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Robert I. Rotberg

The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power Hardcover – October 20, 1988

by Robert I. Rotberg (Author)

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Cecil Rhodes was an imposing figure, tall, robust-looking, with a leonine head, a man so charismatic that one contemporary claimed that "belief in Rhodes was a substitute for religion." But he was certainly a man of contradictions. He was a dreamy idealist whose favorite book was The
Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and a ruthless businessman whose guiding principle was "every man has his price." He supported invidious racial laws in South Africa, and invented and sponsored the world-renowned Rhodes Scholarships. Though his own education and intellectual talents were
unprepossessing, he dominated the British Empire and became one of the leading figures in the English-speaking world, the confidant of Queen Victoria and Kaiser Wilhelm, and a man of vast wealth and world-wide influence.
Based on seventeen years of research, this monumental volume offers the definitive biography of one of the most controversial figures of the nineteenth century. Rhodes was truly larger than life, and this book captures that life in fascinating detail. It offers an astute portrait of Rhodes'
childhood and adolescence, informed by insights from modern psychology; it vividly depicts life on a nineteenth-century African cotton farm (Rhodes' first venture) and in mining camps around Kimberley and the Witwatersrand; it traces the surreptitious stock buyouts and mergers that allowed Rhodes to
gain control over 90% of the world's diamond production by age thirty-five; it describes his campaigns against African populations that allowed him to establish Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia); and it discusses the poorly planned, disastrous raid on the Transvaal
that destroyed Rhodes' reputation.
A conqueror and colonial monarch, Cecil Rhodes presided arrogantly over the fate of southern Africa. But he also built lasting economic institutions, furthered transportation and communication links, improved agriculture, and fervently believed that he used his wealth and power to advance the
best interests of the British Empire and Africa. This biography illuminates a complex and fascinating life, a life both evil and good.

Print length

854 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

October 20, 1988
Dimensions

6.38 x 1.93 x 9.56 inches
ISBN-10

0195049683
ISBN-13

978-0195049688
Lexile measure

1370L
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Imperialist, financier, politician, and mining magnate, Rhodes was a larger-than-life figure in southern Africa whose influence is still felt through his scholarships and the DeBeers diamond monopoly. Although many biographies have been written about Rhodes, most fall short in terms of objectivity or completeness. Rotberg's monumental work is really the first comprehensive, academic, and objective biography by an Africanist historian, even though some may object to the psychological methodology. It is recommended except for smaller nonacademic collections already having a more recent biography, such as John Flint's Cecil Rhodes ( 1974. o.p.) or Brian Roberts's, Cecil Rhodes: Flawed Colossus ( Norton, 1988). Paul H. Thomas, Hoover Inst. Lib., Stanford, Cal.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...Rotberg draws an extremely detailed picture of Cecil Rhodes, which keeps the reader enthralled literally to the last word....picture the most detailed, balanced, and therefore best biography of Rhodes which we have to date."―Horst Drechsler, German Historical Institute London Bulletin

"The Founder is a major contribution to the history of the British Empire. It is equally significant as an example of responsible psychobiography, the result of a unique and fruitful collaboration between historian and psychiatrist. Last but far from least, it is a good read. Cecil Rhodes was many things, but in the hands of Rotberg and Shore he is never boring."―Richard H. Ullman, Princeton University

"A powerful read, thoroughly based in archives and in the southern African landscape.... Rotberg shares with us as complex a view of the enigma as we are ever likely to attain."―Prosser Gifford, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

"Magisterial, compelling....likely to remain the definitive life of the Great Amalgamator."―Publishers Weekly

"A large book on an outsize man....captures Rhodes' ceaseless energy, his venturesomeness, his homosexuality, his carelessness with procedure, his driving vision....a powerful read, thoroughly based in archives and in the Southern African landscape....As complex a view of the enigma as we are ever likely to attain."―Prosser Gifford, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

"A particularly important contribution....Rotberg's book is essential reading for all those who seek a thorough understanding of modern South African history."―American Historical Review

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; First Printing edition (October 20, 1988)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 854 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195049683
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195049688
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1370L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.99 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.38 x 1.93 x 9.56 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,380,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #584 in South African History
- #882 in Historical African Biographies (Books)
- #7,951 in Political Leader Biographies

Customer Reviews:
34 ratings

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1 star		9%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Ahram al-Yardum

Skip the passages of psychiatric jargon

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2013

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The Cecil Rhodes who sailed for Durban in 1870 hardly seemed destined for success. He showed no exceptional academic talent or capacity for leadership. He appeared doomed to live a comfortably affluent, if ineffectual, life back home in England. By his death in March 1902, at age 48, Rhodes had founded a large country and a global diamond industry (through which he owned 90% of the diamond market), served as prime minister of the Cape Colony, developed intimate relationships with Kaiser Wilhelm II and Queen Victoria, founded an Oxford scholarship fund, and fomented the Boer War. And yet he had hardly begun to fulfill his dreams.

In unraveling his mysterious subject, Robert Rotberg gives credit for Rhodes's grand "transformation of his surroundings" not so much to any extraordinary gifts or advantages but to his "long-term vision and immediate practicality," and just being in the right place (e.g. diamond fields) at the right time. If Rhodes exists in popular legend today as ruthless and unprincipled in his thirst for money and conquest, he also, Rotberg dares to propose, believed he served the best interests of the British Empire and Africa.

Mr. Rotberg chose to write a psychoanalytic biography of Rhodes, meaning he wrote it in tandem with Mr. Shore, a psychiatrist, who pastes textbook jargon and Freudian evaluations of Rhodes throughout--which creates nearly intolerable brown-outs in an otherwise brilliant, imagistic narrative. In choosing such a manner of reanimating a character like Rhodes over the literary method, Mr. Rotberg underestimates his abilities. His unprecedented access to letters and sources untouched by previous biographers, however, makes his book the first full, and thus indispensable, account of this mysterious and multifarious man.

11 people found this helpful

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boulanger

Comprehensive

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2016

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This was quite a scholarly work, as the author did exhaustive research on Rhodes from existing and from neglected sources. As such, the book comes off as ponderous at times. Although I am an avid reader, I must admit I read the 854 page treatment of Rhodes over the course of seven months. But I am glad I did. The larger-than-life Rhodes is a charismatic and complicated character who greatly influenced the history of the British empire. His influence continues today in the form of his Rhodes scholarships.

One person found this helpful

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Florida FTW!

One of the better biographies but flawed

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2014

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This is probably the best biography you're going to get of the man, and certainly incredibly well researched. If you want to understand Rhodes, this is probably the best place to start just based on the weight of scholarship in the book.

I appreciated the effort in making this tome. What I didn't appreciate were:

- The psychobabble, which frankly ruined so much of this book. I absolutely don't care if Rhodes had an Oedipus complex. I really care about the life of the man. I can make up my own mind about whether or not his mother influenced him unduly, thank you. Worse, it falls into a danger of assigning so much of the man's incredible genius to his environment; this was a man far, far above his environment, whether you like him or not.

- A blizzard of geographical locations (and names) that may be familiar to a student or resident of South Africa, but are a bit mind-numbing. Perhaps a bit more of an assistance in this area would have been helpful.

- The biography doesn't follow an exact chronological order. While it didn't particularly bother me, there was a light surcharge of mental exertion necessary to track the storyline.

- Slightly pedantic -- perhaps that's the wrong word, as the author really doesn't appear to be a pedant -- but certain terms are used that might somewhat alienate a broader level of readership. I didn't find this particularly problematic (a good dictionary is always necessary in any serious reading), but the author could have made the job a bit easier on the reader.

- The outright presumption that Rhodes was homosexual; I find the historical evidence largely circumstantial at best. There are too many incongruities in the general historical argument about Rhodes' sexual orientation, in my view, to state it unequivocally as the truth. Of course, the book, perforce, by bathing itself in psychoanalytical indulgences, leaves the author little choice but to find in favor of a gay Rhodes. I'm not convinced.

All in all, a very solid scholarly work on Rhodes; needing only a broader accessibility, a clearer narrative and far, far less psychoanalysis.

9 people found this helpful

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Mr. AMJ.

More than you would ever want to know

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2013

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A very long and critical modern biography of Rhodes. The author choose to leave absolutely no detail of his life untold at great length. Most annoying is a pseudo-psycology approach of Rhodes as a product of intense love for his mother and a less than great relationship with his father. If you can get by all that, reading this will give you something of a contemporary understanding of the colonization of southern Africa and the relationship of Brits and Boers before and during the Anglo-Dutch war.

5 people found this helpful

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mark fritz

Boring, verbose book.

Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2020

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Horribly written book. I read 1 chapter and abandoned it on an airplane. Boring hero worship. Verbose.

One person found this helpful

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Chemiker

CECIL RHODES: An interesting history

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2012

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I found this to be quite interesting as an examination of the history of both southern Africa and Rhodes the man. The author covered Rhodes' entire life, birth to death in great detail and, seemingly, little bias. The main author provided excellent specifics on the hard times and the good times for a young man out to get on in the world. The co-author is a psychologist, which is both a positive and a negative. I could have done without so much of the "he did this because his mother was too close" silliness. Of course, that is what psychiatrists do. It is easy to skip over the shrink talk, leaving a fasciinating and illuminating story. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who delights in thorough history. The author managed to provide information from many archival sources.

As always, the maps in the Kindle version were worthless. It would be wise to buy maps of southern Africa to be able to follow the journeys.

3 people found this helpful

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Jerry Winters

Cecil Rhodes, The Founder

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2017

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Great book. Exceeded expectations. Rapid delivery.

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Amazon Customer

Lengthy but absorbing biography

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 7, 2014

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This, at over 800 pages is a very long book. It is best when describing events, at its worst when attempting psychological analysis of its subject. The author annoyingly refers to many characters in Rhodes' life without saying who they are or explaining their role. However you are unlikely to find a more thoroughly researched biography, and it gives a good understanding of the man and his motives, even if it never really brings him to life.

One person found this helpful

James Dunbar

A comprehensive biography

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 25, 2015

Verified Purchase

An insightful, highly readable account of a complex, visionary character who shaped Southern Africa.

One person found this helpful

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The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power Hardcover – October 20, 1988

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