Bitter harvest: Zimbabwe and the aftermath of its independence: the memoirs of Africa's most controversial leader / Ian Smith ; with a foreword by Rupert Cornwell

For more than a decade, Ian Smith served as Rhodesia's Prime Minister during the era of white minority rule. Following his death in 2007, he is still a man with the ability to excite powerful emotions. To some he is a leader whose formidable integrity led him into head-to-head confrontation with the Labor government of Britain in the 1960s. To others he is a demon best known for stating "I don't believe in black majority rule ever, not in a thousand years," for staunchly opposing Britain's insistence that majority rule be implemented before the nation's independence, and for imprisoning the leadership of the newly emerged black nationalist movement. In this revealing autobiography, Smith tells his own side of the story and reveals how he sought to keep Rhodesia on a path to full democracy during the West's decolonization of Africa. He tells the remarkable story behind the signing of the country's Unilateral Declaration of Independence and addresses the excesses of power that the current president, Robert Mugabe, has used to create the virtual dictatorship which exists in Zimbabwe today. This is a revealing and prescient historical document from a controversial figure charting the rise and fall of a once-great nation. In July 2007, Zimbabwe's worsening economy saw inflation skyrocket to 7,634 per cent, deepening the already chronic food shortages in a country where only one in five of the adult population is in employment.Months later, on 20 November 2007, Ian Smith, the former Prime Minister of Rhodesia died, leaving behind him a lifetime of resistance to black majority rule and the dangers that he believed it would bring to his country.Ian Smith was a man with the ability to excite powerful emotions in all who heard his name. To those who still revere his memory he was a hero, a mighty leader, a man whose formidable integrity led him into head-to-head confrontation with the Labour Government of Britain in the 1960s. To others, he was, and remains, a demon, a reactionary whose intransigence long delayed majority rule in an important corner of Africa.The last decades of the twentieth century and the first years of the new millennium have seen Zimbabwe spiral into a chaos of violence and towards the brink of economic collapse, prompting many to reappraise Smith's role and the prescience of his actions.In this revealing and important historical document, Ian Smith charts the rise and fall of a once-great nation. He tells the remarkable story behind the signing of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence, as well as the excesses of power that Mugabe has used to create the virtual dictatorship which exists in Zimbabwe today. Cover Copyright Dedication Map Contents Foreword Introduction 1 The Growth of a Nation 2 From Innocence to Experience 3 Settling Back Home 4 The End of Federation 5 The Formation of the Rhodesian Front 6 The First Rhodesian Front Government: Field and Independence 7 The Premiership in 1964 8 The Advent of the British Labour Government and the Issue of Independence 9 The Final Steps to UDI in 1965 10 The Immediate Consequences of UDI 11 First Moves to Settle in 1966: HMS Tiger 12 Renewed Settlement Efforts in 1968: HMS Fearless 13 The Home-Smith Agreement, 1972. 14 The Loss of Mozambique, Vorster and Détente in 1974-7515 The Kissinger Agreement of 1976 16 The Geneva Conference 17 The Internal Settlement of 4 March, 1978 18 The Interim Government of 1978-79 19 My Last Days in Office 20 The Government of National Unity and the Lancaster House Conference 21 The Election of Mugabe 22 The Aftermath of the Election 23 Life under Mugabe 24 Elections -- 1995-96 Janet Glossary Postscript Afterword Index. In July 2007, Zimbabwe's worsening economy saw inflation skyrocket to 7,634 per cent, deepening the already chronic food shortages in a country where only one in five of the adult population is in employment. Months later, on 20 November 2007, Ian Smith, the former Prime Minister of Rhodesia died, leaving behind him a lifetime of resistance to black majority rule and the dangers that he believed it would bring to his country. Ian Smith was a man with the ability to excite powerful emotions in all who heard his name. To those who still revere his memory he was a hero, a mighty leader, a man whose Charts the rise and fall of Zimbabwe, a once-great nation. This book tells the story behind the signing of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence, as well as the excesses of power that Mugabe has used to create the virtual dictatorship which exists in Zimbabwe.