blueskygreentreesyellowsun's review
2.0
There was too much description of boring things, like each of his different school uniforms, and not enough description of interesting things, like the civil war.
geirertzgaard's review against another edition
5.0
Det er sjelden jeg blir så oppslukt av en bok sånn at jeg legger alt til side som jeg ble av denne boken om hvit oppvekst i Zimbabwe. Alt matcher mine interesser, og forfatteren skriver glimrende enkelt og tankevekkende. Enig med han som sa at dette er en klassiker om en tid søm aldri mer kommer tilbake. Dette blir en tekst på bloggen min og på www.bokmerker.org.
anitaofplaybooktag's review
3.0
Well, it's a memoir.
One that shouldn't be at the top of your list.
I read this book for my f2f book club, and it's a good thing because otherwise I'd have seriously wondered why I wasted my time on it.
The book is separated into four parts.
Godwin's childhood in pre-war Rhodesia is the entire first half of the book. It's boring. He writes it in a child-like voice. That doesn't make it better.
The rest of the book addresses Godwin's involvement in the civil war in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) followed by his role as an investigative journalist and then the aftermath of the civil war.
The subject matter truly did have potential, but Godwin tells, tells, and tells some more. The book only came alive when he related stories of his time in the military. For a short section, I was thinking "now this is at least four star material". Unfortunately, this was a lengthy book, and the good part was probably 70 pages of nearly 500.
I did appreciate that I actually learned something about the civil war in Rhodesia - - and I appreciated that part as it was eye opening. Civil wars are never pretty, and this one was quite horrific.
I wish Godwin had just written a historical fiction piece about the civil war in Rhodesia, or even a non fiction book focused on the war. But instead, we get a memoir half filled with many boring anecdotes that really have little or no point or punchline. I never got a sense of Godwin's emotions - - even in the most horrendous parts of the book where awful things are happening. He writes with a journalist's detachment -- great for newspapers; memoirs not so much.
So, three stars for revealing some interesting history of Zimbabwe. And for being readable even though dull. And for having one very good segment.
Oh by the way, Amazon readers LOVED this book so take my review with a grain of salt . . .I just felt as though there were a lot of plot points in the book, with no emotional underpinning to make you actually care. There were a few exceptions (the tale of his pet ant eater, some of his stories of his time in the military police). . .but even most of those, Godwin did a poor job of evoking his own emotions. For a guy who did a LOT (lawyer, journalist, military police, etc.), it just wasn't nearly as interesting as it should have been.
One that shouldn't be at the top of your list.
I read this book for my f2f book club, and it's a good thing because otherwise I'd have seriously wondered why I wasted my time on it.
The book is separated into four parts.
Godwin's childhood in pre-war Rhodesia is the entire first half of the book. It's boring. He writes it in a child-like voice. That doesn't make it better.
The rest of the book addresses Godwin's involvement in the civil war in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) followed by his role as an investigative journalist and then the aftermath of the civil war.
The subject matter truly did have potential, but Godwin tells, tells, and tells some more. The book only came alive when he related stories of his time in the military. For a short section, I was thinking "now this is at least four star material". Unfortunately, this was a lengthy book, and the good part was probably 70 pages of nearly 500.
I did appreciate that I actually learned something about the civil war in Rhodesia - - and I appreciated that part as it was eye opening. Civil wars are never pretty, and this one was quite horrific.
I wish Godwin had just written a historical fiction piece about the civil war in Rhodesia, or even a non fiction book focused on the war. But instead, we get a memoir half filled with many boring anecdotes that really have little or no point or punchline. I never got a sense of Godwin's emotions - - even in the most horrendous parts of the book where awful things are happening. He writes with a journalist's detachment -- great for newspapers; memoirs not so much.
So, three stars for revealing some interesting history of Zimbabwe. And for being readable even though dull. And for having one very good segment.
Oh by the way, Amazon readers LOVED this book so take my review with a grain of salt . . .I just felt as though there were a lot of plot points in the book, with no emotional underpinning to make you actually care. There were a few exceptions (the tale of his pet ant eater, some of his stories of his time in the military police). . .but even most of those, Godwin did a poor job of evoking his own emotions. For a guy who did a LOT (lawyer, journalist, military police, etc.), it just wasn't nearly as interesting as it should have been.
mlindsey441's review
4.0
I had no idea what I was reading when I picked up this book. I think I expected a coming of age story, filled with lots of memories of the author's early years in Zimbabwe. And I certainly got that. His memories of early life with his nanny and the other servants, as well as his times in school reveal a sensitive child, who struggles at times to understand the brutality of the world around him. At the same time, he has a comfort and detachment with death that comes from having a mother whose work involves, at times, digging up graves. He lived a fascinating childhood and this book is filled wit interesting, well-told stories.
What I didn't expect, was to read of his time in the war that broke out when he was in his late teens. There are hints of fighting all around the edges of his childhood, but once the narrative turns to his calling up in the military, we get an up close look at his experiences with war. This wasn't the Zimbabwe that I wanted to read about, but it was probably the Zimbabwe that I needed to read about. Some of the stories from this time period, as well as those that come after he is a journalist are hard to read. There are some brutal atrocities in here -- and as with much of war, I find the fighting to be cruel and without purpose. In many cases it is hard to know who is on what side -- at one point late in the book he meets up with a soldier who was on the other side in one of this skirmishes. Godwin prepares a speech to say how he didn't want to fight and he was young, but the other man shushes him by saying, "We were both soldiers." And that was that -- as though war is a thing that men go out to do and when it is over, they come home and tell stories of their exploits.
I'm learning this year that when you read the world, you need to be prepared to read of great joy and great suffering. This book has both in abundance.
What I didn't expect, was to read of his time in the war that broke out when he was in his late teens. There are hints of fighting all around the edges of his childhood, but once the narrative turns to his calling up in the military, we get an up close look at his experiences with war. This wasn't the Zimbabwe that I wanted to read about, but it was probably the Zimbabwe that I needed to read about. Some of the stories from this time period, as well as those that come after he is a journalist are hard to read. There are some brutal atrocities in here -- and as with much of war, I find the fighting to be cruel and without purpose. In many cases it is hard to know who is on what side -- at one point late in the book he meets up with a soldier who was on the other side in one of this skirmishes. Godwin prepares a speech to say how he didn't want to fight and he was young, but the other man shushes him by saying, "We were both soldiers." And that was that -- as though war is a thing that men go out to do and when it is over, they come home and tell stories of their exploits.
I'm learning this year that when you read the world, you need to be prepared to read of great joy and great suffering. This book has both in abundance.
msjoanna's review against another edition
4.0
I read Mr. Godwin's two memoirs backwards -- I started with [b:When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa|2538189|When a Crocodile Eats the Sun A Memoir of Africa|Peter Godwin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255707395s/2538189.jpg|1201622], which tells of his later life, then moved on to this book. I really enjoyed reading Godwin's perspective on Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. He was born there and grew up in white-run Rhodesia. While his parents were fairly liberal for British settlers, Godwin nonetheless grew up in the segregated and racially divided colonial society and gives a clear presentation of the realities of that setting.
At the same time, Godwin expresses his frustration that a country that had so much potential fell into such ruin during civil war and transition from colonial rule to independence. Godwin had the opportunity to see the war up close as he served in the military, then as a lawyer defending certain prisoners accused of treason.
I found the description of Godwin's childhood a tad longer than necessary and it slowed my reading of this memoir. Once I got to his teen years and his military service, the story picked up and moved along more quickly.
At the same time, Godwin expresses his frustration that a country that had so much potential fell into such ruin during civil war and transition from colonial rule to independence. Godwin had the opportunity to see the war up close as he served in the military, then as a lawyer defending certain prisoners accused of treason.
I found the description of Godwin's childhood a tad longer than necessary and it slowed my reading of this memoir. Once I got to his teen years and his military service, the story picked up and moved along more quickly.
rachaelreads92's review against another edition
4.0
**4 stars**
A really well told personal account of the Rhodesian Bush War!
This is the second biography I have read on the Rhodesian Bush War, and the emergence of the country of Zimbabwe (I have already started with a third). A few weeks ago I remembered a line from Leonardo Di Caprio's character from the film Blood Diamond about growing up in Rhodesia.
Danny Archer from Blood Diamond:
I realised I knew almost nothing about Rhodesia, or that it became Zimbabwe after the war. I began to read about the war and I began with [b:Rainbow's End: A Memoir of Childhood, War and an African Farm|102450|Rainbow's End A Memoir of Childhood, War and an African Farm|Lauren St. John|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1266472554l/102450._SY75_.jpg|98776] which is the story of Lauren St. John growing up in Rhodesia on a farm with her family supporting Ian Smith's policies. It is interesting to read as you can see how the author's view on the war changes after independence was declared. Initially she believed that the they were fighting the communist before coming to realise that it was actually a war of oppression. Again this made me think back to Blood Diamond.
Danny Archer from Blood Diamond
Peter Godwin's account was different to that of Lauren St. John. Unlike Lauren, Peter was first generation Rhodesian (Lauren was fourth generation) and mainly grew up in the cities and suburbs (Lauren grew up on vast farms). Unlike Lauren's family, Peter's family did not support Ian Smith and his ideas and believed in black majority rule. Another big difference for me is the attitudes toward the war. Lauren's family believed in the war and her father was a volunteer solider. Peter's family did not believe in the war, but Peter was conscripted and detested his time in the armed forces.
I very much enjoyed reading about Peter's account and how his views and values changed. From being a young boy who went to church with his black nanny every week, to a boy in an all white boys school, to his time being conscripted into the army and leading black soldiers, to his time defending "terrorists", to his time being declared an "enemy of the state"... Peter is honest with his observations about life in Rhodesia/ Zimbabwe, how things changed for both the better and worse and the sheer horror of war.
Both of the books are fantastic reads and I recommend them highly. I am loving learning about this topic and will continue to read different accounts of the war.
A really well told personal account of the Rhodesian Bush War!
This is the second biography I have read on the Rhodesian Bush War, and the emergence of the country of Zimbabwe (I have already started with a third). A few weeks ago I remembered a line from Leonardo Di Caprio's character from the film Blood Diamond about growing up in Rhodesia.
Danny Archer from Blood Diamond:
...That's a - That's a polite way of putting it, ja. Mum was raped and shot and um... Dad was decapitated and hung from a hook in the barn. I was nine...
I realised I knew almost nothing about Rhodesia, or that it became Zimbabwe after the war. I began to read about the war and I began with [b:Rainbow's End: A Memoir of Childhood, War and an African Farm|102450|Rainbow's End A Memoir of Childhood, War and an African Farm|Lauren St. John|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1266472554l/102450._SY75_.jpg|98776] which is the story of Lauren St. John growing up in Rhodesia on a farm with her family supporting Ian Smith's policies. It is interesting to read as you can see how the author's view on the war changes after independence was declared. Initially she believed that the they were fighting the communist before coming to realise that it was actually a war of oppression. Again this made me think back to Blood Diamond.
Danny Archer from Blood Diamond
We thought we were fighting communism, but in the end it was all about who gets what...
Peter Godwin's account was different to that of Lauren St. John. Unlike Lauren, Peter was first generation Rhodesian (Lauren was fourth generation) and mainly grew up in the cities and suburbs (Lauren grew up on vast farms). Unlike Lauren's family, Peter's family did not support Ian Smith and his ideas and believed in black majority rule. Another big difference for me is the attitudes toward the war. Lauren's family believed in the war and her father was a volunteer solider. Peter's family did not believe in the war, but Peter was conscripted and detested his time in the armed forces.
I very much enjoyed reading about Peter's account and how his views and values changed. From being a young boy who went to church with his black nanny every week, to a boy in an all white boys school, to his time being conscripted into the army and leading black soldiers, to his time defending "terrorists", to his time being declared an "enemy of the state"... Peter is honest with his observations about life in Rhodesia/ Zimbabwe, how things changed for both the better and worse and the sheer horror of war.
Both of the books are fantastic reads and I recommend them highly. I am loving learning about this topic and will continue to read different accounts of the war.