“…the book is readable, informative, and a must for all students of government and politics in Africa. “–History: Reviews of New Books

Dr. Hastings Banda, a highly respected medical doctor based for many years in London, was invited back to Nyasaland to lead the movement to independent Malawi and the Malawi National Congress. Here was, or so it seemed, a loyal and progressive Government with pro-Western leadership–a final success in the story of British decolonization. Yet within three months all but one of the cabinet ministers had resigned or were dismissed, former ministers fled the country including distinguished members of the independence movement. Even the pro-Congress Europeans feared for their lives. Colin Baker unravels this potentially disastrous episode in Malawi’s history and in the story of decolonization. He illuminates not only the immediate post-independence problems of Malawi, a newly independent African state, but charts the growth of Banda’s autocracy.