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Desmond Tutu's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Desmond Tutu recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Desmond Tutu's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1

The Sun Does Shine

How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row

Anthony Ray Hinton was poor and black when he was convicted of two murders he hadn't committed. For the next three decades he was trapped in solitary confinement in a tiny cell on death row.

Eventually his case was taken up by the award-winning lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, who managed to have him exonerated, though it took 15 years for this to happen. How did Hinton cope with the mental and emotional torture of his situation, and emerge full of compassion and forgiveness? This is a story of hope and the resilience of the human spirit.
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Recommended by Richard Branson, Desmond Tutu, and 2 others.

Richard BransonIf there is ever a story that needs to be told, it is this one. Anthony Ray Hinton is extraordinary, an example to us all of the power of the human spirit to rise above complete injustice. He is using his experience as a way to turn the broken criminal justice system upside down. He is a brilliant storyteller, and his book will make people laugh, cry, and change their own lives for the better. It... (Source)

Desmond TutuNelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison for opposing a racist system in South Africa. Anthony Ray Hinton spent 30 years on death row because a racist system still exists in America. Both emerged from their incarceration with a profound capacity to forgive. They are stunning examples of how the most horrendous cruelty can lead to the most transcendent compassion. The Sun Does Shine is both a... (Source)

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