Mugabe: Power, Plunder, and the Struggle for Zimbabwe's Future | 
| Author: Martin Meredith
Publisher: PublicAffairs,U.S.
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 24146
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 158648558X
Dewey Decimal Number: 968
EAN: 9781586485580
ASIN: 158648558X
Publication Date: October 10, 2007
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Martin Meredith's new book on Robert Mugabe, Mugabe: Power and Plunder in Zimbabwe comes as a welcome antidote to the current one-dimensional portrayals of the president as an "evil monster" that narrow our understanding of the man. Meredith has spent most of his career reporting on Zimbabwe and South Africa, first as a foreign correspondent and latterly as an academic, so his credentials are impeccable. He does not shirk from condemning Mugabe for his single-minded obsession with power that has left Zimbabwe's roads flowing with blood and its economy bankrupt, but Meredith reminds us that in his earlier days Mugabe was a much more considered political radical. Mugabe spent his early years under the tutelage of the Jesuits, and only abandoned religion in favour of Marxism after he won a scholarship to study at university in South Africa where he quickly became a highly politicised member of the African National Congress. He came to Western attention in the late 1970s when the apartheid regime in Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was then known, creaked to its inevitable demise and Britain set about establishing an independent African regime in its former colony. Britain did its best to rig the results in favour of its preferred candidate the moderate and easily controlled Bishop Muzorewa, but much to the surprise of the Thatcher government--but to no-one in Zimbabwe--Mugabe's ZANU party romped home as landslide victors. Britain held its breath for the backlash and... nothing happened. In fact, Mugabe showed himself to be surprisingly conciliatory and Christopher Soames, the British governor-general who had been appointed to supervise the elections reported that he "ended up not only implicitly trusting him but also fondly loving him as well". So where did it all go wrong? It is tempting to suggest that his father's desertion and the death of his young son were key factors in Mugabe's subsequent emotional detachment, but Meredith resists drawing such a linear psychological equation. Instead he catalogues the landmark events, such as the scandal of the war veteran pensions, that led Mugabe to compromise both his morality and his country and one is left with the impression that Zimbabwe's fate was inevitable given that Mugabe's only guiding motivation was to hang on to power whatever the cost. Mugabe: Power and Plunder in Zimbabwe is the first book of a brand new non-fiction imprint, PublicAffairs Ltd, that is dedicated to following the standards of IF Stone and Benjamin Bradlee: both would be more than happy to be associated with Meredith's volume. --John Crace
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Portrait of a deranged despot October 13, 2008
This book outlines the career of an evil and utterly ruthless man who emerged from being a key figure in a guerrilla war fought against white minority rule, to engineering through intimidation and terror a victory in Zimbabwe's first all-inclusive elections over the moderate Abel Muzorewa's United African national Congress and Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union.
After returning to Salisbury on January 27, 1980. after five years in exile, Mugabe was given a hero's welcome by a large crowd bearing banners with images of rocket grenades, land mines and guns, many wearing youth T shirts with the Kalashnikov rifle, which Mugabe's Marxist Zimbabwe African National Union party had wanted to use as an emblem, but which the British authorities had prohibited.
The scale of intimidation by ZANU was massive. Neither the UANC or ZAPU were allowed to campaign at all in eastern Rhodesia, leading ZAPU leader Nkomo to state that 'the word intimidation is mild, people are being terrorized, it is terror, there is fear in people's eyes."
Therefore Mugabe's landslide win and all of his subsequent electoral victories can not in any way be seen by a fair minded observer as in any way legitimate.
After victory and becoming Zimbabwe's Prime Minister, Mugabe spoke the language of soothing words to the the country's White population and the international community.
But in 1982 he resorted to terror in order to impose the one-party state he dreamed of imposing and his goal of absolute. power. Mugabe unleashed his Fifth Brigade (trained in the brutal communist dictatorship of North Korea in the art of terrorizing populations) on the Ndebele and Kalangas population groups of western Zimbabwe, which had largely supported the opposition ZAPU, in a horrific campaign of genocide known as the Gukurahundi. Entire villages were massacred, men, women and children herded into huts and burned alive, all supplies, transport and drought relief were cut off the starving villages and a deliberate famine created.
A commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference Commission of Peace and Justice contained some damning evidence of 5 Brigade atrocities. The statement accused the army of conducting a 'reign of terror' in Matabeleland including 'wanton killings, woundings, beatings, burnings and rapings".
It had brought about the 'maimings of hundreds of people who were neither dissidents nor collaborators."
Over the four year period of the Gukurahundi over ten thousand people were massacred, and thousands more beaten tortured and maimed. An entire people had been victimized. but there was no world outcry, certainly none from the international left, who set themselves up as the great guardians of human rights, and who were great supporters of Mugabe as a revolutionary hero.
Meredith writes of the corruption of the wealthy new elite close to ZANU PF, who enjoyed the best of everything while the people of Zimbabwe grew more and more destitute, of Mugabe's machine of crushing opposition and the de facto one party state in Zimbabwe for 12 years.
He also outlines how the fraudulent so-called 'land reform programme' is nothing but cover to destroy opposition and reward ZANU PF cronies.
While the opposition Movement for Democratic change enjoys overwhelming popularity, it has been prevented from operating freely as Mugabe and ZANU PF continue to operate a reign of terror against Zimbabwe's people.
Opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai rightfully described Mugabe a 'deranged despot', and politician Edgar Tekere called Mugabe 'an insane head of state."
"But there is a crude logic to Mugabe's actions' the author points out "His sole purpose has become to hold on to power. Whatever the cost, his regime has been dedicated towards that end. Violence has paid off in the past. He expected it to secure his future".
And so 6 years after this book was published Mugabe rand his ZANU PF retain a bloody and iron grip on power,
He still enjoys some support from Stalinists and anti-democrats in the world, today and his excesses are defended by such outfits of evil as the monstrous Workers World Party in North America, which supports every evil regime and terror outfit in the world today.
A fascinating over-view September 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having spent 3 years working in Zimbabwe, and lived through many of the most exciting recent developments, I found this book fascinating and highly informative. I met Mugabe himself during my time there, and Grace Mugabe on another occasion. Everyone spoke of him as having gone off the rails, but Mr Meredith's book demonstrates that Mugabe's recent conduct has been entirely consistent with his methods during the previous two decades - a real eye-opener.
The book is gripping and readable, particularly for one which inevitably is fairly dense with names and facts. I consider it an extremely useful over-view of the topic. The definitive story will only be written when Mugabe has gone, but, as a tool to help us understand history in the making, I think that this would be difficult to surpass.
A great introduction to Mugabe August 14, 2008
This is a really detailed introduction to Mugabe. I knew very little about him before I read this book, but the book covers everything from his early days, to consolidation of power, to his actual dictatorship as it is today in very good detail.
The author does not give much analysis, a good 90% of the book is fact, so if it's opinions you're after then this book probably isn't right for you.
The book is very easy to read, and it explains all new terminology, so again that's good if you're new to the subject.
I brought the book to prepare for my uni dissertation, and after reading this I feel more confident than before- highly recommended by me.
 An introduction surely, but not the be all and end all. January 30, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I picked up this book whilst browsing my local bookshop. I had never ever heard of Mugabe and therefore didn't have a clue as to what he or the book was all about.
This book is definately intriging: Meredith paints a vivid picture of how a country with immense potential has just been drained of all its hope. But I don't think he does enough to try and understand the main character. Little attention is paid to the 'justification' of how a young man evolved into a sinister dictator. He only uses one chapter, which is chapter 3, to explain his background. The problem that is faced here is that anyone can argue that Mugabe is not a good guy, but only a small number can reason his behaviour by using his childhood and experiences growing up. Nevertheless it is a good starting point. It's short which helps!
A Brilliant Book To Understand The Man and The Party September 23, 2003
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
Matin Meridith gives a good grounding to those wishing to know more about the complexities of the man behind the present situation in Zimbabwe. He breaks it up in to chapters taking us through the life of the President from his life as a School Teacher to the Present Day Autocrat that he has become. As can be expected the Majority of the Book is devoted to the last 22 years as Mugabe has developed a system of personal rule, carefully using the party and clung on to power in the last couple of years. I thoroughly recommend this book as it was a great read and a concise report of the man at the centre of this African country.
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