A review by rachaelreads92
Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa by Peter Godwin
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.