First published 2011
Joseph Lelyveld examines how Mahatma Gandhi transformed from a wealthy South African lawyer into India's revered leader and social conscience. The Pulitzer Prize winner traces Gandhi's two decades in South Africa, where he developed his philosophy of nonviolent resistance and social mission. Lelyveld shows how Gandhi returned to India and captured the nation's imagination, building independence into a mass movement while earning the title "Great Soul." The book reveals Gandhi's growing disappointment as he realized his followers embraced his political leadership but ignored his calls for social justice toward minorities, untouchables, and the rural poor. Lelyveld chronicles Gandhi's final tragic months, when his nonviolent campaign ended in India's partition, Pakistan's creation, and devastating ethnic violence. The author presents Gandhi as history's most remarkable self creation, an ascetic in a loincloth wholly committed to transforming society. This brilliant reconsideration shows how Gandhi's fierce hopes remained unfulfilled, yet his legacy endures as India's moral voice six decades after his assassination.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 20th-century, non-fiction, 21st-century, activism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: biography, historical-figure, social-justice
Setting: India, South Africa
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
448 pages · Hardcover · Knopf