Gandhi (Ctr. for South Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Eight Lives) has skillfully narrated events in the life of his grandfather, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, known as "the Mahatma" and India's "Father of the Nation." While the author has earnestly and sequentially knitted together the story of the Mahatma, whose practice of nonviolence paved the way for India's independence from Britain, he also presents a clear picture of the history of India during Gandhi's time. We get a close look at the contrasts and conflicts in Gandhi's life as he strove for Hindu-Muslim unity and fought against apartheid in South Africa and untouchability at home. Gandhi, who had a "great emotional hold as evidenced by the numerical support of his demonstrations and the popular enthusiasm," continues to fill the reader with awe throughout this excellent book. Although many commendable studies of Gandhi have been written, this one is a comprehensive and therefore invaluable resource both for scholars and for those embarking on a beginning study of the man. Strongly recommended for academic and public libraries.--Uma Doraiswamy, Western Kentucky Univ. Lib., Bowling Green (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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. (Mar.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

As Rajmohan Gandhi (Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) states, Mahatma Gandhi may be one of the most written about figures in world history. Like Napoleon, another much written about figure, Gandhi was a revolutionary; unlike Napoleon, he was probably successful in reducing the violence that accompanied his country's revolution. For this monumental account of Gandhi's life, the author uses a considerable amount of material (some seldom used before) in an attempt to "tell a story," answer fundamental questions, and permit Gandhi to emerge as a real man. Rajmohan Gandhi attempts to tell the story from his grandfather's perspective: how he made his decisions, recruited his allies, and constructed his strategies. The author describes the evolution of Gandhi's thought and principles, describes and analyzes events in Gandhi's life, and helps clarify comments Gandhi made in his autobiography. He elucidates the context for many of Gandhi's actions, and Gandhi's personal power does come through, but while the book is straightforward in its explanations of events and developments in Gandhi's life, one does not get the feel of the real man. The book is thorough and will serve varied audiences from the general public to more specialized academic audiences. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. D. L. White Lock Haven University