Robert Mugabe : A Life of Power and Violence

Rating:
Summary: Good History but Not for Novices
Review: This is an interesting, readable political history of Zimbabwe from the end of white rule in 1980 to the dubious Presidential election of 2002. The account is based on author Chan's diplomatic experience, his numerous visits to Zimbabwe, and his mastery of the scholarly literature. The narrative varies from the analytical to the impressionistic: Chan writes very well, and has a gift for anecdote and the right turn of phrase. That said, his choice of emphasis is sometimes bizarre. Many pages describe Zimbabwe's military intervention in Mozambique in the 1980s, while relatively few are devoted to the more recent and eventful DRC intervention in the 1990s. Similarly, Harare's relations with the British Commonwealth are treated in much greater detail than its relations with the IMF. Economic developments in general are noted only in passing. Readers already well-versed in Zimbabwean history will undoubtedly benefit from Chan's keen observations and insights. But others coming to the subject for the first time, and interested in a straightforward chronology of events or basic biographic information on Robert Mugabe and other political players, might to turn to Martin Meredith's Our Votes, Our Guns instead.