Sarah Lefanu is author of the acclaimed biography Rose Macaulay, and of MLA award-winning In the Chinks of the World Machine: Feminism and Science Fiction. From 2004 to 2009 she was Artistic Director of the Bath Literature Festival. She has been RLF Fellow at the University of Exeter, and teaches at the University of Bristol's Department for Lifelong Learning.
'This is a fascinating book about Mozambique's recent history and
transition from colony to republic, and the role of Samora Machel
in that process, written from a unique, personal viewpoint by a
former cooperante. [...] It is attractively, frankly, and
engagingly written ... a genuinely innovative contribution to the
literature on Mozambican history and society.'
*African Studies Bulletin*
'Sarah LeFanu first visited Mozambique as a solidarity worker soon
after its 1975 independence. Now, so many years later, she has
returned to the subject. In a very personal way, S is for Samora
combines what LeFanu sees today with the memory of what she
experienced in the late seventies. Vivid and clear-eyed, it tells
the exciting story of the "Birth of a Nation" - a story that should
be of interest to more than just those who have their own direct
experience of Mozambique. Profoundly interesting and highly
recommended.'
*Henning Mankell, bestselling author*
'S is for Samora demonstrates definitively [LeFanu's] seriousness
and insight as both a researcher and a writer. A rich and inspiring
narrative - tells multiple stories: of a country coming to
independence and liberation after Portuguese colonial rule; of
revolutionary energy and activism being converted into established
government; of the connections between activism, enfranchisement
and freedom, resistance and dominance; of struggle and war in a
world of vested interests and politics both visionary and tactical,
bent and honest.'
*Huffington Post*
'This insightful, well-researched and unorthodox book offers a set
of interesting narratives about both the character of Samora Machel
and the early years of the 'Mozambican Dream' - the radical attempt
to build an African socialist revolutionary state in the wake of
Portugal's brittle and violent colonial rule. [ - ] The author's
detailed descriptions of people, events and places carry a rare
power to evoke the period vividly in the mind of the reader,
capturing elements often effaced in other scholarly work. [ - ] It
is highly recommended for anyone at all interested in Mozambique,
as well as those curious about the histories of leadership and
decision-making in African politics.' - Meera Sabaratnam, Journal
of Modern African Studies 'An important and readable rediscovery of
Mozambique's revolutionary history.'
*Joseph Hanlon, author of Do Bicycles Equal Development in
Mozambique?*
'This is an arresting and original "biography" of Samora Machel.
The Mozambican leader emerges as a complicated human being,
combining an uncanny ability to relate to people with an implacable
commitment to the construction of a new Mozambique. Mixing
journalism, diary and academic research, Le Fanu succeeds in
offering one of the most wide-ranging accounts of Machel available
to date. Under the guise of an a-to-z dictionary, the author offers
a gripping insight into the personal and political mix, which made
Machel the outstandingly successful leader he undoubtedly was.'
*Patrick Chabal, Professor of African History, King's College
London*
'a cracking biography of the "Mozambican dream", highlighting the
political importance of the first president alongside personal
insights into his idealism. LeFanu carries us through an alphabet
of exhilarating anecdote, giving the reader a fragmented yet always
engaging account of a life curtailed too soon.' - The Independent
'This A to Z of Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique,
looks at first like an extended index but the device works
brilliantly. Whether you want to read from beginning to end or dip
in, it is packed with history and many new and fascinating details.
It should become a classic and could start a new trend.'
*Richard Dowden, Director of the Royal African Society and author
of Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles*
'A beautifully-written and fascinating insight into the recent
history of Mozambique. - LeFanu's coverage of Samora is
even-handed: he emerges as a gifted, good and charismatic man
motivated by the principles of social justice and a form of
nationalism that cut across colour, race and tribe. But she also
portrays him as a human being, flawed at times by contradictions
and failures. - LeFanu explores the mythology around his
significance and legacy in Mozambique today and those of Josina,
his freedom fighter wife before her untimely death. - A brilliant
book.'
*Susan Williams, author of Who Killed Hammarskjold? The UN, The
Cold War and White Supremacy in Africa*
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