Long Walk to Freedom

The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

By: Nelson Mandela

Narrated by: Danny Glover

Length: 6 hrs

Publisher's summary

The riveting memoirs of the outstanding moral and political leader of our time, Long Walk to Freedom brilliantly re-creates the drama of the experiences that helped shape Nelson Mandela's destiny. Emotive, compelling, and uplifting, Long Walk to Freedom is the exhilarating story of an epic life; a story of hardship, resilience, and ultimate triumph told with the clarity and eloquence of a born leader.

©1994 Nelson Mandela (P)2004 Time Warner AudioBooks UK

Critic reviews

"Burns with the luminosity of faith in the invincible nature of human hope and dignity....Unforgettable." (Andre Brink)
"Enthralling....Mandela emulates the few great political leaders such as Lincoln and Gandhi, who go beyond mere consensus and move out ahead of their followers to break new ground." (Sunday Times)

Nelson Mandela's Life Story

Would you try another book from Nelson Mandela and/or Danny Glover?

I was particularly disappointed with Danny Glover's voice and hence I didn't enjoy the book as much as possible.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

There was not enough detail to really grab my attention, and in addition to this I found there was a never ending list of people's names and associations that in the end became somewhat meaningless.

Was Long Walk to Freedom worth the listening time?

I expected a lot more from this book. The only parts that really grabbed me were the freedom songs that were occasionally inserted into the story and the actual speech by Nelson Mandela towards the end of the book.

Great story

Though Mr Glover did a great job and has somewhat of a resemblance to Nelson Mandela. The story telling would have benefited vastly if the narrator was from South Africa or at least someone who could pronounce the names and provinces. Otherwise it was a great book.

Great Story Missing an African Reade

I loved this book and the story. Danny Glover does really well but as an American his voice and accent cannot capture the spirit of this book. Still a very worthwhile listen!

One of the best stories of a titan, performed terribly!

Terrible pronunciations xhosa and African names plague this audio book thanks to Danny Glover. However, the story is still a brilliant story of a true titan of South Africa and the African continent. Mandela was truly a legendary figure and his story should be taught to everyone. Just wish that it could be performed by a South African who can do the Xhosa and local terms and names justice!

A Pronunciation Massacre

This production is an audio massacre. I'm sure Danny Glover was delighted to read the autobiography of such an admired man, but this production did Mr Mandela no favours. I can't vouch for the Xhosa pronunciations, but Glover butchers common SA English words such as "veld" (pronounced felt) and even Mandela's own name. It's man-DEH-lah.

This audiobook is a perfect example of how British and American disregard for accent and pronunciation leads to accusations of cultural imperialism. If Tom Sawyer was read by a Pakistani narrator, how many Americans would complain? There would be an outcry. So why not get a South African narrator to do a proper job? There are a number of SA voices with the deep vocal quality of Glover, without the glaring inability to pronounce names correctly.

I'm sure I will eventually get used to the butchering of names and words, but it is all so unnecessary. The author deserves better respect than this disaster. The producer owes him an apology, but this is unlikely to happen.

Difficult to understand the narrator

Danny Glover does not have a clear voice to be a narrator, at times listening became uncomfortable, words were mumbled and swallowed and the attempt to pronounce indigenous names was very poor.
I think Nelson Mandela deserves better than this.
I wish I could get a refund for this purchase because I did not get the full benefit of the book. I will have to read it myself.

Please use Native speakers for certian audi books

The narration and butchering of the language was very unnecessary and uncomfortable to hear. I think the publishing house could have recruited someone with better context of the language and culture. As a South African who loves audio books, this version was incredibly distateful and in some cases i struggled to make out what exactly the narrator was trying to say when they called Xhosa names as I knew that's not how we pronounce them and as a result it lost meaning as I didn't have the hard copy infront of me to double check.

Not enjoying the narrator

Would you try another book from Nelson Mandela and/or Danny Glover?

Nelson Mandela - yes, depending on the narrator

Any additional comments?

An american narrator struggles with the african pronunciations - which changes the flow of the book.

Long walk to the end of the book

Found this audio very long and drawn out. The interesting parts were few and far between.