Cecil Rhodes: Flawed colossus - Hardcover

Brian Roberts

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0241123380 ISBN 13: 9780241123386

Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd, 1987

Synopsis

Tells how Rhodes built a fortune in South African diamonds, discusses his efforts to expand the British Empire, and assesses his accomplishments

About this title

About the Author

Brian Roberts, a distinguished historian and biographer, is an acknowledged expert on African history. His previous books include The Zulu Kings, The Diamond Magnates, Churchills in Africa, and Cecil Rhodes and the Princess.

From Publishers Weekly

Power-hungry capitalist, egocentric imposter, asexual political robot, ruthless racistthese epithets have been hurled at Rhodes, the architect of British colonialism in southern Africa. To Roberts, author of The Diamond Magnates, they are all unfair. "Rhodes was a racist . . . but the extent of his color prejudice is debatable," the author writes, adding that the mining mogul was swept up in British imperialism as a civilizing quest and cannot be held responsible for modern-day apartheid. In attempting to humanize the tightfisted adventurer, this apologia simply makes him boring. Roberts describes Rhodes as a suppressed homosexual, disagreeing with biographers who consider him to have been actively homosexual. He puts emphasis on the empire-builder's friendships, even though Rhodes was extremely guarded and kept conversation impersonal. Roberts insists that Rhodes is far more complex than previous biographers have assumed, but it's not clear if and why we should admire or like a man who had black mineworkers stripped and locked in a detention hut for 10 days at a stretch. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd
• Publication date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0241123380
• ISBN 13: 9780241123386
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1