Book description
A powerful and intensely human insight into the civil war in Zimbabwe,
focusing on a white farmer and his maid who find themselves on opposing sides.
One bright morning Nigel Hough, one of the few remaining white farmers
in Mugabe's Zimbabwe, received the news he was dreading - a crowd were
at the gate demanding he surrender his home and land. To his horror, his
family's much-loved nanny Aqui was at the head of the violent mob that
then stole his homestead and imprisoned him in an outhouse
By tracing the intertwined lives of Nigel and Aqui - rich and poor,
white and black, master and maid - through intimate and moving
interviews, Christina Lamb captures not just the source of a terrible
conflict, but also her own conviction that there is still hope for one
of Africa's most beautiful countries. 'Lamb is a careful observer, and
her anguished refrain is the terrible schizophrenia of people who
fiercely love their land but do nothing to save it…the strength is in
the storytelling…it is a good piece of reportage…her book deserves to be
read.' Daily Telegraph
'A perceptive account of Zimbabwean history since the colonial days.'
Times Literary Supplement
'Riveting…Lamb's book tells a disaster story on a massive scale.' Daily Mail
'Compelling…Lamb has a remarkable pair of stories to tell, and does so
extremely well.' The Spectator Christina Lamb was named Foreign
Correspondent of the Year in the British Press Awards and the BBC What
The Papers Say awards this year, the second time she has won both of
these awards. In 2002, she also won these, along with the Foreign Press
Association award for her reporting on the war on terrorism. She has won
numerous other awards starting with Young Journalist of the Year in the
British Press Awards for her coverage of the Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan in 1988. Currently roving Foreign Affairs Correspondent for
the Sunday Times, she has been a foreign correspondent for almost 20
years, living in Pakistan, Brazil and South Africa first for the
Financial Times then the Sunday Times. She is the author of the
best-selling book The Africa House as well as 'House of Stone', 'Waiting
For Allah'. 'Small Wars Permitting: Despatches from Foreign Lands', a
collection of her reportage, will be published in January.
