Mugabe: Power, Plunder, and the Struggle for Zimbabwe's Future

Meredith has produced another excellent book on Africa and if you want to investigate why that continent has had such a troubled time since the ending of European colonisation then you need look no further. Here Zimbabwe, or more accurately it's infamous leader Robert Mugabe is put under the spotlight and the tale is a sorry one indeed.In a highly readable way Meredith brings us through Mugabe's early years and influences and explains the divisions that were present in the freedom movement.The scene of Smith declaring UDI and the international political response is well set without going overboard on details. The desperate decline from Mugabe's accession to office in 1980 to his paranoia and the way he and his followers stooped to any means to hold onto power makes for very sad reading. I found it particularly interesting to see how long the judiciary tried to oppose his policies (presidential decrees were constantly used to ignore their censures) but how the police were almost totally complicit with almost all forms of law - breaking.Chapter by chapter the story unfolds about the increasing targeting of white farmers and of black political opponents and while it doesn't make for happy reading and doesn't as yet have a happy ending one can only hope that the apparent present power-sharing is easing the lot of the Zimbabwean people.This is a very informative study of one of the world's most ruthless rulers. (NOTE : this review refers to the 2002 edition of "Power and Plunder")

The book came with a torn back cover but nothing I couldn’t fix, I enjoyed it and it so happened that the time I was reading it, the dictator was being disposed from his 37 years olds rule of his Country Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. I got it at a very special time I would to think,

Martin Meredith is a very fine writer on African history and politics and has produced a good general account of the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. Bottom line is that for over 30 years now Mugabe has masqueraded as a liberation hero yet he has been a real tyrant himself for much of this period. If you want to gain some insight into what the Mugabe regime is all about this is a pretty good book to start out with.

He understands the need to be self sustainable and do things the African way, but as power get its way like all leaders things don't always works out the way you plan it when you get into power. But it's a lesson for all aspiring future leaders.

I disliked most parts of this book as it shows that there is lack of knowledge on how Africans in general felt under colonialism.

Well written which brings some understanding of the current plight of Zimbabwe

This book is a detailed chronicle of Mr. Mugabe. From his early childhood, where his father's desertion and the death of his child seemed to have had a profound effect on him right up until his preparations for the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections.All the critical events in the life of Mugabe are covered:- His Jesuit education and his beginnings as a radical rebel, influenced by Marxism.- His imprisonment and his attainment of various educational degrees- The surprising brief period of hope and stability when he first took power in 1980.- The mass exodus of Zimbabweans throughout his rule.- His links with North Korea and the creation of the 5 Brigade (the Gukurahundi)- His instigation of a new elite, his political henchmen and his deals with war vets.- His castigating of former colonial powers, the entire western world and rampaging of white farmers culminating in the third chimurenga.- His pyschotic and systematic bull dosing of people out of their own homes (Operation Muramatsvine)What's clear from this book is that Zimbabwe was never really a stable democracy. It was an apartheid styled state which created many Mugabe's. Then almost immediately as Mugabe's Zanu-PF took control, the media and populace at large where intimidated, cowed and eventually beaten by a state that had no shame committing all sorts of human rights abuses.There are some interesting post - colonial points. Even though one can make all the proverbial critisms of the colonialists, Mugabe should have worked with them. For example he should have kept them on their farms while the country worked through much needed reform (even several African leaders were advising he should do this). But, Mugabe's priorities were perverse and only based on keeping his power which meant he instead castigated the whites at any opportunity, blaming them for every single one of Zimbabwe's problems in an effort to deflect any criticism aimed at him. And of course, anyone who disagreed was in cahoots with the nasty post-colonials and hence a traitor.Every page has a plethora of facts - almost too much. If you don't know too much about Zimbabwe, it's quite easy to get confused. I found myselfcross-checking with Google and wikipedia several times. In fact one of book's major shortcoming is that, despite the author's obvious erudite and sapient knowledge of Zimbabwe there are no references for all the facts. Surprising.In addition, beyond all the information, there isn't much critical insight, value add or arguments from the author. Some of it is very interesting, particularly South African coverts operations to destabilise the Zanu-PF government but it would be nice if the book had some arguments that weren't obvious or even if it posed some thought provoking questions particular in the role of Western World in relation to Zimbabwe.My only other criticism as most people wouldn't be au fait with Zimbabwe's democracy (if you could call it that) I think clearer distinctions should have been made between the various types of elections (again if you could call them that) in Zimbabwe, namely: parliamentary, senate, presidential elections and of course the referendums. The crucial points of course pertaining to Zimbabwean elections are Mugabe's rigging of elections, his intimidation of voters and political opponents, but it would help to put things in perspective if the book explained what way Zimbabwe's democracy is supposed to work and not just that it was been subverting by a lunatic. I think this would aid the reader's understanding of Zimbabwe, particular the times when elections have been close to each other for example, in the year 2000 when Mugabe lost a referendum but won parliamentary elections the same year.

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.