Tirelessly striving for honesty, Gandhi was harder on himself than on anyone else - making him a charismatic leader whose life and words continue to influence people today.

'Get down!' the official said. 'Or I will get a constable to push you out!' 'Do that, ' I told him. 'I will not get off this train!' Mahatma Gandhi is best known as the father of the Indian nation and a charismatic leader in the fight for justice for all. But who was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and what made him the phenomenon he became? Born into a middle class family, Gandhi's thirst for truth was evident from an early age, and his insistence on speaking and living his truth often got him into trouble. Why did it matter so much to him not to cheat at school, to stand up to officials who told him what he could and could not do, to fight relentlessly for the rights of the poor and those with little power over their own lives? What was it about Gandhi's life and experiences that brought him to the clear understanding that love and non-violence are the best weapons in any struggle?

Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world's greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.