Exploring the Early Life of Mahatma Gandhi: Ramachandra Guha's Gandhi Before India

Sonee Singh: A detailed and thoroughly researched account of Gandhi during his time in London and South Africa where he gained the experience, knowledge, and insight that he’d use upon his return to India and during his most consequential years.

United States on Jun 28, 2023

Kindle Customer: Can he read hundred times with same inquestiveness

India on Dec 26, 2022

Durgaprasad M.Durgaprasad M.: About external feature: Being a penguin copy, page quality good. Delivery was timely.

Pros- I have only read prologue and chapter 1. What I felt till now is that author knows how to narrate, tell a story and engage audience. He narrated the simple not so adventures childhood of Gandhi in such an awesome way (without any nonsense mirch masala) that though I know his childhood story I couldn't skip it.

India on Jun 25, 2021

sreejith nair: There can be nothing short of a 5 star rating for this book. A comprehensive book on the life and works of Gandhiji in his formative years of London & South Africa.
This is a must read book, especially in this time as our political spectrum is leaving no stone unturned to malign the image of Gandhi and his idealism in our country. Plus, our historical teachings doesn't really tell us about Gandhiji's work in South Africa. So this book is a revelation. There are so many false and degrading information going on the social media regarding his personal life. To all those, the author has clarified and claimed, satisfactorily to me atleast, all the truths behind those.

India on Jun 18, 2019

Arghya Chakraborty: This wonderful book, written by "Gandhi's finest biographer", is, in a word, unputdownable. It has that pace and energy of a thriller, and why not, it charts the growth of the man who changed not only the face of India, but the whole world, a man of whom Einstein said "Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh & blood walked upon this earth."

However, this book isn't an out and out eulogy of Gandhi, as it is fully aware of the more humane aspects of his character. It is unbiased and hence worthy of reading and rereading.

As for the quality of the book all I can say it is a Penguin paperback, so no issues with quality.

India on Sep 15, 2018

Ashok: I just completed reading this book. Another excellently researched, well written book by this author, though this is a bit of a slow read.

I have read several books on Gandhi, with Gandhi (like history of Indian independence), watched the movie. But Gandhi always seemed either one dimensional or a superman. This is the first book that provides depth to Gandhi, at least made him more human to me.

It does not diminish what Gandhi accomplished, it adds to it. Gandhi's personality grows in the book. One understands why Gandhi did what he did and how he did it. It has only increased my respect for the man. Many people criticize Gandhi and his methods, his leadership & philosophy. At time this has included me. However I think I have come to the conclusion that this criticism was/is unwarranted. Gandhi was not like Hitler or Stalin who imposed their philosophy on others through fear and repression. He instead showed an alternative way and asked people to follow. He did not stop others from leading. I think India and the world is better off thanks to this. And history shows that his methods take time to get results but overall the society progresses leaving behind little...

United States on Aug 30, 2015

Nan Healy: Given what has happened during the last few weeks in Ferguson, Missouri and Long Island, New York plus the refusal of The U.S. House of Representatives to even consider Immigration Reform Legislation proposed by our President two years ago, and the measures states like Texas have used to deprive minorities of their vote through the use of redistricting, mandatory voter ID cards, and limiting the hours when people may vote, this book is extremely timely.

The book concentrates on Gandhi's life in South Africa and his non-violent protest leadership against measures that deprived resident Indians of the right to vote, severely limited the number who were allowed to enter the country, imposed unaffordable taxes on their modest businesses, and broke up families by refusing to allow male Indian immigrants to bring their wives and children into the country with them. Does this all sound home-country familiar?

You bet. If anything, I believe this book is a serious reminder to U.S. Caucasians that as a race, we are extremely slow learners when it comes to treating people of color fairly, no matter what our U.S. Constitution says. We seem to take one step forward (school...

United States on Dec 05, 2014

SansPeurVJ: What an interesting title. It's the "before" that at once catches the eye. While India and Gandhi are inextricably linked, this book derives its principal interest from how South Africa prepared Gandhi for his future role. As Jon Stewart remarked right away when he introduced author Ramachandra Guha on his show, Gandhi is truly a "global" figure in the highest sense of the phrase even in this era of mass celebrities where he stands taller than pretty much everyone else to date. Indeed, whatever may be the future of humanity, and, however and whoever writes it, Gandhi will always be an essential player in that account. In simple, clear, enthusiastic prose Guha charts the evolution of Gandhi from a modest young lawyer with unremarkable speaking skills, one who had yet to find his real métier, to someone who became self-charged with a mission of fighting injustice in his own unique and now immediately, famously, recognizable way. In time to come, he was able to hold the attention of millions when he spoke. From what I gather reading this book, in the second half of the nineteenth century, racism in South Africa was raw and unspeakably vile. How on earth a shy young man coming from a...

United States on Jul 07, 2014

Mr. Anuj Ghai: A tremendous achievement. 'Gandhi Before India' is an extremely well-written examination of Gandhi's years in South Africa. This period of the Mahatma's career is often treated by Gandhi scholars and biographers as a prelude to his more productive and path-breaking years in India. Guha exposes the folly of this approach- he argues persuasively that Gandhi's experiences in South Africa are of tremendous salience since they moulded his life and character in ways that ultimately enabled the Mahatma within him to emerge. South Africa, was in many respects, the first laboratory of Gandhi's Satyagraha experiment, and so his time there merits close examination and study- this wonderful biography contributes enormously to the ever-growing body of Gandhi scholarship and helps to illuminate Gandhi's formative years in South Africa.

United Kingdom on Apr 04, 2014