The Battlle for Zimbabwe : The Final Countdown Author: Geoff Hill 308 pages harcover

What's really going on in Zimbabwe? To know you need direct experience of events on the ground, an understanding of the country and its history, and access to the opinion of government, the opposition and ordinary Zimbabweans. Seasoned journalist Geoff Hill provides this and more in the Battle for Zimbabwe, an insightful, comprehensive and fascinating account of this extraordinary country.

A lively narrative of Zimbabwe's history paves the way for understanding the present situation in a nation once hailed as an African success story. In a blow-by-blow report on the events of recent years the author takes us behind the scenes in the governing ZANU-PF party, the land invasions, the presidential elections, the massacre of thousands of Zimbabweans and the enrichment of the ruling elite.

In interview with ordinary citizens of Zimbabwe, ZANU-PF members, opposition supporters, torture victims and exiles, a picture emerges of a country torn apart by its violent past, its oppressed present and its uncertain future.

While politicians in Africa, Washington and London debate a political solution to the problems of Zimbabwe, its people face poverty, starvation and hardship. Dissenters are tortured, imprisoned or forced to flee for their lives; more than three million Zimbabweans  are living in exile.

Yet shining through the gripping, often harrowing narrative, is the Zimbabwean people's love for their beautiful but tormented land. In the deadly battle for the future, it is their story  that is told here.

Thoroughly researched and boldly written, The Battle for Zimbabwe is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand one of the world's great modern tragedies . . . and what it will take to rebuild the nation