Robert Mugabe: A Biography

Martin Plaut & Sue Onslow

 

Forthcoming, June 2018.

Synopsis

In this short biography, intended for a general audience, Sue Onslow and Martin Plaut explain Mugabe’s formative experiences as a child and young man; his role as an admired Afro-nationalist leader in the struggle against white settler rule; and his evolution into a political manipulator and survivalist. They also address the emergence of political opposition to his leadership and the uneasy period of coalition government. Ultimately, they reveal the complexity of the man who led Zimbabwe for its first four decades of independence.

Review

I am a huge fan of Ohio University Press’s Ohio Short Histories of Africa series. I use them to teach my introductory-level African politics students about oppression, resistance, liberation, and corruption, and I recommend the books to anyone who asks as an affordable and accessible introduction to a wide range of topics in African studies. — Laura Seay, The Washington Post

Authors

Martin Plaut is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study at the University of London. He was Africa editor, BBC World Service News, until 2013.

Dr Sue Onslow is Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies in the School of Advanced Studies, University of London.