Book Description
This book examines the dialectics of political liberalisation in Zimbabwe, over time, from the settler period to the late nineties. The study takes in theoretical parameters for political and economic concepts and assumptions; and provides a historical overview of settler rule, civil society reactions, and political developments 1945-1979. The author reveals stark historical continuities during this period. He argues that the post-independence state has sought, like its settler predecessor, to impose its hegemonic position by limiting the level of political space in which civil society could operate; and that corporatist structures and policies have militated against the establishment of a fully-fledged democratic society. The final chapter, which analyses structural adjustment, liberalisation, and the legacy of settler rule offers an assessment of the prospects of a lasting democratic process in Zimbabwe, and likely obstacles. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on August 29, 2003. The length of the article is 1506 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: Singer still making changes.(Entertainment)(Thomas Mapfumo faces down Zimbabwe's latest oppressive government)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: August 29, 2003
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: T14

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

Book Description
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 (6)

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.

Moved me deeply
As a Zimbabwean living abroad I sceptically picked up a copy of this book.I would read with dread Andrew Meldrums daily news reports on the dire and continually worsening situation in Zimbabwe on a Zimbabwean news website. I was very pleasantly surprised by the depth of feeling he developed for the country and his positive outlook in this book. I was moved by all his personal experiences and interactions with people there and the dangers he faced on a daily basis just doing his job. Someone needed to speak up and let the international community know about the teriible things that went happened in Zimbabwe from Gukurahundi to the farm invasions and I admire him for his bravery and perseverance. He chronicled our history from an eyewitness point of view and brought it all alive again. It allowed me to relive the 80's and 90's again. I cringe whenever I hear news of Zimbabwe on the television but this book made me feel proud to be Zimbabwean and I have recommended to my non-Zimbabwean friends as a way of understanding what happened to Zimbabwe. Excellent book!

Good Memoir, So-So History
Andrew Meldrum is an American journalist who moved to Zimbabwe shortly after the country won its independence in 1980.He fell in love with the place and decided to put down roots, only to watch Robert Mugabe destroy Zimbabwe's economy and institutions in a bid to hang on to power.Meldrum was expelled in 2003 because of his critical reporting.To judge by his book, he got around the country, exposed human rights abuses, and showed courage in the face of harassment and a trumped up prosecution.Granted, his writing verges on treacle at times, and he's too politically "engaged" to be completely credible as a journalist -- but then it's hard to be fair and balanced when writing about a dictator like Mugabe.Meldrum has guts and his heart is in the right place.

That said, his book adds little to our knowledge of Zimbabwe.As a good journalist, Meldrum sticks closely to his personal experiences.Unfortunately, these consisted mostly of observing rallies and marches, interviewing opposition activists, consulting his maid about popular political attitudes, comparing notes with other journalists, and getting arrested.We learn little about the inner workings of ZANU-PF or the reasons for the economic collapse.Mugabe is no more than a stock villian.The rural Shona are amystery.The role of white business in funding anti-Mugabe activity is alluded to but not discussed.We don't even learn about the contentious, often dysfunctional leadership of the opposition MDC party, or about MDC's rocky relationship with unions and civil society, even though Meldrum had friends and contacts in these camps.

Overall, there are too many anecdotes and too little analysis.Readers who want an introduction to Zimbabwe's modern history would be better off reading Martin Meredith's superb "Our Votes, Our Guns."But readers who want a lively personal story will enjoy "Where We Have Hope." ... Read more

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This book looks at the realities of Zimbabwe's liberation war and its aftermath. ... Read more

Book Description
This collective biography of Thompson Samkange and two of his sons, Sketchley and Stanlake, illuminates much of the history of African politics in colonial Zimbabwe. But for the Samkanges, the road to politics lay through religion, so this is a history of African involvement in Methodism as well. Thompson Samkange was born in 1893 at the time his land was being overwhelmed by white settlers from the south. Stanlake Samkange, professor of history and writer of historical novels, lived to see the achievement of Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. Terence Ranger has conjured a book of creative originality out of a range of sources. There was the unique archive of Thompson's papers in a tin trunk which had been defying rats and dampness in a laundry. The National Archives had an extraordinary body of evidence for the modern history of Methodism. Thompson Samkange was one of the founders of the African press and there is constant mention of him and his family in contemporary newspapers. When T ... Read more

Book Description
What really went wrong in Zimbabwe? The promise of liberation, human rights, democracy, development, and prosperity have been shattered by greed, state-sponsored violence, and tyranny. Yet the discourse on Zimbabwe has been polarized along racial and political lines. There is need for a critical analysis of Zimbabwe beyond these polarizations.

Horace Campbell looks at Zimbabwe's problems today, including the recent state and ruling party violence against citizens as manifestations of and deriving directly from the masochist, militaristic, and gender-biased conception of liberation which is deeply imbedded in the post-independent state. In his exploration and analysis of Zimbabwe's experiences, from the transition to independence, to the crisis ravaging the country today, Campbell places issues like Zimbabwe's involvement in the Congo, executive lawlessness, the land crisis, homophobia, and the politics of intolerance into perspective.

Chapters like "Soldiers in Business," "The Siege of Ikeka," and "The Limits of Military Intervention" provide fresh information on some of the motives behind the military intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the futility of the presence of the Zimbabwean army in the Congo.

Campbell also argues that the politics of emancipation, militarism, and patriarchy are exhausted models of liberation and suggests new models of liberation for economic prosperity, human rights, political tolerance, non-discrimination, peace, and stability.

While this book is a serious and critical analysis of the Zimbabwean situation, it is also a very informative and general read. ... Read more

Book Description
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)

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Book Description
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

Book Description
"I had to save Rhodesia."Thus Sir Garfield Todd, a towering figure in the history of Zimbabwe and Southern Africa, defined his mission. He was a missionary from New Zealand who became a Zimbabwean and six years after entering politics became Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia in the early years of the ill-fated Central African Federation. He highlighted the dilemmas experienced by white liberals--derided by whites and denounced by black nationalists as sell-outs. Garfield Todd combined high intelligence, strong self-will, immense energy, great oratory and a sense of high moral purpose, but was a man of contradictions. He entered politics to oppose racial discrimination yet joined, and eventually led, the establishment party of white privilege. Todd has a unique and major place in the making of Zimbabwe, and in the history of Southern Africa and modern Africa. ... Read more

Book Description
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