Nyerere's economic policies, his successes and failures in pursuit of economic development under socialism, are some of the subjects addressed by the author in this book. A Tanzanian himself., he also looks at how life was under Nyerere since the sixties. The work is also a critical examination of the political situation in Tanzania since independence when the country was known as Tanganyika before uniting with Zanzibar. The author also looks at the transition that has taken place in Tanzania from one-party rule to multiparty democracy, and from socialism to capitalism since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. He also takes a critical look at globalization and the negative impact of structural adjustment programmes in Tanzania and Africa as a whole. The work is also a study of Tanzania's history since the advent of colonial rule and of the struggle for independence in one of Africa's largest countries.

President Juliys Kambarge Nyerere was the first President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Founder of the Nation. He came into power through the ballot - a democratic process held in 1961, and remained in power for more than two decades. Mwalimu Nyerere was a gifted and morally upright man. He was a true son of Africa - a Pan-Africanist, a nationalist, charismatic orator, steadfast thinker, diplomat and above all a teacher. He chose to be called simply 'Mwalimu - 'Teacher'. Throughout his term of office he gave hundreds of speeches; some were prepared in advance others given extemporaneously. The Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation (founded by Mwalimu Nyerere himself in 1996) has assembled and put his speeches and writings into books. The Quotations in this book are only those picked from the books in Freedom Series and his University Lectures. They are presented and arranged under the following themes: Philosophy of life, Equality of Man, Colonialism, Tanzania's Revolution, Democracy, Self-reliance, Rural Development, Non-alignment, African Unity, the United Nations, Leadership and Education.

In this text, international figures, such as Father Huddleston and Sir Shridath Ramphal, join with Tanzanian scholars to assess, not without criticism, the influential contributions of Julius Nyerere both within his own country and across the Third World. Part 1 provides an overview of the man and his thought. Part 2 focuses on those areas of policy in which Nyerere took a particular interest. Part 3 concentrates on the major social, economic and political issues that have been central to the unique Tanzanian experience - unique because of the man who shaped the first quarter of a century of independence.