Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe Book

The only biography of Zimbabwe's dictator despot and what he has wrought upon a once-flourishing state--now updated through the most recent political turmoil. When Robert Mugabe came to power in 1980--after triumphing over the defiant minority white leadership--he promised reconciliation and unification to the country now called Zimbabwe. Initially, hopes were high that he had the intelligence, political savvy and idealistic vision to help repair the damage done by colonialism and the bitter civil war, and to lead his country's economic and social development. He was admired throughout the world as one of the leaders of the emerging nations and as a model for a good transition from colonial leadership. But month by month, year by year. Mugabe's rule has become increasingly autocratic: his methods, increasingly violent. Now, twenty years later, Zimbabwe has become a pariah among nations, rife with violence and corruption. Mugabe rules with an iron hand, while his people die of hunger, disease, and violence. What happened to this formerly-thriving African state? In Our Votes, Our Guns, one of the most knowledgeable sources on the African continent tells the story in detail--including, in this paperback edition, an account of the spring 2002 election, the ouster of white farmers, and the country's impending famine. Our Votes. Our Guns is a riveting and tragic political story.