The Story of My Experiments With Truth

Recommended by Howard Gardner, John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education

I consider Mohandas [Mahatma] Gandhi to be the most important human being of the last millennium. He not only realized that individuals of different backgrounds, religions, and values had to be able to confront one another nonviolently but, going beyond Christ’s example, he worked out the methods, “the algebra,” whereby such confrontations would be staged and resolved, ultimately strengthening each of the struggling parties. In addition to his indispensable role in the Indian independence movement, he inspired activists in South Africa, China, Egypt, and the America of Martin Luther King. The autobiography is neither artfully worded nor elegantly composed, but it describes in remarkably informative detail the ways in which Gandhi developed his own persona, learned from his mistakes, and inspired others. If one wants to understand the difference that one person can make, and how he went about his mission, there is no better source.