Product Description
Zimbabwean human rights historiography often assumes that pre- colonial African politics were democratic; whilst colonialism implies a total denial of human rights. It further assumes that Zimbabwean nationalism was in essence a human rights movement; and that the liberation struggle, which led to the overthrow of colonial oppression, reinstated both human rights and democracy. This, the second volume on the historical dimensions of human rights in Africa, reconsiders questions of nationalism, democracy and human rights. It asks why the first 'democratic revolution' was frustrated in Africa, despite the democratic dimensions of the early nationalist movements. It considers possible causes of the resulting post-independence authoritarianism in Zimbabwe as centralism, top-down modernisation, or 'development'; and it reviews the outcomes of a commandist state. Common themes running through the book are the ambiguities and antitheses which concepts of nationalism and democracy imply; and the delicate, but necessary balancing which discourse on majoritarian democracy and human rights is bound to produce. This in-depth historical analysis by some of Zimbabwe's leading intellectuals and academics sheds essential light on some of the conflicts, traumas and human rights dilemmas that the country is experiencing at present. ... Read more

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This book is an exploration of the political history of insurgency in Southern Rhodesia between 1961 and 1987, with particular reference to the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). Formed on December 17, 1961, ZAPU became the first revolutionary, national, movement to explicitly call for majority rule on the basis of one-man one vote.

During the early years of its struggle, ZAPU employed non-violent means to try and achieve its goal for majority rule and a non-racial society. Because of the belligerency of the White settler regime, ZAPU added the armed resistance to its strategy of non-violence, and went on to build a formidable army. During the struggle, ZAPU contributed diplomatically and militarily towards the liberation of Zimbabwe. In 1980 it lost elections to its compatriot party, the Zimbabwe African National Union but joined the government at the invitation of the latter.

The marriage of convenience between the two parties dissolved in less than three years, and what followed was the unconscionable persecution of ZAPU members and the AmaNdebele, the people who formed the core of ZAPU, by ZANU in its drive for a one-party state. The party’s resistance of intimidation and violence for more than five years, helped foster a climate of political pluralism in the country, the climate that was further enhanced by some of its members’ theater. Tired of being hunted down, and also seeing its own members butchered, the ZAPU leadership decided to merge its party with the ruling party on December 22, 1987. ... Read more

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This biography of Robert Mugabe charts the life of this autocratic leader from his rise to power in 1980 when he promised reconciliation and unification to the country now called Zimbabwe, to 2003. Initially, Mugabe was admired thoughout the world as one of the leaders of the emerging nations and as a model for good transition from colonial leadership. But month by month, year by year, Mugabe's rule has become increasingly autocratic; his methods, increasingly violent. Now, Zimbabwe has become a pariah among nations, rife with violence and corruption. Mugabe rules with an iron hand, while his people die of hunger, disease and violence. What happened to this formerly thriving African state? Journalist Martin Meredith brings the story right up to date and provides an account of a tragic political story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

WRITTEN BY A WHITE MAN
This book is pure garbage and misleading...A white man has no business writing this fiction. The white man is getting back the wrath sufferred by black ZIMs for decades. CRY ME A RIVER....Africa for Africans! Get out! Long live Mugabe.

Portrait of a deranged despot
This book outlines the career of an evil and utterly ruthless man who emerged from being a key figure in a guerrilla war fought against white minority rule, to engineering through intimidation and terror a victory in Zimbabwe's first all-inclusive elections over the moderate Abel Muzorewa's United African national Congress and Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union.

After returning to Salisbury on January 27, 1980. after five years in exile, Mugabe was given a hero's welcome by a large crowd bearing banners with images of rocket grenades, land mines and guns, many wearing youth T shirts with the Kalashnikov rifle, which Mugabe's Marxist Zimbabwe African National Union party had wanted to use as an emblem, but which the British authorities had prohibited.
The scale of intimidation by ZANU was massive. Neither the UANC or ZAPU were allowed to campaign at all in eastern Rhodesia, leading ZAPU leader Nkomo to state that 'the word intimidation is mild, people are being terrorized, it is terror, there is fear in people's eyes."

Therefore Mugabe's landslide win and all of his subsequent electoral victories can not in any way be seen by a fair minded observer as in any way legitimate.

After victory and becoming Zimbabwe's Prime Minister, Mugabe spoke the language of soothing words to the the country's White population and the international community.

But in 1982 he resorted to terror in order to impose the one-party state he dreamed of imposing and his goal of absolute. power. Mugabe unleashed his Fifth Brigade (trained in the brutal communist dictatorship of North Korea in the art of terrorizing populations) on the Ndebele and Kalangas population groups of western Zimbabwe, which had largely supported the opposition ZAPU, in a horrific campaign of genocide known as the Gukurahundi. Entire villages were massacred, men, women and children herded into huts and burned alive, all supplies, transport and drought relief were cut off the starving villages and a deliberate famine created.

A commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference Commission of Peace and Justice contained some damning evidence of 5 Brigade atrocities. The statement accused the army of conducting a 'reign of terror' in Matabeleland including 'wanton killings, woundings, beatings, burnings and rapings".
It had brought about the 'maimings of hundreds of people who were neither dissidents nor collaborators."

Over the four year period of the Gukurahundi over ten thousand people were massacred, and thousands more beaten tortured and maimed. An entire people had been victimized. but there was no world outcry, certainly none from the international left, who set themselves up as the great guardians of human rights, and who were great supporters of Mugabe as a revolutionary hero.

Meredith writes of the corruption of the wealthy new elite close to ZANU PF, who enjoyed the best of everything while the people of Zimbabwe grew more and more destitute, of Mugabe's machine of crushing opposition and the de facto one party state in Zimbabwe for 12 years.

He also outlines how the fraudulent so-called 'land reform programme' is nothing but cover to destroy opposition and reward ZANU PF cronies.

While the opposition Movement for Democratic change enjoys overwhelming popularity, it has been prevented from operating freely as Mugabe and ZANU PF continue to operate a reign of terror against Zimbabwe's people.

Opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai rightfully described Mugabe a 'deranged despot', and politician Edgar Tekere called Mugabe 'an insane head of state."
"But there is a crude logic to Mugabe's actions' the author points out "His sole purpose has become to hold on to power. Whatever the cost, his regime has been dedicated towards that end. Violence has paid off in the past. He expected it to secure his future".
And so 6 years after this book was published Mugabe rand his ZANU PF retain a bloody and iron grip on power,
He still enjoys some support from Stalinists and anti-democrats in the world, today and his excesses are defended by such outfits of evil as the monstrous Workers World Party in North America, which supports every evil regime and terror outfit in the world today.

Too late for many
As usual with Mr Meredith, a well written and researched book. Had he written this earlier and I had read it earlier I would not have held on to living in Zimbabwe, hoping for a change. At the end of the day, the leopard Mugabe has not changed his spots but has demonstrated to the world, that whatever your opinion of him, he is still a master politician. A recommended read for anyone who wants to understand the man or even the convoluted machinations of African politics.

Zimbabwe's tragedy
This book looks at the rule of Robert Mugabe, whose story is unfortunately like so many others in Africa. Having fought against colonialism he became Rhodesia's first, and ONLY, president.

This biography looks at his background, his political activities prior to the election which propelled him to power and his seemingly never-ending thirst for personal power, regardless of the cost to his long-suffering people. If you are interested in seeing how a country which once was the bread-basket of southern Africa became gripped in famine and despair, read this book.

An excellent account of politics and violence
For anyone interested in beginning to understand the dynamics of Zimbabwe's recent electoral crisis, this book is essential. Meredith goes into Mugabe's long history of violence,who like Mao sees violence as essential for politics. From the war waged against opposing guerilla forces because of political differences, the slaughter of 10,000 in Matabeleland, the seizure of white farms, threatening judges who ruled against the ZANU-PF government, and electoral violence, what we are seeing is nothing new, as Meredith reminds us. He also hints at the ethnic and racial tensions driving the politics and violence, something too often forgotten in today's media coverage. For example, Mugabe's ZANU-PF has its roots in the rural Shona ethnic group, while the Movement for Democratic change is much more urban and has many white supporters.

The book is also relatively short (about 244 pages) and easy to read. Meredith provides a huge amount of detail without wasting too many words (or the reader's time).

I think the book could have used a bit more of an introduction into Zimbabwe's and Africa's history more generally for the uninitiated to allow us to compare Mugabe's rule to how politics was conducted in the past in the country and the wider continent. For example, some readers might not realize the importance tribal and ethnic divides play in many African countries. However, any ignorance in this regard could be fixed by reading Meredith's other books on Africa.

Usually in biographies authors try to psychoanalyze their subject. Fortunately, Meredith does not try to do this. He provides insights using quotes and sources, not psychobabble. This is not only good academic practice, but also creates an alarming effect in the book in which Mugabe himself often seems somewhat distant, except through his public statements. That indeed appears to be how he is in real life, alienated from his nation, isolated from the people, and removed from reality.

I hope he comes out with another revised version when Mugabe finally falls from power.

[note: this book is a revised version of "Our Votes, Our Guns". It says this clearly on the front cover and back, but just to warn future readers...] ... Read more

Product Description
This volume explores the prehistory of human rights in Zimbabwe. It asks whether there are democratic legacies from pre-colonial polities and what limitations then existed on human rights. It also asks what colonialism contributed to the discourse of human rights and democracy despite its denial of both to Africans. Contents: pre- colonial states of Central Africa as embodiments of despotic culture; archaeological evidence of political structures; democracy and traditional political structure 1890-1999; imperial and settler hypocrisy and double standards and the denial of human rights; black elite responses to ideologies of democracy; the law courts in Rhodesia; interaction between white and black trade unionism; and the Build a Nation campaign, 1961-62. ... Read more

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Journalist Peter Godwin has covered wars. As a soldier, he's fought them. But nothing prepared him for the surreal mix of desperation and hope he encountered when he returned to Zimbabwe, his broken homeland.

Godwin arrived as Robert Mugabe, the country's dictator for 30 years, has finally lost an election. Mugabe's tenure has left Zimbabwe with the world's highest rate of inflation and the shortest life span. Instead of conceding power, Mugabe launched a brutal campaign of terror against his own citizens. With foreign correspondents banned, and he himself there illegally, Godwin was one of the few observers to bear witness to this period the locals call The Fear. He saw torture bases and the burning villages but was most awed as an observer of not only simple acts of kindness but also churchmen and diplomats putting their own lives on the line to try to stop the carnage.

THE FEAR is a book about the astonishing courage and resilience of a people, armed with nothing but a desire to be free, who challenged a violent dictatorship. It is also the deeply personal and ultimately uplifting story of a man trying to make sense of the country he can't recognize as home. ... Read more

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Before emerging ex statu pupillari as Zimbabwe, the former Southern Rhodesia underwent many changes. These included a dramatic declaration of independence in the Sixties by the minority government; a fierce 'Chlimurenga' or war of liberation; a flirtation with socialism; and a final emergence as the republic we know today,From prc-history to the present day Zimbabwe - The Rise To Nationhood presents a clear and comprehensive study of a nation in transition.As an economist, the author is able to highlight the uses -and abuses - of his country's human and natural resources, both before and after independence. With the help of his own illustrations, maps and a full glossary and index, Jacob Chikuhwa paints a picture of a country more at ease with itself and its neighbours than before, but still suffering the effects of cyclical trade and weather conditions.This book will be of enormous value to students of economics, history and culture, and to anyone interested in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa. ... Read more

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This book attempts to bring out the propensity with which civil society can influence citizens' behaviour towards issues that affect their lives. The author argues that local authorities should strive to serve their constituencies they do not have the prerogative to make arbitrary decision of issues that affect their localities but should endeavour to incorporate contributions from the very people who they are supposed to serve. Through the formation of community-based institutions, like residents' association, citizens can be able to speak with one voice, thereby buttressing their propensity to engage the local authority. Accordingly, in this book, the author makes attempts to highlight how a Resident Association has engaged the Harare City Council to provide improved service delivery and at the same time exhorting the local authority to incorporate input from ratepayers on how best services could be improved within the City of Harare and to allow citizens to have their destiny into their own hands. The book would be of interest to students of local governance, those in the civics, politicians as well as general practitioners and the causal reader. The author intends to make this book part of a series of editions which are going to be produced by the same author on the intensification of Local Governance and how best citizens can participate in local authority decision-making processes. ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Southern Rhodesia government referendum of October 27, 1922 saw the voters of the colony of Southern Rhodesia by a comfortable majority reject the chance to join the Union of South Africa in favour of establishing a responsible government within the colony. It prefaced the official granting of responsible government on October 1, 1923. The referendum arose after the Legislative Council election of 1920 resulted in a majority which favoured immediate moves towards establishing "Responsible Government" within the colony. Immediately after the election the Legislative Council passed a resolution requesting the United Kingdom government to inaugurate responsible government, and the United Kingdom's response was establishing a Commission under Earl Buxton, a former Liberal minister. The Commission reported in 1921 that the Colony was ready for responsible government and that a referendum should be held to confirm it. A delegation was sent from the Legislative Council to negotiate with the Colonial Office on the form of the constitution. The delegation comprised Sir Charles Coghlan, W. M. Leggate, J. McChlery, R. A. Fletcher, and Sir Francis Newton. At the 1920 election there had been three schools of opinion in Southern Rhodesia, one favouring responsible government inside Southern Rhodesia, one favouring a continuation of rule through the British South Africa Company, and the third believing that the best solution would be to seek membership of the Union of South Africa. The British South Africa Company option dropped out of consideration, but the Buxton Commission had said that its recommendations should not preclude consideration of joining South Africa if this was favoured by voters. The Southern Rhodesians did petition the Colonial Offic... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=4358702 ... Read more

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Dr. Schmidt argues that women were central to the formation of African peasantries in Rhodesia. ... Read more

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When American-born journalist Andrew Meldrum arrived in Harare in 1980, he planned to stay for only three years-but he quickly fell in love with the country and its people. Newly independent from Britain, Zimbabwe was infused with the optimism of new natio -building. But over the twenty years he lived there, Meldrum watched as President Robert Mugabe gradually consolidated power and the government slowly evolved into violent despotism. The last foreign journalist in Zimbabwe, Meldrum was seized and expelled in May 2003, forced to leave for writing "bad things" about Mugabe's regime. In Where We Have Hope, Meldrum describes what it meant to live through this period of hope and tragedy: how hundreds of people lined up to tell him of horrific massacres; how he once hid from Mugabe's thugs in a cupboard; how he was harassed, arrested, imprisoned, and tried. Ultimately, however, this is a story of the triumph of hope-of doctors, teachers, journalists, and lawyers who refuse to accept the abuses of Mugabe's rule. Where We Have Hope is a moving memoir that will join recent classics as landmark works on Africa in the postcolonial era. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Great book increasing awareness of Zimbabwe
Andrew Meldrum writes a memoir that I feel privileged to read.He is a courageous person for his work to advance freedom in Zimbabwe.To learn of circumstances in other countries, especially in Africa, I often turn to memoirs by journalists living in the countries or assigned there for a period of time.Because of their own inquisitiveness, when I read I gain information that gives me a sense for reality at the human level while also educating me about the country.Reading a journalist's book becomes compelling. because of their talent and skill in writing, the remembrances of detail, the writing of true story.Andrew Meldrum writes with talent and skill, attention to detail about Zimbabwe.He did not let me down, and surpassed all expectations.When reading this writing, I now know things I can not forget, and it changes one as a person and what they stand for. Thank you Andrew.May freedom come to your family and friends in Zimbabwe.

A lesser hope
I have always respected Andrew Meldrum's writings and perhaps this is not the best place to come from when you rush out and buy a book. As a personal journey, it was an excellent read although I was left feeling a little short changed. Perhaps his life in Zim was so exciting he tried to fit too much in the book? As a discourse on what happened it does not provide much information and I am still not sure what hope there is except the irrepressible resilience of the Zimbabwean people.
If you have never read Andrew's newspaper articles, this is still a recommended book.

First-hand account of tyranny by a brave journalist
Andrew Meldrum was the last foreign journalist thrown out of Zimbabwe and, after spending 23 years in the country, is ideally placed to give the reader a first-hand account of the collapse of a once-prosperous country.Meldrum could have taken the easy cynical route and just described the calamity caused by Robert Mugabe and his increasingly corrupt and vicious inner circle.But he does more, by weaving in his own experiences, including a narrow escape from the intelligence forces when they came to his home to abduct him.He also does an excellent job of not just depressing the reader by harping on the problems (as some of the pop authors writing on Africa are apt to do) but by also writing about the resilience of so many Zimbabweans -- hence the (admittedly sappy) title.This is certainly not intended as a comprehensive history of the country.But it is a beautifully-written book by one very brave journalist.

There is still hope for Zimbabwe
As a visitor to Zimbabwe - I love it there, the people, the landscape, the optimism everything. And to read a book which does echo how most of the people feel is rare. There is still hope that Mugabe will be removed and democracy prevail. The so called issue with white and blacks is not as the media and Mugabe portray at all. People just want their freedom and a decent economy so they can have a standard of living above the poverty line. Andrew Meldrum may be biased as he does love Zim and the people but its about time that the truth is highlighted as no one has tried to prevent this on the international scene. I'm glad someone has tried to show the world what is really happening in Zimbabwe.

Who has hope?
I expected much more from the book.Lacks a lot of information on the conflict before Mugawe, why was he so succesful in his fight. It is interesting but I really wanted something more in depth. ... Read more

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Land reform has defined Zimbabwe's nationalist and post-colonial ambitions. Allison Goebel assesses Zimbabwe's successes and failures in incorporating issues of gender into the broader project of land redistribution. Based on three years of fieldwork in the late 1990s and a follow-up visit in 2002, she details gender relations and struggles in the Sengezi resettlement area in east central Zimbabwe. Using Sengezi as a case study, Goebel situates gender within the larger issues of race, class, and international political economy while examining the social forces and effects of the resettlement process, which include state policy and legislation, customary norms and practices, local institutions, and ideologies and cosmologies. She emphasizes the strategic choices women make in new institutional and household contexts. ... Read more

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Cloth Edition. In her thought-provoking and elegantly written study, Teresa Barnes shows how African ideas of gender in colonial Zimbabwe centrally shaped oppositional responses well before the advent of formal political nationalism. ... Read more

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Strategic and practical information for conducting business and investing in the country. Business opportunities, regulations, contacts and more. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from New York Times Upfront, published by Scholastic, Inc. on November 3, 2008. The length of the article is 564 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Zimbabwe: from riches to rags: twenty-eight years of authoritarian misrule by Robert Mugabe has turned an African breadbasket into a basket case.(INTERNATIONAL)
Author: Celia W. Dugger
Publication: New York Times Upfront (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 3, 2008
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Volume: 141Issue: 5Page: 17(1)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Sister Namibia, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2007. The length of the article is 1176 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: WOZA and the People's Charter: fighting for social justice in Zimbabwe.(WOMEN IN ZIMBABWE)(Women of Zimbabwe Arise)
Author: Robin Baumgarten
Publication: Sister Namibia (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 19Issue: 2Page: 16(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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This work provides a collective biography of Thompson Samkange and of two of his sons, Sketchley and Stanlake. Thompson Samkange was born in 1893 at the time that his land was being overwhelmed from the South. He was one of the founders of the African press. Stanlake Samkange, Professor of History and writer of historical novels, lived to see the achievement of Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. Terence Ranger has had access to a range of sources, including the archive of Thompson's papers, found in a tin trunk which had been kept amongst rats and damp in a laundry. He also discovered a large body of evidence for the modern history of Methodism in the National Archives. However, much of this book depends on the information gleaned from oral interviews. North America: Heinemann; Zimbabwe: Baobab ... Read more