Cecil Rhodes: Flawed Colossus

Description

‘Splendidly readable, fair-minded . . . a story told with pace and drama, the writer synthesizes, simplifies and debunks to great effect.’
The Observer

Cecil Rhodes ‘lived only for his schemes and enjoyed life only as a cannon ball enjoys space, travelling to its aim blindly and spreading ruin on its way. He used to be a great man, no doubt — a man who rendered immense service to his country, but humanity isn’t much indebted to him.’

The time is ripe for a new biography of Cecil Rhodes: the hero of imperialism must be seen with the point of view to examine the tremendous changes which have taken place since the British Empire used to be at its height.

This major re-assessment deals with the man, moderately than the politics — and shows Rhodes to be ruthless, vigorous, idealistic, and very much a product of his time.

We see him first as a far from amiable child, the son of a country vicar. As a youth he went to South Africa, where he made a fortune diamond mining. This fortune provided the means to pursue his political ambitions – a crazy dream to put as much red on the map as imaginable. Actually he only achieved what used to be to grow to be Northern and Southern Rhodesia. His brutality to the native peoples of Africa, his financial chicanery, his involvement in the farcical Jameson Raid, his suppressed homosexuality, his ideas about racial superiority, and his exaggerated respect for an Oxford education which led to his most lasting memorial — the Rhodes Scholarships — are all covered in this frank biography.

About the Author
Brian Roberts, a distinguished historian and biographer, is an acknowledged expert on African history. His previous books include The Zulu Kings, The Diamond Magnates, Churchills in Africa, and Cecil Rhodes and the Princess.


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