Mark Anderson Writes

 After a long time of waiting I finally got my hands on the book Nkomo, the Story of my life. And I must say I was not disappointed. The first chapter grabs the reader by the eyeballs. It begins with Nkomo's escape from the newly dependent Zimbabwe as he is pursued by his political enemies. It is ironic, how the country he had fought for, now turns on him. He reminded me of Snowball in Animal Farm and Trotsky in the USSR.  After getting you hooked by the action packed first chapter, Nkomo goes back in time and begins narrating his personal life before politics. He talks about his upbringing, his parents and family life. He also delves into the racial politics of the day. In one chapter he explains how whites evicted the black people from their land and how they had to move elsewhere. Nkomo talks about how education was very important to his parents and for a time he wanted to be a traditional doctor but his parents talked him out of it. The boy Joshua Nkomo becomes a man, he ...

 Some time ago I read and finished the book Travel and Adventure in South-East Africa by the legendary Frederick Selous. It is a must read for anyone interested in Africa, especially, precolonial Africa. It is a very big book, over 500 pages, but dont let that deter you. The book is impossible to put down. Why? Selous gives the most vivid accounts of his hunting expeditions and his relationships with the Africans. As I read the book I could almost smell, taste and see Africa in its untamed form before colonialism. Selous is a legend in Rhodesian lore. He is the man who the Selous Scouts, a Rhodesian military outfit is named after. He is the man who led the Pioneer Column as it made its way from South Africa to Mount Hampden. He is the man who gave Mount Darwin and Mount Hampden their names. He is the man who chose where Fort Victoria city nowadays Masvingo would be built. He was an adventurer like Indiana Jones, a fearless wanderer and a man's man. He is what Tony Soprano would ca...