is truth. Lastly, he teaches to remember we are all from the same God. Those who perform evil deeds are still our brothers and sisters, and we should never hold ourselves above anyone else.

I would recommended this book to anyone.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

I really enjoyed this book, I have listened to it 2 or 3 times and I only bought it a month or two ago. It's very long so it takes a few days to get through. I will listen again and again to this one!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

This book is not very interesting

This biography ends when the real Gandhi begins. So this book is about the slow progression of the discovery of Gandhi by Gandhi. Experiments with food, law, absenteeism,fasting....and freedom. But may be one has to just get it out of the bucket list since it is about a great man!

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3 people found this helpful