Author: Malala Yousafzai
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 9780316327916
Reviewed by Dr. Bob Rich
Everybody knows about Malala.
Everybody should read her book.
Doing so will make you into a better person.
Naturally, some of it is horrific reading, including natural disasters, the atrocities of the Taliban, and of course the later part reporting on her shooting and recovery. But even these sections are fascinating, informative and inspiring.
And so much of it is joyful. If a flower could write about her life, this is how she would write.
Seeing Pushtun culture from within was interesting and educational. And no one reading this book could continue with the delusions of those who see all Muslims as evil terrorists, the Other to fear and hate.
Malala comes across as a real person, with her faults as well as good points. She is not some saint, up there, but one of us. That means, each of us can be like her.
Even before reading the book, my often expressed opinion was that her father must be exceptional to have raised a daughter like her. My reading confirmed and even reinforced this. From an early age, he has defied the conventions of his culture, and followed his own light of decency, intelligence and courage.
I do have one slight disagreement with this young lady. For her, education is the key to everything, for me it is one essential component of several. But that’s fine. I hope her influence only continues to grow.
MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Dr. Bob Rich is a professional grandfather, with hundreds of grankids all over Earth. Anyone under 25 qualifies: they only need to apply. Everything he does, including his 18 published books, is designed to work for a survivable future for young people, and a future worth surviving in. This means changing a global culture that emphasizes and rewards the worst in human nature, particularly greed and aggression, into a global culture that empahsizes and rewards the best in human nature: compassion, empathy, cooperation, sharing, decency. He has lots of good resources at his blog, Bobbing Around https://bobrich18.wordpress.com including descriptions of his books, which get uniformly high ratings and complimentary reviews.
Learn more about him:
Learn more about him:
Website: http://bobswriting.com
Dr. Bob's newsletter: Bobbing Around https://bobrich18.wordpress.com
Twitter: @bobswriting
Bob's Mottoes: Commit random acts of kindness
Live simply so you may simply live
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