Rhodesia War:Of Land And Spirits By Alan Thrush

Rhodesia War:Of Land And Spirits By Alan Thrush, published in 1997, 408 pages, hardcover with dustjacket, apart from an inscription on 1st page all else is in good condition.

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Zimbabwe-Rhodesia - March 1980. In the pre-dawn gloom, Rhodesian Army units are poised to re-group and attack the assembled forces of ZANLA and ZIPRA. results of the British-supervised elections are seeping through: an overwhelming vote for Robert Mugabe. In camps across the country, twenty thousand guerrillas stand to their weapons, waiting for the frantan to come crashing and burning through the trees into hut, trench and bunker. Waiting for the soldiers, pouring down from the sky. This is the story of the five years leading to the birth of Zimbabwe - the story of Andrew Scott, George Sibanda, Kuretu, Mpehla, Hlomani and many others of the Rhodesian forces as they fight with great skill a war they cannot win. For even as the kills mount, so the numbers of the enemy inside the country grow even larger. It is also the story of Jason Mavunha and his comrades of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army. Jason joins the Chimurenga - the War of Liberation - after guerrillas have been surprised at his village .... leading to the deaths of his two brothers. This is the story of a white community wanting to retain its way of life, without realising the effect this is having on their sons who must carry on the fight. Of a black community whose sons serve on both sides, and which suffers reprisal and atrocity. Nowhere has the sheer weariness of war been better portrayed, with its numbing excitment. There is bravery, cowardice, comradeship and above all, the loss that comes from a civil war.
Although fictional, it was written by an officer in the Rhodesian African Rifles who saw service in all operational areas during the Rhodesian bush war and was decorated for gallantry. The result is that there is much authenticity in it. Both sides involved in the bush war are catered for.
......His descriptions of contact situations and the realities of conflict are horrifyingly graphic and absolutely authentic, even if his characters are fictional. The disruptive effects of the war on the social fabric of Rhodesia as well as the bonds formed by men under fire are faithfully depicted........It makes fascinating reading, this evocation of battle. Quite apart from the blood, sweat and terror that is almost tangible, the small details are intriguing. The use and effects of Rhodesia’s homemade napalm, frantan, the radio signals and codes, the types of grenades, the officer training courses, the helicopter support, types of land mines, all add to the pervading sincerity of the book. It is not verisimilitude, it is the ring of truth.......