Zimbabwe: Challenging the Stereotypes

by Robert Mshengu Kavanagh

Zimbabwe: Challenging the Stereotypes" brings the story of Zimbabwe up-to-date (2014) in a dramatic, readable, firsthand description of thirty four years of Zimbabwe’s history by a South African academic, writer and arts educationist who went through it all – from Independence to the present. While it confirms some of the West’s criticisms, it offers a unique alternative viewpoint and questions a number of long-held and seldom challenged beliefs, including the almost universal cliché that at Independence Zimbabwe had everything going for it and threw it all away through bad government. It offers a fresh assessment of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s military involvement in the Congo, the Gukurahundi massacres in Matebeleland, sanctions, human rights, the rule of law, the media and culture in Zimbabwe and builds on recent research which demonstrates that the reality of the Land Reform and other aspects of the country’s recent history belie the unquestioned and widely-propagated myths.

Genres: Zimbabwe, Africa, Nonfiction

508 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2014

Reviews

[Tom Hallberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've read to date on Independent Zimbabwe.

[Gugu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Approach this book with an open mind and I guarantee that it will challenge, educate and impress you.

A well researched and comprehensive history of Zimbabwe from a balanced and critical view point. Very different to a lot of books about Zimbabwe that take a clear stance. Even if you disagree with some of the author's assertions you will be made to stop and consider your views, it challenges what you know and accept about Zimbabwe's recent history.

So well written, it kept me captivated. I enjoyed the anecdotes as they provided colour and vivid imagery.

Finally, after all the brutal honesty and refusal to simply accept, this book carries solutions and hope.

An important and critical book that all should read. Truly.