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Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe
 
 

Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe (Hardcover)

by Martin Meredith (Author) "FROM THE WINDOW of his book-lined study ..." (more)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 243 pages
  • Publisher: PublicAffairs,U.S.; 1st edition (31 Jan 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1586481282
  • ISBN-13: 978-1586481285
  • Product Dimensions: 24 x 16.2 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,077,687 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #96 in  Books > History > Countries & Regions > Africa > Southern > Zimbabwe

Product Description

Product Description
The story of what Robert Mugabe did to the once-flourishing African state of Zimbabwe: how it happened, why it happened, and its implications for Africa. Robert Mugabe came to power in 1980 after a long civil war in Rhodesia. The white minority government had become an international outcast in refusing to give in to the inevitability of black majority rule. Finally the defiant white prime minister Ian Smith was forced to step down and Mugabe was elected president of a country now called Zimbabwe. Initially hopes were high that he had the intelligence, political savvy and idealistic vision to help repair the damage done by colonialism and the bitter civil war, and to lead his country's economic and social development. He was admired throughout the world as one of the leaders of the emerging nations and as a model for a good transition from colonial leadership. But month by month, year by year, Mugabe became increasingly autocratic; his methods increasingly violent. In recent years he has unleashed a reign of terror and corruption in his country. Like the Congo, Angola, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Liberia, Zimbabwe has been on a steady slide to disaster. What happened in Zimbabwe? Now for the first time the whole story is told in detail by an expert. It is a riveting and tragic political story, a morality tale, and an essential text for understanding today's Africa.

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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A great depiction of a corrupt autocracy, 26 Nov 2004
By Siriam (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
This book puts into context better than anything I have read the major tragedy that has been occurring in Zimbabwe for over twenty years. The parallels with the Congo (as covered in the excellent book "In the footsteps of Mr Kurtz" on Mobutu's kleptocracy in Zaire) are matched here by the story of how a wealthy and well developed colony after a crippling war of independence came under Mugabe's control.

The saddest aspect is while matters started very promisingly with the country ripe for a muti racial experiment and very similar to South Africa, the early use of force to remove tribal opposition was then applied unremmitingly to the white minority with fatal long term effects on the country's economy.

That inequality existed and changes were needed on land distribution were clear - the redistribution when it occurred was done in such a manner that not only were the whites permanently alienated but the corruption and lack of planning as to what was to replace has had fatal consequences with mass poverty, unrest and a wealthy and corrupt elite destroying the future prospects for the poorer native populace of the country.

The control of every facet by Mugabe's Zanu Party whenever challenged has been met with violence from local opposition using North Korean trained cadres to outright intimidation of the judiciary, who are one of the real heroes in this story.

A very well told and researched history.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, 3 May 2004
By Georgina Stone (St Andrews, Fife United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This book is extremely informative and very readable, despite covering a long period of time and many issues. A vital read for anyone wishing to learn about Zimbabwe's past and possible future.
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