Long Walk to Freedom, Vol. 1

1918-1962

By: Nelson Mandela

Narrated by: Michael Boatman, Kofi Annan

Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

The riveting memoirs of the outstanding moral and political leader of our time, Long Walk to Freedom brilliantly recreates the drama of the experiences that helped shape Nelson Mandela's destiny. From his beginning in the Transkei to his being taken to Robben Island, this is the remarkable story of how a man rose so far, only to be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Emotive and compelling, this is the story of an epic life. This audiobook includes a foreword written and read by Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela's Presidential Oath of Office, an afterword from Sharon Gelman, and an interview with Long Walk to Freedom collaborator Richard Stengel.

©1994 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (P)2011 Hachette Audio

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" (Donald Woods in the Sunday Times)

Great content, poor accents and pronunciation

Audible must just do itself a favour and use narrators from the country of the author’s birth, next time. Michael Boatman’s African accent is cringeworthy, and his pronunciation of African and Afrikaner names is infuriatingly bad. The only saving grace for the book is that it is “Long Walk To Freedom”, one of the all-time great memoirs.

Inspiring Biography!!

Story in the beginning is little hard to hold unto. However the events in the second half of the audio are very interesting and hard to let go in between.
I found the narrators vocabulary very clear and easily understandable despite some unconvincing reviews.
Overall it's a great experience listening to the audio from start till the finish. Looking forward for a better part-2 with some more great inspiration to take along with me.

Great story

Loved it. Story of one of the greatest man being told by himself in quite a humble manner. I came out with the moral that great people are just like normal people who have made correct and brave choices in their lives.

Awesome content, AWEFUL AWEFUL reader

What did you love best about Long Walk to Freedom, Vol. 1?

The story of Long Walk to Freedom, as a view of the growth of South African politics from the eyes of Nelson Mandela, is timeless. As a South African, it is absolutely crucial to know and understand how we came to be the way we are, and the individuals (although the roles of all the them were not detailed in this book - not enough space!) that were instrument to the changes.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Long Walk to Freedom, Vol. 1?

A particular image of the political prisoners on Robben Island cooking mussels, abalone, and crawfish on the beach while doing "hard labour" :)

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The pronunciation of the Afrikaans and African words and names were HORRENDOUS. Why was a South African not employed to read this text? Just because you got a black guy to read a book written by a black man doesn't mean that he'll get the words right!! If this book teaches one ANYTHING, it's that the colour of your skin says NOTHING about you. Micheal Boatmen may be black, but he is NOT South African, and he says the words "veld", "rondavel", "knopkirrie", "Xhosa" and numerous others COMPLETELY wrong. His pronunciation of "Ag,", "Groote Schuur", and the names like "Mr Willemse", "Johan Strijdom", "Mr Viljoen", "Mr Botha".... it was AGONISING listening to Michael tear apart the commonly heard South Africa sounds so thoroughly. This isn't just a text on South African politics, it reflects on South African culture in more ways than one. It is tantamount that a narrator gets things as basic as pronunciation correct! I hear at the end that there was a "language consultant" that was employed. CLEARLY that person was NOT qualified in ANY way for this job! Ask ANY South African how to pronounce these words, and most would do it for FREE!!!

If you don't know what these words are meant to sound like, ignore all this, it's a GREAT book. If you're from SA and have the time to read the book, save yourself the aural agony.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The content made me laugh, cry, and giggle in relation to Madiba. It's a great text, and although it's quite biased to his point of view, it IS an autobiography.

The narration made me cringe and wished that I'd bought the ebook and read it instead... at least my brain would have pronounced the words correctly.

Any additional comments?

Just to re-iterate that you should have gotten a South African and NOT and American to read this particular book out loud... Michael Boatman puts on an "African" accent, but the words that Really needed the "African" touch were failed abysmally.

This is also more of a Biography than an Autobiography, since Madiba didn't really have the time to write this text. Richard Stengel did a phenomenal job though, and of course it'll sell better as "written by Nelson Mandela", than Stengel.

Great Work ( Biography); Challenges With Reading

Would you consider the audio edition of Long Walk to Freedom, Vol. 1 to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version. One of the reasons I decide to listen instead of read is because of the length of the work.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Long Walk to Freedom, Vol. 1?

Understanding some of the things that shaped Mandela from childhood to youth.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Michael Boatman and Kofi Annan ?

I don't know many other narrators by name. However, I would've cast someone who could pronounce the names of people and places the way they should be. Michael Boatman is a great reader but failed dismally to pronounce most names and places of people. While this might not seem a big deal, it makes it difficult to follow through and further look up some of these people and places. The failure to pronounce names is almost offensive, especially when you consider the length of the reading. For someone who has some familiarity of names and how they should be said, it is a huge let down.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Tough question. The entire work is moving.

Any additional comments?

Great biography. The reader almost ruined it with failure to say names of people and places the way they should be.

Poor Narration

This is a great story, by a great man, but it is tremendously annoying that the narrator did not take the time, effort, and courtesy out of respect to author story and listeners, to learn how to pronounce South African vernacular correclty

Narrator disappointing

I read this book many years ago, and coming up to Madiba's birthday I thought it would be a good book to re-read. This time I chose an audio format. Being a South African, the narrative was very disappointing and distracting. If you wanted an African to narrate this book for authenticity, an African should have been used, not an American. The accent was fake and many truly South African names, phrases and expressions were terrible. It was difficult to listen to someone trying very hard to be something he wasn't, would have been entirely American or African. As the narrator became tired it was apparent and when he started again, the accent was over exaggerated.

World's worst narration

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A different narrator. What's with the fake accent and the inability to pronounce regular South African words? So so embarrassing.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Michael Boatman and Kofi Annan ?

Anyone who doesn't think faking an African accent is ok. Kofi Annan is fine.

Any additional comments?

A wonderful story spoiled in the telling by bad audio choices on the part of the producers. suggest going for the e- or the print version.