When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin

I have to begin by pointing out that I finished this book in the summer. However, it has been so busy since then that I have become quite far behind with updating my blogs.

I read this book at a particularly poignant time, as the Zimbabwe elections were still being contested and there was violence being reported from that country. I finished it before the joint power sharing agreement between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangarai was worked out.

Peter Godwin sets this book after the Zimbabwean war of independence, and is as much a discovery of his family's secrets as it is an exploration into the struggle for Zimbabweans, black and white, to survive and farm. It is a very vivid and moving book. I'm sorry I didn't write the review when it was still uppermost in my mind! However, once again it is highly recommended.

Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa by Peter Godwin

Peter Godwin grew up in Zimbabwe (well, Rhodesia) and was in the police during the 1974-79 civil war. Very interesting to finish reading this book on the day that Zimbabwe "voted" again; I hadn't known much about how Mugabe came to 'be', so I know feel somewhat more informed. A well written and informative memoir. Very moving in places. And shocking, when he almost shoots a youth in anger, but in cold blood. And there are moments when it seems as if he has met a guardian angel. How did he manage to survive?

I look forward to reading the follow up, When a Crocodile Eats the Sun.