Kandaya, Another Time, Another Place.

The fight for independence in Zimbabwe comes under scrutiny in Kandaya, Another Time, Another Place. It is based own the experiences of a white conscript in Ian Smith’s army. Angus Shaw examines the camaraderie, the innocence turning to experience and the brutality that war engenders.

It chronicles the roots of the conflict, the nervous humour of the conscripts and their growing despair in the violent pursuit of Kandaya, a field commander of black nationalist guerrillas.

The author looks at the dogmas and dilemmas of the fighters and recalls his dealings cas a civilian reporter with leaders of the liberation movements, encounters with guerrilla commanders at peace talks and the conscripts’ and guerrillas’ return to intensified violence in the bush when talks fail.

You will want to hate this book, but you will not be able to ignore it, it’s like a repulsive-looking insect you cannot avert your gaze from.

What they said:
A vivid and brutal account by a white conscript in one of the last colonial wars – University Review of Books