There are only a few weeks left until the end of the World Citizen Challenge  hosted by Eva.  So, when I saw at the library  ”Nelson Mandela: The Authorized Comic Book” by The Nelson Mandela Foundation, I thought it’d be a good, quick read in the Memoir/Biography category.  For the final book at a PhD level for this challenge, I could pick a second book to read in any category (see end of post for all books read).

Nelson Mandela has had a very full life; can you believe he is 91 years old now?  This comic book (in hardback, 193 pages long)  includes every minute detail of his life.  For example, seemingly every single lawyer that has worked for him is listed throughout this book.  There are many people who have worked alongside Mandela during the struggle for freedom in South Africa, and it seems that it is the foundation’s desire not to forget anyone who has been associated with him.  Unfortunately, all this extensive documentation of facts and people makes this comic book somewhat dull.   Additionally, the drawings of the people seem somewhat unnatural.

This might be a good book, and starting point, for young adults assigned to do a research project on Mandela, but not as a sole source for information.  There is a limited bibliography in the back of the book; and you can also go directly to their website:  The Nelson Mandela Foundation.

I found one other review of this comic book  who seems to feel the same way as I do.  If you like graphic novels and similiar books, the reviewer’s website  is Comics Worth Reading.

Now I have attained a PhD level in this challenge.  Thanks to Eva for hosting it.

The rest of the  books I’ve read for this challenge:

History:  “The Fate of Africa” by Martin Meredith

Culture/Anthropology/Sociology: “We Look Like the Enemy” by Rachel Shabi

Politics: “Dreams and Shadows” by Robin Wright

Memoirs/Autobiographies: “Honeymoon in Tehran” by Azadeh Moaveni

Worldwide Issues: “Day of Empire” by Amy Chua

Economics: “Spin-Free Economics” by Nariman Behravesh

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 5:09 PM and is filed under World Citizen Challenge, books, challenges, graphic novels, websites to check out. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.