Going to the Mountain

Life Lessons from My Grandfather, Nelson Mandela

By: Ndaba Mandela

Narrated by: Ndaba Mandela, Michael Boatman

Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

The first-ever book to tell Nelson Mandela's life through the eyes of the grandson who was raised by him, chronicling Ndaba Mandela's life living with, and learning from, one of the greatest leaders and humanitarians the world has ever known.

To the rest of the world, Nelson Mandela was a giant: an anti-apartheid revolutionary, a world-renowned humanitarian, and South Africa's first black president. To Ndaba Mandela, he was simply "Granddad." In Going to the Mountain, Ndaba tells how he came to live with Mandela shortly after he turned 11 - having met each other only once, years before, when Mandela was imprisoned at Victor Verster Prison - and how the two of them slowly, cautiously built a relationship that would affect both their lives in extraordinary ways.

It wasn't an easy transition. Mandela had high expectations for those around him, especially his family, and Ndaba chafed at the strict rules and exacting guidelines in his grandfather's home. But at the same time - through overheard calls from foreign dignitaries as well as the Xhosa folk wisdom that his grandfather shared with him at every opportunity - Ndaba was learning how to be a man. On a scale both personal and epic, Ndaba's extraordinary journey mirrors that of South Africa's coming of age - from the segregated Soweto ghettos into which he was born to the privileged life in which he grew up and the turbulent yet exciting times in which he carries on his grandfather's legacy.

Going to the Mountain is, in the end, a story about unlocking the power within each of us. It's a cautionary tale about how a child's life can go one way or the other, depending upon the intervention of a caring soul - and about the awesome power of love to serve as a catalyst for change.

©2018 Ndaba Mandela (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Ndaba Mandela introduces his own story, then hands the narration over to Michael Boatman, whose melodious, skillful recitation quickly draws listeners in....Above all, Boatman captures the wonder and gratitude of Ndaba the man for a coming-of-age he realizes, in retrospect, was an extraordinary gift." (AudioFile)

Hate how the narrator rolls his "r's". Distracting

Hate how the narrator rolls his "r's". It is very distracting and adds a "snooty" sound. Not at all like an African accent.

I Like The Story It Is Inspiring A Lot.

I Did not like the way the other guy was reading the xhosa words as a xhosa man who is really proud about ulwimi lwesiXhosa iyatyafisa into yokumamela umntu esophuma ulwimi lwakho kanje.

Moving and Touching

The moving and touching story of a boy becoming a man under the watchful and guiding eye of the world's most famous grandfather.

Beautiful story

This is a beautifully told story although I haven’t yet read Mandela’s biography. I will be reading it next!

Expected far more

Given the value and contributions made to society made by Nelson, the book fell well short on content, values and teachings of one of the most important and influential people in our lifetime.