Where We Have Hope: A Memoir of Zimbabwe - Softcover

Meldrum, Andrew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802142516 ISBN 13: 9780802142511

Publisher: Grove Press, 2006

Synopsis

Where We Have Hope is the gripping memoir of a young American journalist. In 1980, Andrew Meldrum arrived in a Zimbabwe flush with new independence, and he fell in love with the country and its optimism. But over the twenty years he lived there, Meldrum watched as President Robert Mugabe consolidated power and the government evolved into despotism. In May 2003, Meldrum, the last foreign journalist still working in the dangerous and chaotic nation, was illegally forced to leave his adopted home. His unflinching work describes the terror and intimidation Mugabe’s government exercised on both the press and citizens, and the resiliency of Zimbabweans determined to overturn Mugabe and demand the free society they were promised.

About this title

About the Author:

In May 2003, Guardian journalist Andrew Meldrum was illegally expelled from Zimbabwe. He had been the last foreign journalist in the country, and his deportation was reported internationally. He continues to write on Zimbabwe from South Africa.

Review:

'A moving account of a life lived in a world of extremes - of ugly tyranny and of the extraordinary friendships and passionate beliefs that it inspires' -- Western Mail 20040626 'Andrew Meldrum has been a witness to the unfolding, over the last quarter of a century, of one of the most remarkable stories of modern times. He has observed at close quarters the laying waste, in peacetime, of Zimbabwe...Meldrum's perspective is unique in a number of ways, and this makes his memoir an invaluable record as well as a compelling read...One of the most attractive aspects of Meldrum's brisk but vivid account of the next 23 years is the way it reveals his personal engagement in the process. He was an objective reporter - over the most significant period of his stay, for The Guardian - but he also lived, laughed and suffered with ordinary Zimbabweans. Most importantly, he did not allow any preconceptions he brought with him to interfere with his openness to what was going on around him...the account of Meldrum's own arrest, trial and illegal expulsion makes compulsive reading, while his portrayal of the many heroic Zimbabweans who represent, let us hope, the future of the country once the Mugabe dictatorship is buried, is generous, moving and inspiring.' -- The Tablet 20040814 'Accessible and comprehensive ! Meldrum's vivid and insightful reflections will enrich any reader's understanding of this sorry chapter of African history' -- Literary Review 20040701 'What makes Meldrum's story compelling is his honesty: his early nervousness; the trials of his rickety Renault 4' -- The Independent 20040701 '[Andrew Meldrum] is irrepressible in his quest to show how the spirit of Zimbabweans he meets ... makes a brighter future inevitable.' -- Joe Churcher (syndicated review) 20040731 'Important book ... to be so reminded of this dire chapter in African history is a sad but salutary and, in the end, strangely hopeful experience' -- Traveller Magazine 20040701 'He does not spare us from the brutality and wickedness that is gripping Zimbabwe, but by telling the stories of its people and allowing us to hear their voices, he shows that amidst the repression and cruelty of Mugabe's state, there is courage, dignity, and above all real hope' -- Rageh Omaar 20040701 'Meldrum's writing is driven by his love for Zimbabwe and its people, and he still believes the country has a future -- but not with Mugabe.' -- Irish Times 20050402 'Meldrum's writing is driven by a passion for the country and its people ... essential reading.' -- Observer 20040627 'Marvellous, rich and rewarding ... [A] compelling book' -- The Times 20040717 'A story of disillusion, chaos, violence, extraordinary courage and some hope' -- The Guardian 20040717 '(Meldrum) shows that amidst the repression and cruelty of Mugabe's state, there is courage, dignity, and above all real hope' -- Rageh Omaar, BBC Correspondent 20040717 'What makes Meldrum's story compelling is his honesty: his early nervousness; (and) the trials of his rickety Renault 4.' -- The Independent 20040717 'His memoir is written with admirable control and clarity, shedding light on the complexity ... yet his passion for his adopted country never fails to shine through.' Nicola Barr -- The Guardian 20050312 'So readable!His personable, matter-of-fact tone serves less to dismiss the extraordinary injustices the country and its people have suffered and more to highlight them by giving them context.' -- Observer 20050410

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0802142516
• ISBN 13: 9780802142511
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304