Mugabe Power And Plunder In Zimbabwe [Hardcover]

Martin Meredith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2002

Robert Mugabe came to power after a long civil war in Rhodesia, becoming president of the country now called Zimbabwe. Initially praised for leading Zimbabwe's social and economic development, it was discovered that the honeymoon was not to last long. Determined to gain total power through a one-party system, Mugabe unleased a campaign of mass murder and terror against his political opponents in Matabeleland. Year by year, he acquired huge personal power, ruling the country through a vast system of patronage, favouring loyal aides and cronies with government positions and contracts and ignoring the spreading blight of corruption. One by one, state corporations and funding organizations were plundered. Today Zimbabwe is a country beset by violence and lawlessness, regarded by the international community as a pariah state. Its economy is in tatters. Determined to stay in power, Mugabe has used armed gangs to crush political opposition, subverted the rule of law, undermined the judiciary, harassed the independent press and vilified the small white community. What happened in Zimbabwe? What turned an idealistic political visionary into a brutal aristocrat? Martin Meredith here attempts to understand the increasingly autocratic and corrupt policies pursued by Mugabe.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Highly readable, clear and fast-moving. It is excellent on Mugabe's early life and the way he became drawn into the struggle of Zimbabwe. It is also well-timed...." The Financial Times; "Martin Meredith's account of the pursuit of power and plunder is especially good on the early years of Mugabe..." The Daily Telegraph; "As a well-written chronicle of Zimbabwe's degradation, this book is of great value." The Sunday Telegraph; "Martin Meredith's book is not so much a biography as a brief gallop through the unfolding moral fable of independent Zimbabwe to the present day...a useful short guide..." The Sunday Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Martin Meredith was a foreign correspondent for the Observer and Sunday Times, a research fellow at St. Antony's College, Oxford, and is now an independent author and commentator. He is the author of In the Name of Apartheid: South Africa's New Era, Nelson Mandela, Coming to Terms: South Africa's Search for Truth, and Elephant Destiny. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1st edition (February 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903985285
• ISBN-13: 978-1903985281
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,640,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A spellbinding look at Zimbabwe's current crises, August 28, 2003

By 

Chris Kreft - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mugabe Power And Plunder In Zimbabwe (Hardcover)

As a Zimbabwean who had to leave the country due to it's current troubles, it was very difficult for me to pick up this book and look for answers to some of the many questions I had about what went wrong in my homeland. However, I came away fascinated by Martin Meredith's careful piecing together of the last three or four decades of Zimbabwe's history. He has assembled a brilliant account of the rise and rule of Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party, and has, for the most part, accurately detailed the major events that have occurred since Mugabe came to power in 1980. The book is not only an account for Zimbabweans, but is written so that any person who is not informed of Zimbabwe's present crises will receive an in-depth look of all that has gone wrong in what was once "the breadbasket of Subsaharan Africa."

On an aside, this book bears a strong resemblance to another Amazon listing: "Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe" by Martin Meredith. Although I have not read this second book, I believe that they are one and the same book.
by Martin Meredith

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Biography of a Madman, November 12, 2007

By 

E "T" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mugabe: Power, Plunder, and the Struggle for Zimbabwe's Future (Paperback)

I served briefly in Mugabe's Zimbabwe as a transiting diplomat in 1998 after the bombings of our East African embassies. I was astounded how someone could spit in the face of the economic forces that provided him with the lavish lifestyle he so enjoyed. This book does an excellent job of portraying the nascence and subsequent decay of one of the world's most corrupted minds. The breadbasket of Africa was turned into desert by this man. Everyone should read this book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent account of politics and violence, July 1, 2008

By 

Enjolras (Springfield, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Mugabe: Power, Plunder, and the Struggle for Zimbabwe's Future (Paperback)

For anyone interested in beginning to understand the dynamics of Zimbabwe's recent electoral crisis, this book is essential. Meredith goes into Mugabe's long history of violence,who like Mao sees violence as essential for politics. From the war waged against opposing guerilla forces because of political differences, the slaughter of 10,000 in Matabeleland, the seizure of white farms, threatening judges who ruled against the ZANU-PF government, and electoral violence, what we are seeing is nothing new, as Meredith reminds us. He also hints at the ethnic and racial tensions driving the politics and violence, something too often forgotten in today's media coverage. For example, Mugabe's ZANU-PF has its roots in the rural Shona ethnic group, while the Movement for Democratic change is much more urban and has many white supporters.

The book is also relatively short (about 244 pages) and easy to read. Meredith provides a huge amount of detail without wasting too many words (or the reader's time).

I think the book could have used a bit more of an introduction into Zimbabwe's and Africa's history more generally for the uninitiated to allow us to compare Mugabe's rule to how politics was conducted in the past in the country and the wider continent. For example, some readers might not realize the importance tribal and ethnic divides play in many African countries. However, any ignorance in this regard could be fixed by reading Meredith's other books on Africa.

Usually in biographies authors try to psychoanalyze their subject. Fortunately, Meredith does not try to do this. He provides insights using quotes and sources, not psychobabble. This is not only good academic practice, but also creates an alarming effect in the book in which Mugabe himself often seems somewhat distant, except through his public statements. That indeed appears to be how he is in real life, alienated from his nation, isolated from the people, and removed from reality.

I hope he comes out with another revised version when Mugabe finally falls from power.

[note: this book is a revised version of "Our Votes, Our Guns". It says this clearly on the front cover and back, but just to warn future readers...]