An insider's view of the land issue and farm invasions in Zimbabwe, this book gives a different perspective than is normally heard, revealing much about the tensions within Zimbabwean society and between the war veterans and the ruling party.

Zimbabwe’s land occupations were unique in two ways.

Zimbabwe's Liberation War started with incursions by tiny guerrilla groups and then built up until the settler regime finally had to negotiate a settlement in 1980. This book looks at the realities of the war and what happened afterwards, rather than at the comfortable myths. Both heroic and terrible deeds are recorded. There are both idealistic hopes and cynical compromises. It is centred on ordinary soldiers and people who sacrificed their lives to achieve advances and victories, and suffered the consequences of retreats and defeats. It is history told and experienced by the soldiers themselves, not the 'official' and 'authorized' account by leaders. This book compares strategies used by all the main players - ZIPRA, ZIPA, ZANLA and the Rhodesian Forces. It discusses the Nhari rebellion and the March 11 Movement, the Fifth Brigade and the 'dissidents'. The volume further examines the integration of the armies after 1980, analyses the politics of creating war heroes and discusses life after the war for ex-combatants.

These two companion volumes on Soldiers and Society give new perspectives on Zimbabwe's liberation struggle.

An essential biographical record of General Solomon Mujuru, one of the most controversial figures within the history of African liberation politics.

This retrospective offers a first hand account on internal conflicts in ZANU during the 1970s, which resulted in the defeat of its left wing. Chung's narratives include her experiences in two guerrilla camps. She recalls her encounters with the charismatic Josiah Tongogara, a legendary military commander during Zimbabwe's liberation war (known as the ©second chimurenga♯), who died at the threshold to Independence. The personal recollection of a transition to national sovereignty concludes with an incisive analysis of developments after Independence. It ends with Chung's vision for the Zimbabwe of the future. Fay Chung served within the Ministry of Education in post-colonial Zimbabwe for a total of fourteen years, at the end as the Minister of Education and Culture. Her autobiographical account has the childhood experiences in colonial Rhodesia as a point of departure. Like many other Zimbabwean intellectuals she joined the liberation struggle. From the mid-1970s she worked within the ZANU-organised educational sphere.

The Democratic Coup d'État advances a simple, yet controversial, argument: democracy sometimes comes through a military coup. Covering coups that toppled dictators and installed democratic rule in countries as diverse as Guinea-Bissau, Portugal, and Colombia, the book weaves a balanced narrative that challenges everything we knew about military coups.