Book Recommendations

I love books and have read 2 very good ones. Zimbabwe is in the news a lot nowadays. Cholera, anthrax and rabies, starvation, brutality, rape and aids are all finally coming to the worlds view. The rose coloured glasses that people have worn have been ripped from their eyes, probably to late to save the country but maybe one day.

This is the story of 2 people that lived under the early days of the regime. One person is still there, the other now lives in the UK.

“Without Honour” is written by Robb Ellis. He served in the Zimbabwean Police. He and his wife live in the UK and are good friends of ours.
Robb was disabled in UK in an accident in early 2000 He is looking for work but even though it is only his arm that was damaged. It was a major not just "an only" problem but it was not his brain. People have a problem with the word disabled and hearing that everything dissolves into blanking out all he has done and can do.

The other “Jambabja” is by someone l have spoken to online and would love to meet one day Eric Harrison. He was a farmer and still lives in Zimbabwe I call him an absent friend.

Eric uses a pseudo name and has changed the name of his farm for a very simple reason. If he used the real details he would be traceable, and dead, as would his family. The cio (zimbabwe secret service) is feared for a very good reason, to them, the truth like Eric’s story needs suppressing.

There is widespread famine in Zimbabwe. As Rhodesia it was the bread basket of Africa now it is the dead basket of Africa. This is the story of the destruction of once fertile land, farms and lives, black and white.

Withouth Honour

Is written by Robb Ellis, it details Robb’s experiences in the Zimbabwe Republic Police in Matabeleland South in the early to mid 1980's.
Robb was a serving police officer in Zimbabwe during which time Robert Mugabe unleashed his Korean-trained Fifth Brigade on the Matabele people - twenty to thirty thousand people lost their lives in that time. Neither Mugabe nor his armed forces have been brought to book for the massacre.

The police force had always been Robbs ambition. mugabe tried at one point to use him as a propaganda tool, thankfully for Robb it did not work.

Without Honour is excellent. It has a lot of emotion anger and humanity. What surprised me was his naivety. In fact even with things falling down around him there was still some there, possibly the disbelief that it could happen as it was, so that meant there had to be another reason, not the obvious one.

I felt anger and sorrow with the occasional laugh. For me what came across was that it was a release of demons within Robb as he tells his story. This is part of the book and does not overwhelm it, more ripple along like a sub tune within the overall story. Not mentioned but felt.

I recommend it, you can immerse yourself in the book, it will cause raw emotion and is a very humbling read.

Hard Books can be ordered from Lulu or Amazon

If you prefer you can order the PDF file and read it on your computer or print it out Robbs Blog (scroll down on the right to his advert)

The other book is:

JAMBANJA

Eric was a white farmer who was kicked off his land. His workers were booted off as were all most all of the workers from white owned farms. Many were also butchered. If you have any farming connections or a love of the land Eric's story will break your heart.

This humorous and devastatingly poignant novel is a fact based story of a white African's agonizing battle to save his home, farm and family from brutal and intimidating terror attacks. A Major Work, exploring the collective character of a rebellious Nation torn apart by racism and rationalization and offering an exciting insight into relationships between good governance and State sponsored thuggery and terrorism.

The reader is taken into the story with such gut-wrenching reality, that putting down the book, is like fighting your way out of a vivid dream.

15% of all takings from this book goes to support SOAP an organisation that tries to get food and essentials to pensioners who are suffering in Zimbabwe.

Jambanja can be ordered from Lulu
Or direct from Robb (scroll down on the right to his advert)