The Story of My Experiments with Truth

From the backcover The Story of My Experiments with Truth, the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, is a very popular and influential book. It covers the period from his birth (1869) to the year 1921, describing his childhood, his school days, his early marriage, his journeys abroad, his legal studies and practice. The book is more about the experiments of Gandhi with truth and his Satyagraha movement, which literally means demanding the truth and nothing else. This is the very idea that helped him to fight against racism, violence, and colonialism. All of this eventually helped him to achieve his dream of an independent India. He mentions his numerous experiments, starting from his elocution training to putting an end to his fear and shyness towards public speaking. His instances of attending singing classes and shaking a leg on the dance floor are well-described. He was a staunch vegetarian, fasted regularly and walked 10 miles daily. He studied comparative religion greatly and was a devote Hindu, but showed great respect for all religions. Gandhi didn't shy away from accepting his own mistakes and displayed commendable patience and fortitude in his personal life.