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There is more to Zimbabwe than Robert Mugabe, as this book demonstrates by analysing alternative histories of the nation's politics from independence to the present
The first single-volume history of Zimbabwe with detailed coverage from pre-colonial times to the present, this book examines Zimbabwe's pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial social, economic and political history and relates historical factors and trends to recent developments in the country. Zimbabwe is a country with a rich history, dating from the early San hunter-gatherer societies. The arrival of British imperial rule in 1890 impacted the country tremendously, as the European rulers exploited Zimbabwe's resources, giving rise to a movement of African nationalism and demands for independence. This culminated in the armed conflict of the 1960s and 1970s and independence in 1980. The 1990s were marked by economic decline and the rise of opposition politics. In 1999, Mugabe embarked on a violent land reform program that plunged the nation's economy into a downward spiral, with political violence and human rights violations making Zimbabwe an international pariah state. This book will be useful to those studying Zimbabwean history and those unfamiliar with the country's past.
No one in 1980 could have guessed that Zimbabwe would become a failed state on such a monumental and tragic scale. In this incisive and revealing book, Richard Bourne shows how a country which had every prospect of success when it achieved a delayed independence in 1980 became a brutal police state with hyperinflation, collapsing life expectancy and abandonment by a third of its citizens less than thirty years later. Beginning with the British conquest of Zimbabwe and covering events up to the present precarious political situation, this is the most comprehensive, up-to-date and readable account of the ongoing crisis. Bourne shows that Zimbabwe's tragedy is not just about Mugabe's 'evil' but about history, Africa today and the world's attitudes towards them.
In this new history of music in Zimbabwe, Mhoze Chikowero deftly uses African sources to interrogate the copious colonial archive, reading it as a confessional voice along and against the grain to write a complex history of music, colonialism, and African self-liberation. Chikowero's book begins in the 1890s with missionary crusades against African performative cultures and African students being inducted into mission bands, which contextualize the music of segregated urban and mining company dance halls in the 1930s, and he builds genealogies of the Chimurenga music later popularized by guerrilla artists like Dorothy Masuku, Zexie Manatsa, Thomas Mapfumo, and others in the 1970s. Chikowero shows how Africans deployed their music and indigenous knowledge systems to fight for their freedom from British colonial domination and to assert their cultural sovereignty.
In 1990 the author became the proud owners of Stow Farm, with the approval of the Zanu-PF government. In February 2000 a mob of 'veterans' claimed the farm was now their property. This is the account of what then happened, her family's experiences when their home, livelihood and investment is taken from them.
Since the monumental architecture of the Zimbabwe Plateau first became known to Westerners in the 16th century, speculation about the people that created it has been continuous and inventive. Tales of strongholds in the interior were taken home by the first Portuguese chroniclers of the Swahili coast, and their narratives became part of the geographic lore of the 17th and 18th centuries. In the mid-19th century, the lore was spun into fantastic and mysterious yarns about long-lost riches that lured adventurers and traders. Pikirayi (history, U. of Zimbabwe) aims to set the record straight by examining the growth of precolonial states on the plateau and adjacent regions, with a focus on the their historical and cultural development during the second millennium AD. c. Book News Inc.
Saving Zimbabwe is the gripping story of a group of extraordinary black and white Zimbabweans who lived together forming ‘The Community of Reconciliation’. They chose love over hate and integration over segregation. They believed in harmony over discord and that loving your former enemies was a higher way of life. Against all odds they succeeded in transforming a region of the nation in to a life-giving community. By example they demonstrated that the course of Zimbabwe could be changed, and provided a working model for the road ahead. Tragically on 25 November 1987, the sixteen white members of the Community made the ultimate sacrifice and were martyrd. Their killers thought they were ‘liberating’ their people but in fact drove the black community back under the oppressive forces of poverty. Why did they die? This book takes you on a journey to discover the answer to that haunting question and more. With the current political and economic uncertainty in Zimbabwe, the message of Saving Zimbabwe is more relevant than ever. The country needs transformation which should start in the heart of her people. The destiny of a nation and millions of lives are at stake.
"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 poli"
An in-depth look at Zimbabwe, this guide provides information on wildlife, safaris, music and activities, such as bungee jumping, river boarding, kayaking and white water rafting. There is also a helpful language section and an explanation of Zimbabwean English.
