From the Barrel of a Gun: The United States and the War against Zimbabwe, 1965-1980

by Gerald Horne

Overview

In November 1965, Ian Smith's white minority government in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) made a unilateral declaration of independence, breaking with Great Britain. With a European population of a few hundred thousand dominating an African majority of several million, Rhodesia's racial structure echoed the apartheid of neighboring South Africa. Smith's declaration sparked an escalating guerrilla war that claimed thousands of lives.

Across the Atlantic, President Lyndon B. Johnson nervously watched events in Rhodesia, fearing that racial conflict abroad could inflame racial discord at home. Although Washington officially voiced concerns over human rights violations, an attitude of tolerance generally marked U.S. relations with the Rhodesian government: sanctions were imposed but not strictly enforced, and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of American mercenaries joined white Rhodesia's side in battle with little to fear from U.S. laws. Despite such tacit U.S. support, Smith's regime fell in 1980, and the independent state of Zimbabwe was born.

The first comprehensive account of American involvement in the war against Zimbabwe, this compelling work also explores how our relationship with Rhodesia helped define interracial dynamics in the United States, and vice versa.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469625591
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	12/01/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Gerald Horne teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His books include Race Woman: The Lives of Shirley Graham Du Bois and Fire This Time: The Watts Uprising and the 1960s.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	vii
I	Preamble
	Introduction: Rhodesia Retreats	3
1.	Toward Zimbabwe	15
II	Power
2.	The White Atlantic	51
3.	White (Cultural and Ideological) Power	93
III	Policy
4.	White House, Checkered Policy	133
5.	The Business of War	169
IV	People
6.	Soldiers of Fortune	201
7.	Africans and African Americans	241
	Conclusion: Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United States	265
	Notes	287
	Index	303

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

In the tradition of Walter Rodney, Gerald Horne brilliantly writes black history in a comparative and Pan-African context. From the Barrel of a Gun provides the best historical study to date on the African struggle to overthrow the white minority rule in Zimbabwe. Horne convincingly documents the central role of the United States in delaying the decolonization of Zimbabwe. This is an impressive and comprehensive study of modern African political history.—Manning Marable, Columbia University

This timely and brilliant contribution from Professor Horne breaks new ground in the depth and sophistication of its analysis. From the Barrel of a Gun takes the reader from the old American West to the last frontier of colonialism in Zimbabwe, viewing events through the lens of race, gender, and international intrigue.—Brenda Gayle Plummer, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Editorial Reviews

In the tradition of Walter Rodney, Gerald Horne brilliantly writes black history in a comparative and Pan-African context. From the Barrel of a Gun provides the best historical study to date on the African struggle to overthrow the white minority rule in Zimbabwe.

Manning Marable

From the Barrel of a Gun takes the reader from the old American West to the last frontier of colonialism in Zimbabwe, viewing events through the lens of race, gender, and international intrigue.

Brenda Gayle Plummer

Horne's book is to be recommended, and should be required reading for those with an interest in U.S.-Zimbabwe relations, Pan-Africanism, and also the nationalist and post-nationalist historiography of Southern Africa.—H-Net

This book is an excellent reference tool.—Choice

From the Publisher