Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire (Philip E. Lilienthal Book in Asian Studies) [Hardcover]

Rajmohan Gandhi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2008 | Series: Philip E. Lilienthal Book in Asian Studies

This monumental biography of one of the most intriguing figures of the twentieth century, written by his grandson, is the first to give a complete and balanced account of Mahatma Gandhi's remarkable life, the development of his beliefs and his political campaigns, and his complex relations with his family. Written with unprecedented insight and access to family archives, it reveals a life of contrasts and contradictions: the westernized Inner Temple lawyer who wore the clothes of India's poorest and who spun cotton by hand, the apostle of nonviolence who urged Indians to enlist in the First World War, the champion of Indian independence who never hated the British. It tells of Gandhi's campaigns against racial discrimination in South Africa and untouchability in India, tracks the momentous battle for India's freedom, explores the evolution of Gandhi's strategies of non-violent resistance, and examines relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, a question that attracted Gandhi's passionate attention and one that persists around the world today. Published to rave reviews in India in 2007, this riveting book gives North American readers the true Gandhi, the man as well as the legend, for the first time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author, Professor Gandhi of the Univ. of Ill., was 12 years old when his grandfather was assassinated by a Hindu extremist. Besides being the global symbol of nonviolent resistance, Mohandas Gandhi (called Mahatma, "the great soul," by his people) is still venerated in India today. In his rigorous account of Mahatma's life, Gandhi (Gaffar Kahn) writes movingly of the man, his family and his ideas, culminating in his monumental stand against India's British rulers. Born in India in 1869, Mahatma studied in London and then practiced law in South Africa, where he opposed both the color bar against Indians and inter-Indian discrimination against "untouchables," their lowest caste. Joining the radical wing of the Congress Party, Mahatma returned to India, insisting on nonviolent protest despite British provocations like the Amritsar massacre, in which soldiers shot into a crowd of unarmed demonstrators. His tactics resounded with his followers; his fasts kept them inspired and won concessions from the British. Along the way, the author provides interesting glimpses of a family baring the brunt of Mahatma's rejection of the typical middle-class lifestyle afforded an Indian professional. This thorough, inspiring account is notable not just for the author's personal ties and obvious passion, but for his considerable research and the enormity of his undertaking.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Gandhi has skillfully narrated events in the life of his grandfather, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. . . . [An] excellent book." (Starred Review)--Library Journal

"A monumental biography that looks likely to stand as definitive for the foreseeable future."--Charleston Post & Courier

"I was not prepared to be as educated, entertained, and inspired as I was by this mighty work of his grandson Rajmohan Gandhi."--Tikkun

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 759 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (March 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520255704
• ISBN-13: 978-0520255708
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #411,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Definitive Biography of Gandhi -- But With Breathtaking Windows into His Heart, March 7, 2008

By 

David Crumm "Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine" (Canton, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire (Philip E. Lilienthal Book in Asian Studies) (Hardcover)

As a journalist who has reported on religion for a quarter of a century, my bookshelves are lined with most of the earlier volumes on this defining spiritual figure of the 20th Century -- a man whose brilliance even shaped the American Civil Rights movement half way around the world and whose teachings continue to inspire and provoke.

Why buy this new book? (And I do urge you to buy it if you are intrigued by this figure who strides across the history of religion like a tireless titan to this day.)

Well, first of all, here's what this book is not. This isn't a breezy read and it isn't a fresh interpretation of one particular aspect or one particular era of Gandhi's life. Even though the biographer is Gandhi's grandson, who was a child when Gandhi was murdered, this is not a memoir of a close associate.

Millions have read Louis Fischer's breezy introduction, first published in 1954. There's probably a paperback edition of Fischer somewhere in your public, school or parish library. You may even have a well-worn copy on your shelf. If you know that version -- Fischer's book (which still stands as a fine introduction) is like a magazine story compared to this full biography.

A number of more ambitious biographies also have been published down through the years, including Eknath Easwaran's 1972 effort to describe Gandhi's "transformation" -- and Yogesh Chadha's thick biography more recently.

What I like about Gandhi's new biography of Gandhi is the substantial, almost formal, way in which the grandson has cast this book as The Definitive Biography. And I agree. To put it simply, I think this is the version of Gandhi's life that we will find on library shelves 25 years from now as the recommended book to read to delve into his life.

"Delve" is a key word here, because you're in for a good long adventure here. At 754 pages, this is a brick of a book. It is "definitive" in the sense that it is a solid, detailed, chronological biography. It's the kind of presentation that will leave readers really feeling that they have trekked with Gandhi across continents -- and through his spiritual and political journeys.

More detailed reviews of this book, published in India, point to very specific aspects within the book -- and the way the author took a balanced approach to them, rather than pulling the most dramatic or provocative bits of Gandhi's life out of context. Generally, Indian media has praised this book.

I share all of this background with you so that you understand exactly what will arrive on your doorstep with a thud if you order this book. It's an adventure in reading that you're going to want to pursue, perhaps, for some weeks.

Now, here's what I really love about this book: In the midst of the chronological tapestry that the biographer weaves from Gandhi's life -- we find these vivid images that open up from time to time. Having just finished my own journey through the book -- I don't think I'll forget the passages of Gandhi's own writing, late in life, that the biographer chooses to leave us with. Yes, we're moving through the detailed account of the final months of his life with dates, places, events and context all described. But, this provides a framework in which the biographer places these windows into Gandhi's own insights. And, in that final section of the book as an example, he has deftly chosen the most vividly revealing passages -- from a satirical note about snakes that Gandhi scribbled to a critic to an achingly beautiful passage about forgiving one's own assassin that Gandhi wrote not long before he was shot down.

It's a big book and a big investment in time -- but well worth the journey.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ten star superb read, July 22, 2008

By 

MotherLodeBeth "MotherLodeBeth" (Sierras of California) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire (Philip E. Lilienthal Book in Asian Studies) (Hardcover)

This is a superb book that includes a lot of information not previously known. Was so interesting to read of how he interacted with his family as well as observation after WW 1 that the middle east countries would be taken by the English and Americans because of the oil.

And how Tolstoy played a role in molding his views on all things spiritual as well as observations on how Gandhi's view effected issues like the environment, feminism, business and human rights in general.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational, July 17, 2008

By 

Dr. Jean Robert Sohoka (Dakar, Senegal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire (Philip E. Lilienthal Book in Asian Studies) (Hardcover)

The Mahatma, the Great Soul of India went to practiced law in South Africa to carry the banner of justice against the usurpers of human dignity.

He defied the unjust authority with wisdom and pacifism.
How ironic that the British Empire, supposedly the torch of liberty and equality stood like a brick wall in the face of Gandhi.

Gandhi was India's first free spirited intellectual to raise a red flag against the notorious Indian cast system.
This book retraces memorable moments in his life.

The book is up-lifting and inspirational.
It is nourishment for the soul.