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A Recommendation For Two Excellent Books On Zimbabwe
I've just finished reading two great books on Zimbabwe, which I almost read in parallel - I started Christina Lamb's book 'House of Stone' first, then stopped reading it to read Douglas Rogers's book 'The Last Resort' before it was serialised on Radio 4, then went back to House of Stone. An odd way to read two books, but actually one which works for these two as their subjects are very much intertwined.
Both books cover a similar period in Zimbabwe’s history as the country, one of Africa’s post independence success stories, descends into madness with land invasions and disputed elections becoming everyday occurrences.
Lamb’s book covers the history of the civil war, independence and the Mugabe years through the eyes of a white farmer and his black housemaid. Through a series of interviews, arranged clandestinely as British journalists were banned from Zimbabwe, Lamb interweaves their stories into an interesting and educational read.
As a Zimbabwean and son of white farmers, Douglas Rogers had left to become a journalist, based first in the UK and then the USA. He was able to use his visits back to his family home to write a compelling tale about the changes his parents’ made in their lives to keep their heads above water as well as stories of the intriguing characters who ended up in their lives. Both great books, which are now being passed round the office here and are highly recommended.
Richard Smith 