Zimbabwe: Years of Hope and Despair
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'Barclay...is able to draw on many vivid experiences to convey the detail and atmosphere of a country that has a deadly beauty.'
-- Sunday Times, June 6th 2010
-- Sunday Times, June 6th 2010
Product Description
Zimbabwe is a country both blessed and cursed. Arriving to work at the British Embassy in Zimbabwe, Philip Barclay found a temperate paradise and a sophisticated and charming population. But during a three-year stay in what used to be Africa's finest country, he saw it ruined by violence and grotesque economic mismanagement. Philip Barclay was at the centre of the tumultuous events of 2008. Zimbabwe's people voted against Robert Mugabe, but their desire for change was denied as vicious squads of indoctrinated youths loyal to the ageing dictator launched a campaign of murder, rape, and destruction. In the wake of such terror, the country's economy and public services collapsed, leading to widespread poverty and epidemics of diseases that Zimbabwe had not seen in living memory. This electrifying account records the violent excesses of a hated clique prepared to do anything to cling to power. It asks why the world stood by and watched as Zimbabwe burned and questions whether power-sharing between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai offers the way forward which the country needs. An honest account of a diplomat's confrontation with a brutal dictatorship, "Zimbabwe" is also a personal story of the resilience - despite their daily experience of despair and death - of Zimbabwe's people.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally - a good book about Zimbabwe!,
This review is from: Zimbabwe: Years of Hope and Despair (Paperback)
This is an excellent book. Too long have didactic books been written about Zimbabwe representing the situation in warped and simplistic ways. Barclay's book does not. It looks at the 2008 elections and what unfolded thereafter in a subtle and honest style - using the smaller events to illustrate the bigger problems. The stories of the 'everyman and woman' are told as they come - raw and complicated. Barclay's own experiences and insights help to weave an image of Zimbabwe as so many Zimbabweans see it - with no binaries and no answers. It is hard and messy and this book tells the truth intelligently and beautifully. I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the broader politics of recent Zimbabwean history, as well as the experiences of the people on the ground.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
zimbabwe,
By
This review is from: Zimbabwe: Years of Hope and Despair (Hardcover)
a fascinating book,it far exceeded my expectations. a very fair unbiased account of the tragedy of Zimbabwe. A once great country reduced to poverty and despair by a brutal, egotistic, racist regime. Essential reading.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
zimbabwe under mugabe,
By helmut "sam" (Austria) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Zimbabwe: Years of Hope and Despair (Hardcover)
Barclay's book reflects his personal experience during a relatively short period of service in the British Embassy in Harare. The book breathes love and respect for Zimbabwe as a country and its people, covering only the last couple of years prior to 2010 and centring on the national elections. It relates a wealth of personal experience in which the author of the book often took considerable personal risk when trying to file detailed reports abroad and trying to help Zimbabweans he knew personally. For readers who want to know more of the history of Zimbabwe all the way back to the time when Mugabe came to power, other books on Zimbabwe may be more appropriate. Barclay touches only briefly on the subject trying to provide a background.All in all. a book written with passion and well worth reading.
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