Status
Available
Call number
Call number
A21.1 Si
Series
Genres
Publication
Windhoek: University of Namibia, 1992
Discourse series 3
Language
Library's review
This short exposition offers a thoroughly enjoyable entrance into the character and times of Mandume ya Ndemufayo. Mandume fits neatly into that category of persons whose names have been so exalted (in this case by the anti-colonial sentiments of modern African nations) that their stories have been
Silvester, though obviously aware of all the hype, writes in a down-to-earth, almost conversational tone that side-steps the distractions of myth-making. He simply tells the story of Mandume's rise to power, short years of leadership amidst the chaotic frontier power struggles of the post-Scramble years, and in greater detail the events surrounding Mandume's assassination. His scholarship is admirable: primary source research, exposition of bias inherent in each source, succinct, and sympathetic. The only great shortcoming is that it all leaves the reader wanting more. Thirty-five pages simply is not enough. But such is the inevitable result of solid research told in a fireside story manner. This is a five-star read that will drag its victim deeper into the mysterious depths of Southern African history.
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all but forgotten in the fog of myth. Mandume has major streets named for him in both Windhoek and Luanda, in addition to multiple statues and monuments in his honor in both cities. Angola and Namibia both claim him as a hero of proto-nationalism in the fight against evil oppression. But what of the actual history that bequeathed to him such status?Silvester, though obviously aware of all the hype, writes in a down-to-earth, almost conversational tone that side-steps the distractions of myth-making. He simply tells the story of Mandume's rise to power, short years of leadership amidst the chaotic frontier power struggles of the post-Scramble years, and in greater detail the events surrounding Mandume's assassination. His scholarship is admirable: primary source research, exposition of bias inherent in each source, succinct, and sympathetic. The only great shortcoming is that it all leaves the reader wanting more. Thirty-five pages simply is not enough. But such is the inevitable result of solid research told in a fireside story manner. This is a five-star read that will drag its victim deeper into the mysterious depths of Southern African history.
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