Non-Fiction Book of the Year – Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2014.
The bestselling memoir of NOBEL PRIZE winner, Malala Yousafzai, the school girl who stood up to the Taliban.
In 2009 Malala Yousafzai began writing a blog on BBC Urdu about life in the Swat Valley as the Taliban gained control, at times banning girls from attending school. When her identity was discovered, Malala began to appear in both Pakistani and international media, advocating the freedom to pursue education for all. In October 2011, gunmen boarded Malala's school bus and shot her in the face, a bullet passing through her head and into her shoulder. Remarkably, Malala survived the shooting. At a very young age, Malala Yousafzai has become a worldwide symbol of courage and hope. Her shooting has sparked a wave of solidarity across Pakistan, not to mention globally, for the right to education, freedom from terror and female emancipation.
Reviews
“This memoir brings out her best qualities. You can only admire her courage and determination. Her thirst for education and reform appear genuine. She also has an air of innocence, and there is an indestructible confidence. She speaks with such poise that you forget Malala is 16.” (Ziauddin Sardar THE TIMES)
“Moving and illuminating” (Catherine Bennett THE OBSERVER)
“Malala's evocation of place, beautifully and lovingly described, and her paean to her father with his own passion for education, are fascinating. But so is her toughness. She describes seeing a young girl selling oranges, clearly unable to read or write: "I took a photo of her and vowed I would do everything in my power to help educate girls like her. This was the war I was going to fight.” This remarkable book is part memoir, part manifesto. I feel enriched from having read it. I also feel humbled. Our obsession with school performance is suddenly marginalised by a story in which education, quite literally, proves a matter of life and death." (Geoff Barton THE EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT)
“She has the heart and courage of a lioness and is a true inspiration.” (Lorraine Kelly THE SUN)
“Rejoice! It was the year that a Pakistani teenager who stood up to the Taliban became a celebrity, and one with a real story to tell. What a breath of fresh air in a genre crowded out by middle-aged TV personalities. Malala Yousafzai invigorated the "all about me” genre with I AM MALALA, with Christina Lamb, a tale of immense courage and conviction which begins as she is shot for campaigning for the rights of girls to an education." (THE INDEPENDENT)
“Honest, insightful and piercingly wise, this is the celebrity memoir to give your teenaged daughter this Christmas.” (Katy Guest INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY)
“Malala's voice has the purity, but also has the rigidity, of the principled. Whether she is being a competitive teenager and keeping track of who she bet in exams (and by how much) or writing a blog for the BBC that catapulted her on to the international stage – "We were learning how to struggle. And we were learning how powerful we are when we speak” – or talking about Pakistan's politicians (“useless”), Malala is passionate and intense. Her faith and her duty to the cause of girls' education is unquestionable, her adoration for her father- her role model and comrade in arms- is moving and her pain at the violence carried out in the name of Islam is palpable." (Fatima Bhutto THE GUARDIAN)
“Part memoir, part mission statement. I am Malala recounts the early life of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who spoke out against the Taliban and was shot for her defiance. Her recovery, bravery and stoicism – and her father, Ziauddin – make for shocking and moving reading.” (EMERALD STREET)
“The medical team that saved Malala; her own stoicism and resilience; the support of her family, now, again in exile, this time in Birmingham; Malala's level-headed resolve to continue to champion education and children's rights- these are all powerful reminders of the best in human nature. Much of the money Malala has been awarded has gone to the Malala fund (www.malalafund.org). "Please join my mission,” she asks. It's vital that those of us who can, do." (Yvonne Roberts THE OBSERVER)
About the Authors
Malala Yousafzai was born in the Swat region of Pakistan in 1997. She began blogging for the BBC at the age of 11 and became an international icon when she was shot in the head by the Taliban for continuing to attend school. In April 2013, Time magazine named Malala as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. She lives in Birmingham.
Christina Lamb is one of the world's leading foreign correspondents. She is the author of five books and has won a string of awards, including Britain's FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT OF THE YEAR five times as well as the PRIX BAYEUX. She currently works for the SUNDAY TIMES and lives between London and Portugal with her husband and son.