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The Great Betrayal
Ian Smith · 1997 · ISBN 1857821769
What it is
The memoir of Ian Smith, prime minister of Rhodesia from 1964 to 1979.
Read it knowing
The Rhodesian government’s side, told by its leader. We quote it and say where it differs from other accounts.
In our films
Read alongside
- The Struggle for ZimbabweDavid Martin & Phyllis Johnson, 1981. The authors had close access to ZANU’s leaders and write from their side. Read it against Masipula Sithole’s Struggles Within the Struggle and Wilfred Mhanda’s Dzino.
- MugabeDavid Smith & Colin Simpson, 1981. Written close to the events, before most of the memoirs and archives were available.
- With the PeopleMaurice Nyagumbo, 1980. A participant’s account from inside ZANU, written at independence.
- A Lifetime of StruggleEdgar Tekere, 2007. Written more than thirty years later, after Tekere had broken with Mugabe and founded his own party.
- Re-living the Second ChimurengaFay Chung, 2006. An insider’s account from within ZANU.
- African Nationalist Leaders in RhodesiaRobert Cary & Diana Mitchell, 1977. A reference book from 1977: useful for dates and careers, written before the war’s outcome was known.